Minimum Lovable Product
The smallest version people would actually be pleased to use.
Definition
A framing that argues the first release must be good enough to want, not only functional enough to test.
Craft convention. True because the industry converged on it. Breaking it costs familiarity, not correctness.
On this plate
In plain language
The smallest version people would actually be pleased to use.
Example
A first release that does one thing well, rather than five things poorly.
Commonly confused with
Close neighbours that get substituted for each other. The difference is stated first, then the condition that picks one over the other.
Minimum Viable Product
TermThe least product that produces a real answer about demand or feasibility.
Key difference
An MVP is the smallest thing that tests whether the idea holds. An MLP is the smallest thing people would actually choose to use. One protects the business from building the wrong thing, the other protects it from shipping something nobody wants to touch.
Use Minimum Lovable Product when
- The market already has working alternatives.
- First impressions decide whether anyone returns.
- Quality is the differentiator rather than existence.
Use Minimum Viable Product when
- The question is whether anyone wants this at all.
- The audience is early and tolerant of rough edges.
- Learning matters more than retention.
Local chart
TERM·092 · Region X · Grid D5
This entry and the entries it is stated to connect with. Each line is labelled with what the connection means.
Continue from here
Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.
Deeper reading
The full entry behind this definition.
- Aesthetic-Usability EffectLAW·011 · Law
- Story MapTPL·006 · Template
Nearby in the Atlas
Adjacent territory, found through shared tags rather than a stated link.