Concept validation is such an important step in any digital product development and should never be ignored, overlooked or minimised. It is the process of testing a concept or idea for a new product, offering, or service to determine if it is viable and feasible for the product to move forward and succeed. Concept validation ensures that you have a robust foundation of research, data, and feedback from users, customers, and stakeholders to inform the process of creating a digital product or solution.

From market research to market position

The concept validation process can include a variety of activities such as user research, market research, competitive analysis, and even prototyping. The goal of concept validation is to determine the viability of the potential product or feature and to better understand how it should be built and marketed. By validated you had a sound idea, that will actually achieve your objectives, your innovation team can get a better sense of how the product will perform in the real world and how best to position it in the market.

The concept validation process is essential to ensure a successful product launch. By gaining an understanding of user needs and user behaviour, developers can create more effective and usable digital products. At the same time, research into the competitive landscape can help to determine an optimal market positioning for the offer, as well as informing pricing and product feature decisions.

Getting input from potential users

User feedback is an important part of this process, as it allows developers to see how the concept is perceived by those who would actually be using it. It is also a great way to gain early adopters and fans of the product before it is even launched. A properly conducted concept validation process can identify potential problems or issues that may arise in the product development process, saving developers invaluable time and money in the long run.

How Design Sprints expedite validation

Running a design sprint is a great way to quickly validate your product concept and test it with potential customers to ensure it is viable. It is a fast-paced process that allows you to go from concept to prototype in just five days and receive valuable customer feedback. Design sprints help to quickly move through the product development process by focusing on quickly validating an idea, understanding customer needs, and finalising the product's design.

The steps involved in a design sprint are:

1. Start with a Goal: During the first step, the team should decide the goal of the design sprint and the desired output. It's important to identify a customer-centric problem and have a clear goal to give the team direction.
2. Ideate and Experiment: The team should then explore potential solutions. Brainstorm new ideas and experiment with different variations of the concept. It is important to come up with multiple solutions and use customer feedback to see which routes are most possible.
3. Build & Test: At this point in the process, the team should design and develop a prototype during a hackathon. This phase should involve testing with customer focus groups and getting feedback.
4. Iterate & Refine: After getting customer feedback, the team should be able to iterate on the product and further refine the prototype with this input.
5. Reflection & Learning: After completing the design sprint, the team should reflect on their experience and ensure that the customer feedback was valuable. This step is important to ensure insights are learned.

A design sprint is a great way to quickly validate a product concept and receive customer feedback quickly and efficiently. If done correctly, it can save time and money in the long run.

Don’t fail with a bad idea

You can’t guarantee every idea is a good one, but you can minimise your risk drastically by small upfront investment into what we believe is the most important step in any digital product development processes. Without it, developers can end up making decisions without having the proper data to back them up. It is essential to verify the viability of a concept before investing in a product and launching it into the market. By taking the time to properly validate a concept, you can ensure that your product will succeed and fulfil the needs of its users.

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Have a good idea you need validated?

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