What is Desirability, Feasibility and Viability? Assessing your value proposition

In an increasingly competitive business landscape, innovation is paramount. Yet, to succeed with your innovation efforts, your company, product or service must fulfil three core criteria: desirability, feasibility, and viability.

Originally coined by the global design firm IDEO, It is these 3 words that drive our entire LAUNCH framework at Underdawgs.

Unpacking Desirability, Feasibility and Viability

Desirability: Meeting a Want or Need 🤩

Desirability must be considered when assessing an idea for a product or service. It relates to the product's appeal to the target audience. If a product isn't desirable, it won't be purchased or used, regardless of its technical brilliance or potential profitability.

In determining a product's desirability, one must answer the following questions:

• Does the product solve a real and painful problem for its intended users? We tend to focus on jobs to be done to increase our confidence of solving real problems.
• Is the product intuitive and pleasing to use?
• Can the product compete effectively with existing solutions?

It is of no surprise then, that entrepreneurs are typically told to answer their own problems. In doing this, they naturally don’t need to run such an extensive of effective customer development model, as they are at least confident there is some need for their product.

By answering these questions, companies can ensure that they are creating a product that is both wanted and needed by their customers.
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Feasibility: Realising the Idea 💡

Feasibility is the second criterion to consider. It refers to the practicality of creating the product. A feasible product is one that can be made using existing or easily obtainable technology and resources.

To evaluate a product's feasibility, companies must consider the following aspects:

• Can the required technology be developed within a reasonable time frame and at a reasonable cost?
• This can typically be done far quicker, and cheaper than many entrepreneurs realise, using existing software. Often, all it takes is skilled people to bring this together quickly. This is why at Underdawgs, we work with extremely skilled, streamlined teams.
• Can the product be distributed in a way that ensures it reaches the target customers?
• Can the company’s existing operational capabilities support that product's creation and distribution?

By addressing these concerns, companies can determine whether they have the means to bring their product idea to life.

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Viability: Ensuring Profitability 💰

The final criterion, viability, examines whether the product makes sound business sense. A viable product is one that will generate profit for the company, both immediately after launch and in the long term.

Viability can be assessed by considering the following questions:

• Who will pay for the product, and how much will they be willing to pay?
• Can the product be produced at a cost that allows for profitable sales? That is, are its unit economics potentially profitable?
• Will the product generate sustainable profits?

By evaluating a product's viability, companies can ensure that their product will contribute to their bottom line.

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The Fall of Quibi: A Practical Example

Let's consider an example to illustrate the application of the desirability, feasibility, and viability criteria.
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Quibi was a short-form video streaming service, designed to be the new way to consume content on the go. Quibi would specialise in short-form and specific mobile optimised videos that could be enjoyed in both landscape and portrait mode.

With $2 billion raised before launch, and a whole host of Hollywood talent in line to provide Quibi movies and shows, how is it that the streaming service came to crash and burn?

Quite simply, they lacked the desirability they needed from customers.

• The short-form video format was not nearly as big a hook as they thought it would be.
• Nearly all of the shows in Quibi’s catalogue were mediocre.
• Execs eventually gave in to the demand to support AirPlay and Chromecast. In doing so, they disabled their turn-style technology, practically the only thing setting them apart.
• Their prices were too high, especially considering their market was so used to consuming content for free elsewhere.

On top of all these issues, no one could quite get to the crux of ‘Why do I need Quibi?’. And that right there is your answer as to why the platform failed. Quibi never gave a compelling reason to get people to download, automatically failing at the first hurdle of desirability.

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The Importance Balancing Desirability, Feasibility and Viability ⚖️

This is a prime example of how all the feasibility and viability can be there (huge financial backing and an experienced team), but without the holy trinity, your product will fail.

When a product is desirable, feasible, and viable, it sits in the 'sweet spot' for innovation. However, if any of this criteria isn’t met the risks and costs associated with designing, building, and launching the product increase.

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Conclusion

By ensuring that a product is wanted or needed by customers, can be created with existing or easily obtainable technology and resources, and will be profitable, companies can maximise their chances of success. By maintaining a balance between these three factors, companies can navigate the complex landscape of innovation and achieve sustainable growth.

To really harness the power of this trifecta, it's crucial to integrate it into every stage of your design process. This way, you can ensure that your product is continuously assessed against these criteria, and any potential issues can be identified and addressed early on.

So, next time you're faced with a new product idea, remember to ask yourself: is it desirable? Is it feasible? Is it viable? Only then can you be confident that you're on the path to successful innovation.

Or if you want the help of some people who do this for a living day in and day out, reach out to Underdawgs and we’ll be happy to have a chat.

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