Product Development
MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
The simplest version of a product that can be released to test core assumptions and gather customer feedback. Built with minimum effort to enable maximum learning.
Biological Context
MVP mirrors evolutionary experimentation: organisms don't develop perfect forms immediately but iterate through viable-enough variants that selection can act upon. The key is 'viable'—the organism must survive long enough to reproduce (the product must deliver enough value to get feedback).
Business Application
MVPs reduce the cost of learning. Building the full vision before testing assumptions wastes resources on potentially wrong directions. The goal is finding product-market fit before running out of runway.