The power of user research: Val Morgan's $300k lesson in product development
Val Morgan approached us to evaluate a $300k proposal to design and build a new product. Through our user research workshops and idea validation process, we found there was no market need, saving Val Morgan $300k in development costs and months of their team’s time.
Val Morgan is a leader in the advertising industry
For over 125 years, Val Morgan has been a leading force in the Australian advertising industry. Established in 1894, Val Morgan has evolved over the years to become the premier provider of cinema advertising in Australia and New Zealand.
Their network of over 2,000 cinema screens provides advertisers with access to a highly sought-after audience in a high-impact environment. They offer a comprehensive range of advertising solutions that include media websites and digital out-of-home screens in shopping centres, gyms, and office towers.
To continue providing the best advertising experiences for their clients, Val Morgan, are consistently looking for new opportunities to better their user experience. This is why they approached us to help explore a new product concept.
An opportunity had been identified, but was it worth pursuing?
Val Morgan approached us with a $300k proposal to design and build a new mobile app, but were unsure of the market need. Their objective was to explore the new app concept, understand the potential market, and determine the viability before investing in its development.
Idea validation proved to be the most vital step
To address Val Morgan's challenges and objectives, we held initial stakeholder workshops to understand the problem space better. We then conducted user research with a conceptual product (which we rapidly prototyped up) to test the idea. The user research showed that there was no problem to fix, and therefore, no market need for the product to be developed. There were already existing apps and products in the market that users were comfortable using to address their needs.
What we did:
- Took a human centred design approach to idea validation.
- Created prototypes as proof of concept.
- Conducted user research and stakeholder workshops.
Valuing meaningful work means putting the user first
One of the core values of our business here at Airteam is to focus on outcomes. This means we value doing meaningful work that has a positive impact on product users. Validating ideas and ensuring we are creating a better tomorrow for our clients and their users is paramount, which is why we are happy to share outcomes like these.
Our idea validation research saved Val Morgan $300k by providing them with the user data they needed to confidently decide not to proceed with the project. Despite there not being a need for this product, our work still provided Val Morgan with some defined product direction and ideas as well as useful customer feedback to make more informed decisions about future product developments.
Your users know what they need
Val Morgan's approach to explore new product concepts through user research highlights the importance of validating ideas before investing time and money in development. Through our user research and human-centred approach to idea validation, Val Morgan was able to save $300k and now has a better understanding for future product direction.
If you’re in a similar position and are looking to validate their ideas through user research before investing further, book a call with our team, we’d be happy to chat through the right next steps for you.
