A great idea is only the beginning in the cutthroat field of app development. Verifying that your idea appeals to your target audience is essential to true success. Validation offers your concept a solid foundation and excites stakeholders and possible investors. It demonstrates that actual clients respect your idea and will occasionally even put their money where their mouth is to help it grow. We at Platform App Design are here to help you through this important step since we recognise how important it is.The Danger of Ignoring Validation"If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design"Imagine spending a lot of time, money, and resources developing an app only to find that it doesn't fulfil

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The Risk of Skipping Validation:

"If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design"

Imagine spending a lot of time, money, and resources developing an app only to find out later that it doesn't address a legitimate market need. You're basically travelling in the dark without validation.Since there is no proof that customers will be interested, stakeholders grow hesitant.You run the danger of releasing a product that isn't successful, leaving you with an expensive and underutilised app.It's critical to comprehend your target market.Ignoring validation significantly raises the risk of a blind approach, in which you are uncertain whether your product actually meets a need or solves an issue.

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1. Understand the Problem Your App Solves:

"People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill; they want a quarter-inch hole." - Clayton Christensen"

A quarter-inch hole is what people desire, not a quarter-inch drill. This well-known statement by Clayton Christensen encapsulates the "Jobs to Be Done" structure, which completely reverses the traditional method. It compels us to sit back and determine the task your users are attempting to accomplish rather than concentrating on the tool or solution. This change in viewpoint has the potential to unleash amazing creativity. What if we were unable to go past the notion that a "drill" was the answer? We might just attempt to create a better drill with more features, more power, etc. However, by concentrating on the task ("creating a hole"), we give ourselves access to completely different opportunities. Perhaps a drill isn't the greatest option at all!

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Airbnb is one example.They looked at the "job" that travellers were attempting to accomplish—finding cosy and reasonably priced lodging—rather than concentrating on making hotels better. As a result, they developed a website that links homeowners with tourists, completely changing the hospitality sector. By concentrating on the "job," we may overcome traditional thinking and find creative solutions that genuinely satisfy customer wants. Let's now determine the "job" your app is being hired to perform and the client.

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• What "job" are your users hiring your app to do? Are they trying to simplify their daily commute, manage their health and fitness, connect with their community, learn a new skill, or manage their home more effectively?
• Who are these users? What are their demographics (age, location, occupation, etc.)? What are their needs, pain points, and motivations? How do they interact with technology? What are their values and interests?

By conducting "Jobs to Be Done" interviews and surveys, you can uncover valuable insights into both the "job" and the customer. This approach allows you to:

• Identify the core jobs your app is hired for: What are the underlying needs and motivations driving users to seek a solution?
• Understand your target audience: Who are these users, and what are their characteristics, behaviours, and preferences?
• Uncover opportunities for innovation: By understanding the "job" and the customer, you can identify gaps in the market and develop truly innovative solutions.

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2. Perform Opportunity Scoring:

It's time to evaluate the state of the market after you have a firm grasp on your client and the "job" they need done. Opportunity scoring enters the picture here. In order to identify underserved needs, we evaluate how well current solutions handle the defined "jobs". The same issue may be addressed by numerous apps, overserving the market. We concentrate on the needs that aren't being sufficiently addressed, or the gaps. Your prospects of breaking into the market and providing your users with genuine value are increased by this focused strategy.

Think of it like this: Imagine a university student juggling various "jobs" – passing exams, finding cheap food, getting out of bed, completing homework, etc. Each job has a certain level of importance to the student, and there are existing solutions (products, services, or even habits) that address these jobs with varying degrees of satisfaction.

Let's now see these "jobs" represented on a graph, such as the one below. The job's importance is represented by the x-axis, while the degree of satisfaction with the current solutions is represented by the y-axis.

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As you can see, some jobs are over-served – there are plenty of solutions that satisfy those needs quite well. For example, "finding cheap food" might have numerous options available.

On the other hand, some jobs are underserved – there aren't many satisfactory solutions available. In the visual, "passing exams" is a critical job for the student, but it's highly underserved. This indicates a significant opportunity for an app that can effectively help students prepare for and pass their exams.

By plotting the "jobs" on this landscape, we can identify the areas with the highest potential for your app. We want to focus on the underserved needs, where your app can make the biggest impact and gain a competitive edge.

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3. Ideate on solutions:

After determining an underutilised market opportunity and comprehending your client's demands, it's time to come up with some ideas. Your ability to be creative and solve problems will be useful in this situation

• Gather Evidence: Conduct thorough research to understand the problem space and explore potential solutions. This can involve customer interviews, surveys, competitor analysis, and reviewing industry best practices.
• Ideation Sessions:  Facilitate brainstorming sessions with your team, stakeholders, and even potential customers to generate a wide range of ideas.
• Jobs-to-be-Done Focus:  Keep the core "job" in mind throughout the ideation process. Ensure that your proposed solutions directly address the underlying needs and motivations of your target audience.

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4. Test and evaluate your ideas

After gathering a number of possible solutions, it's time to test and evaluate them to determine which ones are most likely to succeed and connect with your target audience. You can validate your ideas and obtain insights using a variety of techniques:

• Kano Model Analysis:  This model helps categorise potential features based on how they impact user satisfaction. It identifies which features are essential (Must-haves), which enhance satisfaction (Performance), and which delight users (Attractive). This analysis helps prioritise development and focus on the features that deliver the most value.  
• Concept Testing:  Present different solution concepts to potential users and gather their feedback. This can involve surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one interviews.
• A/B Testing:  If you have multiple variations of a solution, A/B test them with target users to see which performs best. This involves showing different versions to separate groups and comparing their responses or behaviours.  
• Usability Testing:  If you have a basic prototype or mockup, conduct usability testing to observe how users interact with it and identify any areas for improvement in the user experience.

For additional reading, see our other post that walks through the steps of configuring these tests. The importance of UX Research and how to conduct It

Important Note:  Although testing and analysis aid in confirming the app's desirability—or how much people want it—it's also critical to take into account its viability, or how long-term it can be profitable.Without a sound business plan, even a great concept that addresses a genuine issue could fail.

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5. Build, Measure, Learn, and Refine:

After testing and analysing your concepts, it's time to launch your app! Instead, begin with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and work your way up to the full version. This is a streamlined version of your application that just has the essential functionality required to fulfil your users' main "job."Constructing an MVP enables you to:

Building an MVP allows you to:

• Validate your idea:  Get your app into the hands of real users and see how they interact with it.
• Gather feedback early on:  Identify any usability issues or areas for improvement before investing heavily in development.
• Reduce risk:  Minimise the risk of building a product that doesn't meet user needs.

Perfection is not the goal at this point; learning and iteration are. Think of Dropbox's early, simple file-sharing video Dropbox infamous how to video or Netflix's initial DVD rental service How Netflix Became a $100 Billion Company in 20 Years. Before making significant investments, they were able to prove their key value proposition with these MVPs.

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Wrap up:

It's important to validate your app idea since, in the long run, it can save you money, effort, and frustration. Building a successful product that people enjoy is more likely if you follow the steps described in this article.

We at Platform App Design are experts at helping our clients go through this validation process. We will assist you:

• Understand your customer and their needs
• Identify underserved opportunities in the market
• Ideate on innovative solutions
• Test and analyse your ideas
• Build, measure, learn, and refine your MVP

Ready to bring your app idea to life?  Book a free discovery call with us today. We'll discuss your vision, explore the possibilities, and help you validate your concept to set you up for success.

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