Minimum loveable product

Source: Fact of the Day 1 interview with Jeff Wilke

Published: January 2021

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development. 

Jeff Wilke recognized that Amazon’s MVPs failed to insist on high standards. Teams were making trade-offs to prioritize speed over customer delight. 

A minimum loveable product (MLP) is a term used at Amazon to describe a version of a product with just enough features for early customers to love the experience.

“It may be that some customers are ok with MVP, but customers don’t want MVP. It has to be lovable or they’re not going to adopt it. We had to change the standard for how we were thinking about press releases and products. We were sliding toward a standard that was too low.” – Jeff Wilke