Solution Validation

Of all the solution ideas we developed, which should we pursue?

Solution Validation Phase
Solution Validation Phase

Key Objectives / Key Questions

Select solutions and decide what to build next.

Key Activities

  • Create UX prototypes and test them with users
  • Run proof-of-concept implementations to double-check the feasibility
  • Involve customers, e.g. via Customer Advisory Boards, let them test and provide feedback
  • Build high-fidelity designs to mimic final look-and-feel
  • Generate more technical plans for later implementation, including details for milestones, MVPs, and staged releases
  • Ensure close alignment around technical requirements across the entire product team

Exit Criteria

  • The involved product team (Product Managers, UX Research, UX Design, and Engineering) have agreed on the solutions to build.
  • The involved product team has a shared understanding of every potential solution, for example by way of telling the same story about the user journey.
  • For every solution, the product team is positive regarding the Four Key Risks.

Involved Team Members

  • Product Managers are in the lead and accountable.
  • UX Design helps to generate sketches and build prototypes.
  • UX Research helps with user testing.
  • Engineering teams provide technical insights and solution proposals.

Tools and Techniques

  • Value Proposition Canvas or Lean UX Canvas to provide a holistic view, from JTBD to required features of the product
  • RICE or similar prioritization methods that relate the expected value of features to the estimated effort – but handle with care due to the sometimes misleading nature of these tools
  • PRDs, MOSCoW, or similar descriptions of needs that serve as a requirement for Engineering – but beware the Agile Manifesto: “Communication over documentation”
  • Continue working with Opportunity Solution Trees or Impact Mapping to keep all insights and learnings inside a uniform and consistent framework – but now extend with more details about the intended solutions, e.g. by way of:
  • User Stories and User Story Maps to describe the intended behavior of solutions in a step-by-step manner, ideally now each step can be accompanied by design sketches

Things to Watch out for

  • Don’t build yet. Keep it still fast and lean. Use modern prototyping tools or No Code platforms to quickly build something tangible. If you really need the Engineering team to code, then focus on the test you want to run and develop production-level code only later.
  • Prioritize ruthlessly. Be sharp about the minimal feature set needed and eliminate any nice-to-have requirements.
  • Involve the UX team. E.g. for user testing, Product Managers are often too much in love with their ideas and, hence, biased. Involving UX Research ensures that we focus on the user.
  • Beware your capacity. If you want a realistic plan, take into account the Engineering teams at your disposal, their capacity, and other items they might be working on. According to our experience, planning with 50% capacity is realistic.
  • Think about the Appetite as defined in Shape Up: How much would it be worth to build a feature?

Example

A B2B Supply Chain Management vendor explored the integration of advanced blockchain technology to enhance transparency, trust, and security in any transaction across the supply chain. However, after user research and feasibility studies, they realized that this technology would add significant complexity, cost, and interoperability challenges. Hence, they decided to not pursue blockchain integration but instead focus on improving existing features.

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Chapter 14:
Solution Discovery
Chapter 16:
Delivery
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Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1:
Preface
Chapter 2:
The Four Key Risks
Chapter 3:
Focus on B2B
Chapter 4:
StartUp vs. ScaleUp
Part II: From Vision to Roadmap
Chapter 5:
Purpose & Vision
Chapter 6:
From Vision to Product Mission
Chapter 7:
From Mission to Product Strategy
Chapter 8:
From Strategy to Product Roadmap
Chapter 9:
From Roadmap to Product Backlog
Part III: The PM Process
Chapter 10:
Process Overview
Chapter 11:
Idea Collection
Chapter 12:
Problem Discovery
Chapter 13:
Problem Definition
Chapter 14:
Solution Discovery
Chapter 15:
Solution Validation
Chapter 16:
Delivery
Chapter 17:
Distribution
Chapter 18:
Optimization
Part IV: Life as a Product Manager
Chapter 19:
Archetypes of Product Managers
Chapter 20:
Traits of a Great Product Manager
Chapter 21:
Competency Assessment
Chapter 22:
Transitioning into Product Management
Chapter 23:
Business Acumen for Product Managers
Chapter 24:
Communication as a Product Manager
Chapter 25:
Implementing Customer Discovery – A Case Study
Part V: Product Leadership
Chapter 26:
From Individual Contributor to Product Leader
Chapter 27:
Onboarding New Product Managers