What an MVP prototype actually is
An MVP prototype is a functional - but deliberately incomplete - version of your product built to test a specific hypothesis. It does just enough to generate real signal from real users in real conditions. The key word is functional. This distinguishes it from high-fidelity prototypes, which simulate behaviour without actually doing anything. An MVP prototype produces real outcomes - it might send a real email, process a real (test) transaction, or deliver a real result. That realness is what generates honest signal.The minimum viable part
The hardest discipline is ruthless cutting. Every feature you add beyond the core hypothesis is waste - it costs time, muddies the signal, and makes it harder to know what caused the result you got. A useful forcing question: what is the one thing a user needs to do for us to learn what we need to learn? Build only that. As Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden argue in Lean UX, the goal is outcomes, not output 💡MVP vs. pretotype vs. prototype
- Pretotyping - fake it entirely, measure intent before building anything
- Lo-fi prototype - simulates the experience, no real functionality
- MVP prototype - real functionality, stripped to the minimum needed to test the hypothesis
- Full product - real functionality, built for scale and quality