diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c964ecd68..779525772 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 OS           ?= $(shell uname)
 
+V             ?= 0
 CONFIGURATION = Debug
 
 ifeq ($(OS),Darwin)
@@ -39,7 +40,6 @@ PTESTS = \
 ATESTS = \
 	bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION)/Android.Interop-Tests.dll
 
-XBUILD = xbuild $(if $(V),/v:diag,)
 NUNIT_CONSOLE = packages/NUnit.Runners.2.6.3/tools/nunit-console.exe
 
 BUILD_PROPS = bin/Build$(CONFIGURATION)/JdkInfo.props bin/Build$(CONFIGURATION)/MonoInfo.props
@@ -57,12 +57,13 @@ prepare-external: $(PACKAGES) $(NUNIT_CONSOLE)
 	git submodule update --init --recursive
 
 clean:
-	-$(XBUILD) /t:Clean
+	-$(MSBUILD) $(MSBUILD_FLAGS) /t:Clean
 	-rm -Rf bin/$(CONFIGURATION) bin/Build$(CONFIGURATION) bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION) bin/XAIntegration$(CONFIGURATION)
 	-rm src/Java.Runtime.Environment/Java.Runtime.Environment.dll.config
 
 include build-tools/scripts/mono.mk
 include build-tools/scripts/jdk.mk
+include build-tools/scripts/msbuild.mk
 
 $(PACKAGES) $(NUNIT_CONSOLE):
 	nuget restore
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ endif
 # Usage: $(call TestAssemblyTemplate,assembly-basename)
 define TestAssemblyTemplate
 bin/Test$$(CONFIGURATION)/$(1)-Tests.dll: $(wildcard src/$(1)/*/*.cs src/$(1)/Test*/*/*.cs)
-	$$(XBUILD)
+	$$(MSBUILD) $$(MSBUILD_FLAGS)
 	touch $$@
 endef # TestAssemblyTemplate
 
@@ -107,15 +108,15 @@ $(eval $(call TestAssemblyTemplate,Java.Interop.Export))
 $(eval $(call TestAssemblyTemplate,Java.Interop.Tools.JavaCallableWrappers))
 
 bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION)/Java.Interop-PerformanceTests.dll: $(wildcard tests/Java.Interop-PerformanceTests/*.cs) bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION)/$(NATIVE_TIMING_LIB)
-	$(XBUILD)
+	$(MSBUILD) $(MSBUILD_FLAGS)
 	touch $@
 
 bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION)/Android.Interop-Tests.dll: $(wildcard src/Android.Interop/*/*.cs src/Android.Interop/Tests/*/*.cs)
-	$(XBUILD)
+	$(MSBUILD) $(MSBUILD_FLAGS)
 	touch $@
 
 bin/$(XA_CONFIGURATION)/Java.Interop.dll: $(wildcard src/Java.Interop/*/*.cs) src/Java.Interop/Java.Interop.csproj
-	$(XBUILD) /p:Configuration=$(XA_CONFIGURATION) $(if $(SNK),"/p:AssemblyOriginatorKeyFile=$(SNK)",)
+	$(MSBUILD) $(if $(V),/v:diag,) /p:Configuration=$(XA_CONFIGURATION) $(if $(SNK),"/p:AssemblyOriginatorKeyFile=$(SNK)",)
 
 CSHARP_REFS = \
 	bin/$(CONFIGURATION)/Java.Interop.dll               \
@@ -150,7 +151,7 @@ bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION)/$(JAVA_INTEROP_LIB): bin/$(CONFIGURATION)/$(JAVA_INTERO
 	cp $< $@
 
 run-android: $(ATESTS)
-	(cd src/Android.Interop/Tests; $(XBUILD) '/t:Install;RunTests' $(if $(FIXTURE),/p:TestFixture=$(FIXTURE)))
+	(cd src/Android.Interop/Tests; $(MSBUILD) $(MSBUILD_FLAGS) '/t:Install;RunTests' $(if $(FIXTURE),/p:TestFixture=$(FIXTURE)))
 
 run-test-jnimarshal: bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION)/Java.Interop.Export-Tests.dll bin/Test$(CONFIGURATION)/$(JAVA_INTEROP_LIB)
 	MONO_TRACE_LISTENER=Console.Out \
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f2f464ca5..581f33e5e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ on the command line or by specifying MSBuild properties to control behavior.
 The following **make**(1) variables may be specified:
 
 * `$(CONFIGURATION)`: The product configuration to build, and corresponds
-    to the `$(Configuration)` MSBuild property when running `$(XBUILD)`.
+    to the `$(Configuration)` MSBuild property when running `$(MSBUILD)`.
     Valid values are `Debug` and `Release`. Default value is `Debug`.
 * `$(RUNTIME)`: The managed runtime to use to execute utilities, tests.
     Default value is `mono64` if present in `$PATH`, otherwise `mono`.
@@ -85,9 +85,9 @@ The following **make**(1) variables may be specified:
 
         make run-tests TESTS=bin/Debug/Java.Interop.Dynamic-Tests.dll
 
-* `$(V)`: If set to a non-empty string, adds `/v:diag` to `$(XBUILD)`
+* `$(V)`: If set to a non-empty string, adds `/v:diag` to `$(MSBUILD_FLAGS)`
     invocations.
-* `$(XBUILD)`: The MSBuild build tool to execute for builds.
+* `$(MSBUILD)`: The MSBuild build tool to execute for builds.
     Default value is `xbuild`.
 
