  [Background] The MVP concept has influenced the way in which development
teams apply Software Engineering practices. However, the overall understanding
of this influence of MVPs on SE practices is still poor. [Objective] Our goal
is to characterize the publication landscape on practices that have been used
in the context of software MVPs and to gather practitioner insights on the
identified practices. [Method] We conducted a systematic mapping study and
discussed its results in two focus groups sessions involving twelve industry
practitioners that extensively use MVPs in their projects to capture their
perceptions on the findings of the mapping study. [Results] We identified 33
papers published between 2013 and 2020 and observed some trends related to MVP
ideation and evaluation practices. For instance, regarding ideation, we found
six different approaches and mainly informal end-user involvement practices.
Regarding evaluation, there is an emphasis on end-user validations based on
practices such as usability tests, A/B testing, and usage data analysis.
However, there is still limited research related to MVP technical feasibility
assessment and effort estimation. Practitioners of the focus group sessions
reinforced the confidence in our results regarding ideation and evaluation
practices, being aware of most of the identified practices. They also reported
how they deal with the technical feasibility assessments and effort estimation
in practice. [Conclusion] Our analysis suggests that there are opportunities
for solution proposals and evaluation studies to address literature gaps
concerning technical feasibility assessment and effort estimation. Overall,
more effort needs to be invested into empirically evaluating the existing
MVP-related practices.
