Problem
Define the real customer problem.
← All idea support
Test before you overbuild
Find out what the idea actually needs to prove.
Go deeper into the customer, market, competition, offer and first version before committing serious time or money.
On this page
The question this answers
Who wants this, what should I offer and how can I test whether demand exists?
EVIDENCE
Know what demand evidence to collect.
Best for
This is likely the right level if...
- You are serious about the idea.
- You need proper customer and competitor research.
- You do not know how to shape the offer or what people might pay.
- You want evidence before spending serious time or money.
- You want to test demand before you overbuild.
What you get
- 2-week engagement
- 2 structured working sessions
- Focused customer + market research
- Competitor analysis
- Customer-language signals
- Offer direction
- Pricing references
- MVP recommendation
- Validation experiment
- First-customer route
- DEV Validation Map
- 14-day action plan
Bounded research and preparation between sessions, with no unlimited access or revisions.
Session 1
Set the research question properly.
Customer
Primary customer, user and potential early adopter.
Customer context
When and why does the problem occur?
Current behaviour
What do they do today?
Current alternative
What happens without this business?
Market and competition
Direct, indirect, alternative behaviour and doing nothing.
Assumptions
What must be proven?
Research questions
What needs understanding before Session 2?
Between sessions
Focused research between sessions
Approximately 5 to 10 useful competitors or alternatives where appropriate.
- Customer language in real conversations, reviews, forums and communities
- Competitor proposition, customer, visible pricing, journey, strengths, gaps and positioning
- Useful market signals without collecting noise
- Pricing references for related solutions and outcomes
- Realistic places to find initial adopters or customers
Session 2
Turn evidence into an offer and a test.
- 01
Who should be tested first?
- 02
What outcome are we offering?
- 03
What does the customer actually receive?
- 04
Why choose this over alternatives?
- 05
What price or range deserves testing?
- 06
What is the smallest credible first version?
- 07
What real-world validation should happen?
- 08
Where are the first realistic users or buyers?
- 09
Continue, change or stop?
Real-world validation
Test demand without defaulting to a full build.
The right experiment depends on the idea. It does not automatically require an app, a full website, a logo or incorporation.
Customer interviewsWaitlistEthical fake-door testManual concierge versionDirect outreachPre-saleLanding pagePrototype demoService pilotSmall group test
What you actually receive
DEV Validation Map
Approximately 8 to 12 useful pages or screens where appropriate.
It connects assumptions to evidence, a bounded demand test and the signals that decide what happens next.
DEV
EVIDENCEIllustrative example
DEMAND EVIDENCE
DEV Validation Map
SiteSignal
ASSUMPTION
→Weekly reporting pain is strong enough to change behaviour.
EVIDENCE
→Look for repeated language and effort already spent.
TEST
→Run three manual Friday brief pilots.
DECISION
Continue only if two managers ask to repeat.
RESEARCH FRAME
Weekly client reporting is slow, inconsistent and hard to reconstruct.
Small fit-out firms where the owner still oversees delivery.
Managers send photos during the week. Someone assembles the update later.
“The job is moving. Proving it to the client is the extra work.”
Chat, shared folders, generic reports and full construction platforms.
Time is already being spent. The open question is willingness to switch and pay.
KEY ASSUMPTIONA useful Friday brief is worth paying for before software exists.
VALIDATION EXPERIMENT
Offer a two-week concierge pilot to five owner-led firms. Build each brief manually from their existing notes.
- SUCCESS2 paid pilots
- CHANGEInterest, but workflow friction
- STOPNo one shares live material
Demand evidencePROBLEMExperiment logicVALIDATION EXPERIMENTNext 14 days14-DAY ACTION PLAN
You should leave knowing
The next move should be clearer than the starting point.
- Who to target
- What problem to lead with
- What to offer
- How to talk about it
- What price range to test
- What first version to build
- How to test demand
- What evidence would change the plan
- What to do during the next 14 days
DEV Idea Validation
Know what demand evidence to collect.
15 minutes to understand what you are working through and whether DEV can actually help.