What digital innovation can learn from the construction industry
A couple of times I have worked in an office overlooking the construction of a major multi-story office block. On both these occasions, I was surprised by two observations:
Getting the foundations right would take months, significantly longer than I would have expected.
The actual construction of the building was much quicker than I would imagine. Once the foundations were in, and the building started to go up, I was surprised how quickly they rose.
I mean, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? The foundations must be strong before the building commences, which is why a significant proportion of time is put into this. Following that, the actual construction of the building is mainly a matter of putting the blocks into place.
Is this any different from digital innovation? I don’t think so.
So why is it that we so often build our products without first having a strong foundation in place, only to find that they later start to crack and fall?
Is it because it isn’t clear what those foundations should be?
If so, then I believe a strong foundation should consist of:
Solving a genuine problem for a well-defined target market
Finding a solution for that problem that is usable, technically feasible, and viable from a business perspective
Only once you have validated that your solution solves a genuine problem for a well-defined target market, then you can start to build. While this phase may take longer than you had initially anticipated, you will discover that the build phase will be quicker than expected. And since the product is standing on a strong foundation, it has a significantly better chance of surviving the inevitable stormy winds and potential earthquakes on the horizon.
