Build What Someone Will Use

Before building a solution, it pays to know whether anyone will use it, and finding out almost never requires building it. For every assumption there is a ladder of experiments, from cheapest to most expensive: the problem interview, the navigable mockup, the Wizard of Oz — people simulating behind the scenes the service that does not yet exist —, the working prototype, the pilot with a bounded group and the gradual launch. The professional rule is to climb only the necessary step, buying the evidence for the assumption at stake at the lowest price that provides it. An assistant staffed by people for two weeks, with a small group, is enough to learn whether users ask questions; and it gives away something even more valuable: the real catalog of what they ask, raw material for everything built afterwards.

Want to keep pulling the thread? This topic unfolds in Product Owner (v 2.0) > Experimenting and deciding > Experiments and prototypes > The ladder of evidence.