How to validate product ideas before building an MVP
(Especially when the stakes are high, the team’s misaligned, and your credibility is on the line)
Let’s be honest: there’s nothing more frustrating than launching a product that no one wants.
You thought it made sense. You had data. You had a roadmap. But somehow, the final result still missed the mark.
Here’s the order most teams get wrong: MVP comes last. Before that, you need a working Proof of Concept. And before that, you need a customer-validated prototype—your earliest chance to see if the idea actually resonates. Not with your internal team. With real users.
If you’re leading product in a complex organization—with layers of stakeholders, disconnected customer insights, and the pressure to “move fast”—you’re not just trying to deliver features. You’re trying to protect your career, restore your team’s confidence, and rebuild stakeholder trust.
So how do you validate a product idea before building anything?
How do you know it solves a real problem—not just one someone thinks is important?
The answer: Validate the problem first, not just the MVP.
Too many teams skip straight to the Minimum Viable Product. But here’s the truth:
If the problem isn’t real, the MVP doesn’t matter.
You’ll just end up launching something minimal—and meaningless.
What to do instead: use a Problem Framing–First Design Sprint. We call it an Enterprise Design Sprint—refined for leaders like you who need results, not rituals.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Frame the Real Problem
Before you build anything, you need alignment. Not alignment around solutions. Alignment around what problem actually matters.
In a Problem Framing Workshop, you bring your cross-functional stakeholders (senior decision-makers) together to:
- Make sense of messy customer insights
- Understand the business context
- Justify why this problem is worth solving
- Define a focused problem statement
This 1-day session becomes your strategic reset button.
No more circular debates. No more guessing games. Just clarity.
Step 2: Validate the Solution
Once the right problem is nailed, you move into solution mode—with a sprint team of 5–7 experts. Over four days of focused work your team will:
Day 1: Understand & Define
→ Align on goals, map the customer journey, and spot opportunity gaps.
Day 2: Sketch & Decide
→ Generate ideas fast. Prioritize based on what solves the real problem.
Day 3: Prototype
→ Use AI tools like Uizard to rapidly build a customer-facing prototype.
Day 4: Test with Real Users
→ Watch how people respond. Capture what works, what breaks, and what needs fixing.
You’re not validating features. You’re validating value.
Step 3: Align on next steps
After testing, you synthesize insights into a Replay Report—a decision-making tool that helps you:
- Show exactly what you learned from users
- Align on next steps: build, iterate, or pivot
- Communicate strategy to senior leaders with confidence
This report isn’t just documentation. It’s your proof of leadership.
Good MVPs Start With the Right Problem
In big organizations, MVPs often become political. Everyone wants their slice. The result?
- Features no one asked for
- Half-hearted releases
- Zero customer pull
That’s not validation. That’s survival mode.
But when you validate the problem first, your MVP becomes focused, fast, and customer-backed.
You’re not launching to prove something to leadership. You’re launching to solve something for customers.
Before you build anything new, this framework will empower you to ask:
Have we validated the problem this idea solves?
Have we seen how customers respond to it—before we code?
Do we have alignment, or are we still reacting to noise?
If the answer isn’t a confident yes, don’t start with an MVP.
Start with a Problem Framing Workshop. Then run an Enterprise Design Sprint. And walk into your next stakeholder meeting knowing you’ve done it right.
Get the tools to run your first Problem Framing Workshop or Enterprise Design Sprint.
👉 [Download our free Design Sprint Master ChatGPT for facilitators]
