Solution validation
Definition
Solution validation is the process of testing whether a proposed solution will actually solve the target customer's problem in a way they'll adopt — using the cheapest possible method before committing engineering resources to full development.
Solution validation comes after problem validation. Once the team is confident the problem is real and worth solving, the question becomes: does our proposed solution actually work?
The goal of solution validation is to reduce four risks: value risk (users want this), usability risk (users can figure it out), feasibility risk (the team can build it), and viability risk (the business should build it). The team picks the riskiest assumption and finds the cheapest test that generates real signal.
Techniques by cost and fidelity:
- Concept test — describe the solution verbally or with a sketch. Ask users to react.
- Paper prototype — hand-drawn screens. Walk users through a task. Observe where they hesitate or fail.
- Clickable prototype — low or high fidelity, built in Figma or similar. Run a moderated usability test.
- Fake door test — build the UI for the feature; instrument what happens when users click it. Don't build the feature yet.
- Concierge MVP — deliver the value manually before automating it. Test whether the value is real.
- MVP — the smallest version that can deliver the core value. Build it when no cheaper test is available.
The discipline is to never build the more expensive version when the cheaper version can answer the question. Most teams skip straight to MVP when a paper prototype would have given 80% of the signal at 5% of the cost.
Solution validation sessions produce prototypes, wireframes, and test plans — and start with whiteboard sketches of the proposed solution concept. BoardSnap captures those early-stage sketching sessions so the solution rationale is preserved alongside the test results.
Examples
- A five-screen Figma prototype tested with six users before engineering picks up the ticket
- A fake door button on the settings page measuring intent before the feature is built
- A concierge test where the PM manually creates summaries for five pilot users to validate the value
- A paper prototype walked through in a hallway test with three real users
Snap a solution validation. Ship its actions.
BoardSnap turns any whiteboard — including this one — into a summary and action plan.