Do I have to complete all the steps before I start development?
Mehdi Verfaillie asked 4 years ago
I’m trying to complete all the answers I need to make to the 24 steps, but sometimes I feel that the answers I find are based on unfounded assumptions, especially in step 8, or even on questions like this: “Estimate the speed at which you can dominate the market”
Do I have to complete all the steps before I start development?
(currently working on my first business)
THX
William K Aulet answered 4 years ago
You do not have to complete all the steps before you start development even though that would be the best case scenario. However, any development you do, you should be aware of the “IKEA Effect” which I describe in the article on this website called “Our Dangerous Obsession with the MVP” https://www.d-eship.com/articles/our-dangerous-obsession-with-the-mvp/ .
The problem with starting to code or develop prototypes is that we get too attached to them and move out of inquiry mode and into advocacy mode too early. It also is expensive and time consuming compared to using brochures or digital mockups to test customer response to your hypotheses.
But that being said, engineers are engineers and sometimes the best way to test hypotheses is with a quick prototype but be very careful of the dangerous IKEA effect. It gets us to start focusing on the product instead of the customer’s problem/opportunity.
Marius Ursache Staff answered 4 years ago
Reid Hoffman once said
Building a startup is like throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down.
You can see the DE book and framework as a how-to manual for building airplanes under such situations. You rarely have the luxury of building your plane in a secret hangar, then release it to the world with a ‘Bang!’. Most of the times, this ‘Bang!’ is the sound of the airplane crashing, not the champagne popping.