How do I know there is enough prospective users? What market research should I do?
Hi all,
I've been working on an idea that stuck some time ago and cannot let go.
Very briefly defined: a SaaS CMS for application configuration with continuous delivery integration. This is a common problem that I have observed in multiple applications across employers. Application configuration management was always done badly and management never understood the developer time they are wasting, the productivity lost due to being tedious and the amount of risk they are injecting due to this.
What have I done so far:
- Defined a one pager for rounding up the idea and shared with some friends and colleagues for feedback.
- Defined the MVP to cut scope to the absolute minimum in order to build and validate the idea.
- Researched about tools that solve this specific issue. I haven't found many but I have listed options to solve the problem through combination of other tools.
- Started to build the MVP.
My fear right now is that I have jumped into building too quickly and there might not be any market for it. I am a software engineer so I have a tendency to jump to implementation.
How can I validate the idea and research the market before continuing? What are the signs you have looked for before implementing?
Thank you very much in advance!
I’d start with the folks you know. Go to the companies where you’ve observed this and ask what they think. 1- do they realize this is a problem? 2- do they think its worth paying to fix? If not why not. Dont present any solution just try to understand no matter the answers you get back.plus dont code anymmore until you understand ;)
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I've changed course and would focus on getting more feedback and understanding.
After that, I'm thinking about going more frugal on coding, and just try to find a company interested in using it and then build based on their feedback.
Do you think that would make sense?
Thanks again.
Definitely . I’d go talk to make sure this is a problem for them.
If they confirm then you could propose your solution. I forget if you had pricing but I’d also test that as well right up front.
I’d also go find a forum where folks with this problem may hangout - start a conversation there and see if they confirm.