Solution Design and Development

The key to solution development is identifying a problem that needs resolution. Too often businesses fall into the trap of developing something they believe is needed and investing in trying to make that work, whereas if you understand the problem or the job that needs to be addressed, you are starting from a place of relevance. I like to refer back to the story about McDonald's Milkshakes, where the secret lay in the functionality—the JTBD—of a milkshake for breakfast versus the flavour or recipe improvements. 

Following a design science approach, I like to take the problem and ideate around potential solutions. We use models to identify the user experience against the competitive landscape, our internal capabilities, and expected financial outcomes to rank our ideas. It is the fun part of the process and a breath of fresh air from run the business activity.

Everything is a test. We first define what our MVP or prototype should look like, and how we will measure success. This then is tested in a real-life setting to gather datapoints to validate our assumptions around problem resolution. The criteria takes us back to the initial JTBD we identified at the beginning: does the solution solve it? If yes, how well?

At this point, we either iterate or roll out and fully develop the solution ready to take to market.