Ask HN: Without programming the thing first, how do you validate X?
Given a business need or a good idea you have stumbled upon. How do you validate whether you should spent your time trying to create something from that idea.
Most of us has tried that the nearest customer was one self or a manager. But that's a poor case if you wish to cater to an actual industry such as logistics, food, healtcare etc.
Having been in IT for nearly 25 years I am still stunned whenever I see people simply throwing technology at a challenge or idea with slowing down and actually research and validate the idea and hypothesis.
How do you actual go about this before you start carving the wood?
There is a whole discipline on entrepreneurship study that talks about validating a product and business idea. It is build on the concept on failing fast, so that you can identify and address potential failure early or pivot to a better idea.
The steps: - Launch a minimum viable product to test market response. This can be as simple as a paper prototype (a concept or conversation starter), a hybrid of existing tech to address a customer pain-point or an alpha version of software development. This may also be seen (from an outsider point of view) as "people simply throwing technology at a challenge". - Iterate and refine the product to better fit the needs. - Optimise for greater gains. Learn from failures. Pivot if needed.
Businesses are ultimately a manner to meet market demands and solve customer needs. It is meant to apply existing research and knowledge to cater to the customers, and not the other way around. If you are interested in research and validate ideas/hypotheses, then you are better off being in a R&D department of a large company that can afford such cost centre for a much longer term profitability.
The only way I have seen it practically done is quasi fraud. Sell the thing and then figure out how to do it. I worked for a company in university that sold this technology that just did not exist and when not enough customers were found, just refunded their money.
At the risk of being accused of shilling for these people: