Jason Fried on product validation.
‘How do you know if what you’re doing is right while you’re doing it? You can’t be. You can only have a hunch, a feeling, a belief. And if the only way to tell if you’ve completely missed the mark is to ask other people and wait for them to tell you, then you’re likely too far lost from the start. If you make products, you better have a sense of where you’re heading without having to ask for directions.’
I often get asked if a certain page design or ad is going to work before it’s even off the drawing board and Jason’s post echos my thoughts. You just can’t.
Sure something may have worked before, for another company, in another medium but will it work now? I don’t know. But I do know that we can try it out, tweaking the idea until it does or doesn’t. Either way we’ll know for sure.
