3. Test early and often

This standard is linked to the following Principle for Digital Development: Design With the User.

We test things to reduce the risk of failure later on. Every product or service is built on a series of hypotheses and assumptions. The larger the assumption, the more likely it needs to be tested. For instance: 

• Desirability —  Do users want this? Are we meeting their needs?
• Viability — Can we create enough value that people will use it? Can the solution exist in our local context?
• Feasibility —  Can we legally do this? Can this be built with available technology? Do we have a third-party company that can provide this solution for us?

We test by creating simple prototypes. These can be as simple as a series of sketches or a design prototype made in a tool such as Figma. Prototyping tests your ideas in real life-context instead of describing your solution. 

The feedback you receive from testing prototypes can help you make better decisions about your product and service without the time-consuming and expensive route of building the entire product up front. 

The typical process is: Idea → Build → Launch → Learn.

Prototypes can help skip the build and launch phases, and you can go straight from Idea → Learn. 

Testing should then be done repeatedly in your project lifecycle. Building a digital product or service needs continuous user feedback to ensure you are launching the right solution. 

Be prepared to be wrong. Stay open to changing your original plan based on feedback. If things don’t work, iterate based on user feedback. Changing and testing a prototype is much faster and cheaper than doing so with a real product — so use this opportunity to prototype and learn!

"If a picture is worth 1000 words, a prototype is worth 1000 meetings." Tom & David Kelley