 
diff --git a/build-tools/scripts/mono.mk b/build-tools/scripts/mono.mk
index c491f48d5..38bd1bf48 100644
--- a/build-tools/scripts/mono.mk
+++ b/build-tools/scripts/mono.mk
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #
 #   $(OS): Optional; **uname**(1) value of the host operating system
 #   $(CONFIGURATION): Build configuration name, e.g. Debug or Release
+#   $(V): Output verbosity. If != 0, then `MONO_OPTIONS` is exported with --debug.
 #
 # Outputs:
 #
@@ -27,6 +28,14 @@
 OS            ?= $(shell uname)
 RUNTIME       := $(shell if [ -f "`which mono64`" ] ; then echo mono64 ; else echo mono; fi) --debug=casts
 
+ifneq ($(V),0)
+MONO_OPTIONS  += --debug
+endif   # $(V) != 0
+
+ifneq ($(MONO_OPTIONS),)
+export MONO_OPTIONS
+endif   # $(MONO_OPTIONS) != ''
+
 ifeq ($(OS),Darwin)
 JI_MONO_FRAMEWORK_PATH = /Library/Frameworks/Mono.framework/Libraries/libmonosgen-2.0.1.dylib
 JI_MONO_INCLUDE_PATHS = /Library/Frameworks/Mono.framework/Headers/mono-2.0
diff --git a/build-tools/scripts/msbuild.mk b/build-tools/scripts/msbuild.mk
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0c36207f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/scripts/msbuild.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#
+# MSBuild Abstraction.
+#
+# Makefile targets which need to invoke MSBuild should use `$(MSBUILD)`,
+# not some specific MSBuild program such as `xbuild` or `msbuild`.
+#
+# Typical use will also include `$(MSBUILD_FLAGS)`, which provides the
+# Configuration and logging verbosity, as per $(CONFIGURATION) and $(V):
+#
+#   $(MSBUILD) $(MSBUILD_FLAGS) path/to/Project.csproj
+#
+# Inputs:
+#
+#   $(CONFIGURATION): Build configuration name, e.g. Debug or Release
+#   $(MSBUILD): The MSBuild program to use.
+#   $(MSBUILD_ARGS): Extra arguments to pass to $(MSBUILD); embedded into $(MSBUILD_FLAGS)
+#   $(V): Build verbosity
+#
+# Outputs:
+#
+#   $(MSBUILD): The MSBuild program to use. Defaults to `xbuild` unless overridden.
+#   $(MSBUILD_FLAGS): Additional MSBuild flags; contains $(CONFIGURATION), $(V), $(MSBUILD_ARGS).
+
+MSBUILD       = xbuild
+MSBUILD_FLAGS = /p:Configuration=$(CONFIGURATION) $(MSBUILD_ARGS)
+
+ifneq ($(V),0)
+MSBUILD_FLAGS += /v:d
+endif   # $(V) != 0
diff --git a/src/Xamarin.Android.Cecil/Xamarin.Android.Cecil.targets b/src/Xamarin.Android.Cecil/Xamarin.Android.Cecil.targets
index 2c228fea2..06839ae2d 100644
--- a/src/Xamarin.Android.Cecil/Xamarin.Android.Cecil.targets
+++ b/src/Xamarin.Android.Cecil/Xamarin.Android.Cecil.targets
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
   <PropertyGroup>
     <CecilDirectory>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)\..\..\external\cecil</CecilDirectory>
     <CecilPreparedFlag>prepared.flag</CecilPreparedFlag>
-    <OutputPath Condition=" '$(OutputPath)' == '' ">$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)\..\..\bin\$(Configuration)</OutputPath>
-    <CecilOutputPath>$([System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath ('$(OutputPath)'))</CecilOutputPath>
+    <OutputPath Condition=" '$(OutputPath)' == '' ">..\..\bin\$(Configuration)</OutputPath>
+    <CecilOutputPath>$([System.IO.Path]::Combine ($(MSBuildThisFileDirectory), $(OutputPath)))</CecilOutputPath>
+    <CecilOutputPath>$([System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath ($(CecilOutputPath)))</CecilOutputPath>
     <CecilAssemblies>$(OutputPath)\Xamarin.Android.Cecil.dll;$(OutputPath)\Xamarin.Android.Cecil.Mdb.dll</CecilAssemblies>
   </PropertyGroup>
   <Target Name="PrepareCecil"
diff --git a/src/java-interop/java-interop.mdproj b/src/java-interop/java-interop.mdproj
index d02db16b3..978ccba0d 100644
--- a/src/java-interop/java-interop.mdproj
+++ b/src/java-interop/java-interop.mdproj
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@
       Inputs="@(Compile)"
       Outputs="@(MacLibLipo)">
     <PropertyGroup>
-      <_FixedDefines>$(DefineSymbols.Replace(' ', ';'))</_FixedDefines>
+      <_FixedDefines>$(DefineSymbols.Split(' '))</_FixedDefines>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
       <_Defines Include="$(_FixedDefines)" />
diff --git a/tests/invocation-overhead/Makefile b/tests/invocation-overhead/Makefile
index d56491650..66f61d798 100644
--- a/tests/invocation-overhead/Makefile
+++ b/tests/invocation-overhead/Makefile
@@ -9,9 +9,10 @@ clean:
 
 include ../../build-tools/scripts/mono.mk
 include ../../build-tools/scripts/jdk.mk
+include ../../build-tools/scripts/msbuild.mk
 
 $(JNIENV_GEN):
-	(cd ../../build-tools/jnienv-gen ; xbuild /p:Configuration=$(CONFIGURATION))
+	(cd ../../build-tools/jnienv-gen ; $(MSBUILD) $(MSBUILD_FLAGS) )
 
 HANDLE_FEATURES = \
 	-d:FEATURE_JNIENVIRONMENT_JI_INTPTRS \