Hey there. You now have decided which idea you want to follow, based on existing evidence. Good!

Unfortunately, that is not enough. You can never know in advance if your feature has the wanted positive impact on your business. Prioritization (including Pre-Validation) does not make Validation obsolete. You have to validate further.

1. Validation Intro

In our world, validation means gathering evidence in favor of a target outcome. Anything that rules out uncertainty and risk will help you validate.

<aside> 🧪 Validation = gathering evidence to increase confidence in favor of a target outcome

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Validation on the way to the target outcome, decreasing uncertainty and risk, increasing confidence

Validation on the way to the target outcome, decreasing uncertainty and risk, increasing confidence

Generally speaking, validation can happen in three phases:

  1. Pre-Validation: happens before the feature is built, gathering evidence out of existing sources (what you just did during the preceding step while you calculated the confidence value of your ideas)
  2. Validation: This happens during the development of the feature. You gather new evidence with a suitable validation method.
  3. Post-Validation: happens after the feature has gone live. You measure

Now it is time to talk about validation during the development of your idea. Because regardless of how great your idea may seem in theory - you have to confirm with strong evidence that it will work.

1. Available Validation Methods

But how do you gain strong evidence? When it comes to validation, most people instantly think of an AB-Test (or.. well, at least I do 🤷‍♀️). Believe me, there are a lot more ways to increase confidence!

Here you will find a list of available validation methods at Comparis:

Validation Methods

Impressive, right? Please note that this list is by no means complete - there are much more validation methods you could use. Don't be overwhelmed by it or mistake it as a checklist you are expected to follow step by step. This list shows you what is possible and available for you: a wide range and variety of methods to validate your idea.

2. Picking the right Validation Method