Not to be confused with major league baseball’s “Most Valuable Player” or Microsoft’s“Most Valuable Professional,” in the world of product development the acronym “MVP” stands for “Minimum Viable Product.”

An app is considered “viable” when the developers can prove that it is not only possible to create, but it is also practical, desirable, and valuable to consumers. However, that is not the definition of MVP. MVP is less of a distinction and more of a technique or model for developers to follow. The goal is to create a product with the highest return on investment for the lowest risk. Following the MVP concept helps developers and their clients do just that. Any businessperson wants their customer to see them at their best. They want the product to be perfect in every possible way. The MVP model of development finds fault in that. It values facts, not assumptions. A developer can assume that the app will be profitable based on generic market research, but that is an assumption. The MVP model does away with such postulation by insisting that the product should go public in its infancy:when it works, but before the team puts money and effort into all of the bells and whistles. It evaluates the app’s viability through experimentation and user feedback instead of comparing it to similar products and presuming that customers will buy it. For your app to succeed in this competitive market, the next best step after brainstorming your brilliant idea is to work with an effective development team on short-term goals in two to three-week “sprints” of time.

After a few sprints, you may find yourself with an MVP that’s ready to go into public hands. A few sprints after that, keeping customer feedback in mind, you’re ready to introduce your final product to the world!