Is My Idea A Good One?
This happens to me all the time.
“I have a good idea for an app. Can you help me build it?”
Usually, the idea is ok. It is seldom brilliant. If it is, we make it happen. But usually, it’s not a good idea.
So, how do you figure out if you have a good idea or not?
I find good ideas by asking three questions.
- Is it simple?
- Does it solve a problem for me?
- Do I know why it’s a good idea?
If I can’t say yes to all three questions, I either need to find more cash to make the no a yes or I need to move on. These three questions have saved me from a great deal of headaches.
Is it simple?
If the idea isn’t simple, it won’t happen. One reason for this is that you don’t know what the problem is. Even in a complex domain, there are simple problems to solve. When your idea spans several disciplines and markets, you don’t have a simple idea. You have a complex nest of problems.
Does it solve a problem for me?
If you are not solving a problem that you have, you do not have a good idea. It’s easier to understand a problem if you have the problem. If you struggle with the problem and come up with a solution for yourself, you might have a good idea. It’s amazing how many solutions we develop for ourselves that can be used by other people.
Do I know why it’s a good idea?
If you don’t know why it’s a good idea than you don’t have a good idea. If you don’t understand the research and you don’t understand where your solution fits in the overall market, you might be recreating a solved problem. If that is the case, then you don’t understand that your solution is not the simplest solution for the problem that people are having.
Having to understand the problem may seem obvious but I assure you it’s not. Even a simple todo list is a complex solution to a very personal problem. When you solve your problem, you know what it should do and what it shouldn’t do. If you try to develop a solution for someone else’s todo list, you have to know what that person needs from the list!
Despite all that I still think I have a good idea, what do I do now?
Apply money or time.
You can get any of those questions to yes with enough money or time. And, honestly, you’ll need one or the other because we can’t be experts at everything and good products are incredibly complex.
Need to understand a problem better, buy or do the research yourself.
Does the idea solve a problem for you? No? Then find those that it is an issue for to work with them to tell you what you need to do. Or, make it your problem. Take it on and figure it out.
We all have ideas. And honestly, ideas don’t mean anything unless you execute. You can filter out a lot of junk by just asking those three questions.
Next week, can I even do this idea?
This is part of an ongoing series called Making Things That Matter. Each week I will send you another step in the process of building products and launching ideas. Signup here to join the conversation.
