A Beginner's Guide to Product Discovery: Tackling the Four Key Risks

When creating a new product, it's essential to identify and address potential challenges early on. This is where product discovery comes in! In this blog post, we'll explore the four main risks that product discovery helps to tackle: value, usability, feasibility, and business viability. By understanding these risks, you'll be better prepared to create successful products people love using.

Value Risk: Will people buy or use the product?

First, determine if your target audience will find your product valuable. To tackle value risk, you must understand who your customers are, what they need, and how your product will help them. You can use tools like market research, user interviews, and surveys to learn more about your customers and their preferences.

Usability Risk: Can people easily use the product?

Next, making sure your product is easy to use is crucial. Usability risk involves ensuring your customers can figure out how to use your product without any trouble. To address this risk, focus on creating a user-friendly design and testing your product with real users. This way, you can spot any issues and make your product as simple as possible.

Feasibility Risk: Can we actually build the product?

The third risk in product discovery is determining if your team can create the product. Feasibility risk looks at factors like technical limitations, available resources, and your team's skills. To handle this risk, talk with your development team to see if the project is doable. You can also do a technical assessment to identify potential challenges and find solutions.

Business Viability Risk: Does this product make sense for our business?

Lastly, your product needs to work well for your business. Business viability risk means checking if your product fits your company's goals, values, and overall strategy. To address this risk, consider factors like market trends, competition, and your product's profitability. Work with stakeholders and decision-makers to ensure your product supports your organization's long-term success.

Product discovery is crucial to creating new products because it helps you address four key risks: value, usability, feasibility, and business viability. By understanding and managing these risks, you'll be better prepared to create products people love and contribute to your business's success. Keep these risks in mind as you start your product development journey, and you'll be well on your way to crafting amazing products that stand the test of time.