What is Concept Validation – The concept validation test is to assess if the product developed meets the design goals. This assessment includes checking on parameters like usability, reliability, robustness, performance, and maintainability to name some. This test aims to check how close is the final product on functionality and performance from the originally set expectations. Thus, the product being tested must be as close to the actual product as possible. This includes the packaging, documentation, and production processes

When to use Concept Validation – Concept validation is looked into only after the initial phase of concept evaluation. It is usually conducted late in the development process.

Why use Concept Validation

• Better concept evaluation: During the concept testing, the customers are exposed to a rough idea. A lot of things are left to their imagination and interpretation. Hence, it is considered a better idea to expose the customers to the actual product made based on the concept. With an actual product to evaluate, the customers are better equipped to give more detailed and critical feedback. It’s important to note that if a concept is not a right fit and is launched in the market it will neither benefit the customers nor the manufacturer and thus concept validation is a very crucial step
• Better utilization of resources: Exposing the actual product based on the concept to a small group before doing a full launch can help the company save a lot of cost and time. Concept validation allows the stakeholders to understand if the actual product is a hit or miss. Thus, they can make necessary changes before mass producing it resulting in cost-saving.

How is Concept Validation done – To perform a concept validation, we must go back to the goals and hypothesis we considered while we developed the concept. We need to confirm if the concept is meeting the goals initially set to be achieved for the right market and the right target group. This can be done using quantitative research wherein we ask the target audience to rate the final concept on a variety of set parameters crucial in achieving the research objectives