MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the smallest version of a product that real people can use and get value from. It is not a prototype or a mockup. It works. It just does less. The purpose is to test whether your idea solves a real problem before spending months building features nobody wants.

For vibe coders, MVP thinking is critical. AI makes it easy to add features fast, which creates a temptation to build everything at once. The discipline is restraint: what is the one thing this app must do well to be useful? Build that. Ship it. Get feedback. Then decide what to build next based on what real users actually do.

A good MVP has: one core workflow that works end-to-end, authentication (so users have accounts), deployment (so it is accessible), and nothing else. Polish, settings pages, admin dashboards, and edge case handling come after validation.