This document discusses validating that a startup's solution fits the problem it aims to address. It emphasizes the importance of validating assumptions about customers and their problems early in the design process. Customer interviews and surveys are recommended to test the hypothesis that a solution solves a problem customers care about and are willing to pay for. If validation fails to confirm the problem-solution fit, the startup may need to iterate its solution or pivot to a new problem. The goal is to avoid building something nobody wants by continuously validating assumptions with customers.

1. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
@amrani @ibtiquar
PROBLEM SOLUTION FIT
& IDEA VALIDATION
ALI E. AMRANI
IBTIQUAR ‫ابتكار‬
January 3, 2019
ARAB INNOVATION
ACADEMY

2. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Context
2
 Day 1: Teams, Problem Canvas, Ideation
 Day 2: Problem Solution Fit
 Market, Customer dev.
 Day3: Customer validation …

3. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Context
3
36%
18%
13%
12%
21%
Building something nobody wants
Hiring
Focus
Sales and Marketing
All Other
 Top mistakes by startups
Source: illumination C

4. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Context
4
 What are we trying to do?
 Trying to prove, with evidence, that you have a solution for a
problem (pain/potential) that customers care about.
 A problem is anything that is causing pain, or preventing the
customer from a potential gain
 A good problem is one that many customers have, and occurs often
 Customers are wiling to pay to get rid of the problem

5. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Context
5
Evidence
that you
have a
solution for
a problem
Problem is
causing
pain
Many
customers
with
problem,
and occurs
often
Customers
willing to
pay

6. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Context
6
 You need to validate whether your solution will solve a
specific problem
 The earlier you ensure problem-solution fit, the better is
it for your product/service and startup
 Know and involve the customer earlier in the design
phases

7. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Example
7
 Example 1: Phone camera

8. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Example
8
 Example 2: Transportation solution
Company moving its HQ from SF to the SV
 Car loan to buy a car: buying a car is not the right solution!
 Public transportation
 Corporate transportation
 Mileage reimbursement
 … other solution?

9. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
9
 By the end of this exercise:
 Is the problem well defined?
 Can the problem be solved with your solution?
 Who is the customer? Willing to pay for it?
 Remember, at this point, your solution is not
necessarily the product/Service!

10. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Framework
10
•Future behavior
•Current solutions,
alternatives
•Behavior
•Constraints/Limits
•Improvement 1
•Improvement 2
•…
•Customer 1
•Customer 2
•…
Target
customers
Improvements
Future
situation
Current
situation
Problem
• Problem
description/
Pain
Solution
• Solution
description

11. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Problem Questions
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 Which problem do you solve for the customer?
 How often does this problem occur?
 What is the cause of the problem?
 What does the customer do about the problem?
 Can you quantify the impact of the problem?
 Do many customers have the same problem?

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PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Problem
12
Remember,
It is easier to sell Aspirin, than it is to sell
Vitamins.
A ‘Pain’ vs a ‘nice to have’

13. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Assumptions
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 Customer assumptions
 Who is the customer, and customer segments?
 Customer indicators?
 Do they care about the problem?
 Problem assumptions
 Is the problem worth solving?
 How often does the problem occur?
 Is it a problem that many others have?
 Try to root/cause the problem

14. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Hypothesis Validation
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 If we develop this solution;
 It will solve that problem;
 And customers will no longer have to…
 By doing…
 And the improvements are…
Now: you need to test and validate the Hypothesis

15. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Hypothesis Validation
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Validating the Hypothesis
 Is the identified problem real?
 Will the solution deliver value to customer using it?
 Will the problem be solved?
 Will the customer pay for it?

16. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Hypothesis Validation
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Do not validate the hypothesis only by assumption!!
 Validate directly with customers.
 The reality is different that the assumptions …
 The problem is an assumption
 The solution is an assumption
 The fit is an assumption
 … multiply the probabilities and you will be at risk without validation

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PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Hypothesis Validation
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Validation leads to Problem Solution Fit
 In reality, you will be validating this hypothesis throughout the
design of your solution, MVP, and product release
 The more you validate at early stages, the more successful your
product/service will be

18. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
How to validate Problem – Solution Fit
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PROBLEM – SOLUTION – CUSTOMER
• Market research and data
mining, analysis (data alone is
not enough)
• Surveys
• Customer interviews
• Market tests
• Events
• Customer commitment
• …
PRODUCT – SERVICE
• Simulations
• Demo pitches
• Prototypes
• MVP
• Competitor analysis tools
• Transaction
Focus here for now

19. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Customer Interviews
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Interview example:
 What problems do you encounter when you…?
 How often the problem arises?
 How do you currently solve this problem?
 How much do you spend on trying to solve it?
 Questions about the specific solution
 Distinguish between customer complaining, and active problem
solving…..

20. ibtiquar – Ali E. Amrani
PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Validation
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•Future behavior
•Current solutions,
alternatives
•Behavior
•Constraints/Limits
•Improvement 1
•Improvement 2
•…
•Customer 1
•Customer 2
•…
Target
customers
Improvements
Future
situation
Current
situation
Problem Solution
Validation approach
Analysis
…
Conditions

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PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Validation
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 What are the results? Satisfied?
 Decisions
 New insights about the customers
 New insights about the problem
 Iterate (minor change)? Pivot (major change)?
 Validate again

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PROBLEM – SOLUTION FIT
Questions
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Thank you
ALI E. AMRANI
IBTIQUAR ‫ابتكار‬
@amrani @ibtiquar
ARAB INNOVATION
ACADEMY