Desirability, feasibility, viability
Three criteria an idea must balance: it meets what people need and want, it can be built with the available means, and the organization can sustain it.
What problem it addresses
It keeps you from moving ahead with ideas that people like but that can’t be built, or that can be built but nobody wants.
Components
Desirable
For the people it serves.
Feasible
With the available technology and means.
Viable
For the organization that sustains it.
How it works
Assess each idea against the three criteria.
Spot which of the three raises the most doubts.
Test that doubt first, with a prototype or with data.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Run each idea through the three criteria when choosing between ideas or deciding what to test first.
Avoid
Using it as a quick vote, without data.
Don’t fall for it
A highly desirable idea with doubts about viability isn’t discarded: you test what is missing.
Connections
Related to
Authors and works
- 2008
Tim Brown
Described design thinking as matching people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can sustain.
- 2009
Tim Brown
Presented the three criteria as overlapping constraints that a good idea must balance.
Sources
Original sources
- Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84–92. View source: Brown, T. (2008)
- Brown, T. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. HarperBusiness.
Last reviewed: