ByTo conduct a successful Product Discovery, it is essential to be familiar with the most commonly used techniques and to rely on software product discovery services that help facilitate the tasks and make decisions based on accurate and concrete information. The ultimate goal? To create a functional product for users that ensures they continue to support your company.
But today, we will not focus on what Product Discovery is or is used for, nor on how the product discovery process works, but rather on the risks this process faces and what needs to be considered when undertaking it.
Product Discovery Risk Phase
This phase of Product Discovery focuses on assessing how the project will develop over time. It involves studying the various problems and risks that may arise during the evolution and understanding whether the project we are developing will become a future problem or will bring benefits through its progress and development.
Several sectors and teams from the overall process, if not all, will be involved in this phase. Project Managers, UX Designers, developers, and the heads of the company, among others, will play a crucial role. The key is to surround yourself with talent in all areas, ensuring that each part of the process is approached with the necessary professionalism. For instance, hiring remote developers provided by agencies specialized in software development will give you that certainty and also help reduce costs by hiring a dedicated developers team for a set period without committing to permanent contracts. If you’re looking for this, you can start with Avalith.
The risks that can be encountered during the process can be classified into four main types:
- Value Generation Risks: Understanding and analyzing what type of audience would be interested in our product and willing to buy it.
- Usability Risks: The product must be easy to use and intuitive to make it as simple as possible for the user.
- Feasibility Risks: Having sufficient resources for the development and construction of the product.
- Financial Risks: Analyzing the various economic data to observe whether it is financially viable and will work in the current market.
Let’s delve a little deeper into each of them.
First Risk: Your product does not generate value
One of the most important aspects of a digital product is generating value for users, and the value generated is measured in only one way: customers are willing to pay.
But, to discover what brings value to your customers, you need to see what your business is doing. To get useful answers, it will be important to ask relevant questions such as: What do my competitors offer compared to what I offer? What makes my customers choose me over the others?
If we don’t have clear answers to these questions, you might unknowingly be in a red ocean. This means the ocean is full of “blood” due to competition, and it will be very challenging to provide value to the customer while also making good income by delivering that value.
On the other hand, thinking deeply and consciously about what could be done to make that difference and testing ideas as quickly as possible to see if there is value in them is essential.
Second Risk: The product is not usable
Many times, by focusing on creating an innovative product with an exclusive design, we forget the fundamental aspect: it must be useful. To achieve this and create a product that truly solves users’ problems, many steps must be taken, which can lead to giving up and seeking an alternative or simply not releasing anything to the market.
This is why it is essential to validate designs with end customers: to ensure the product has the least usability issues possible.
Additionally, the opposite can also happen: having the right product that does solve customers’ problems, but by not validating it, it is completely discarded without even being given a chance.
Third Risk: The business is not viable
A crucial point is evaluating the financial model of the company and the resources available to understand if the product you want to develop will be profitable. Having this information in advance is to check whether the costs you will face are worth the risk or if it’s better to abandon the project before starting.
The reality is this: if these financial calculations are not made, it could not only result in an unprofitable business but also lead to a worse scenario: bankruptcy.
That’s why it’s important that the product is viable for the business and to do everything possible to minimize this risk.
Fourth Risk: It’s too expensive for current technology
Sometimes, it’s necessary to understand that no matter how much we want to develop a product, it’s not possible with the existing resources. Part of Product Discovery also involves analyzing those pain points where it is essential to know what is available to determine what can and cannot be done.
New technologies open many doors to new businesses that seemed impossible some time ago and are now not only perfectly possible but can even be surpassed.
It’s not just important to have brilliant ideas anymore; it’s also necessary to ask questions about the risks these ideas may present whenever you want to develop a digital product. Remember, if you can mitigate these risks, the chances of success will only increase.
