When you set out to develop something that’s never been done before, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the vision. After all, the vision drives the journey to completion. However, multiple methods of validation are necessary before it matures from an imagined solution to reality.

It can be easy to visualize a solution for any problem based on the initial vision, but until more research is applied, what you’re really addressing is a hypothetical problem. This is where many startups fail. Array Analytics has sought input from experts so our solution addresses a real problem they are experiencing. Validating that the problem is an ongoing pain point for them is a vital aspect of both our business and customers’ success.

Designing a valuable product requires balance. Ensuring sustainability and profitability depends ultimately on meeting a real customer need. You must define and validate the problem that (actually) needs solving, envision a solution to address that problem and then engage in a design process which proactively and directly collects and uses feedback from end users.

At Array Analytics, we are working diligently to develop our Pivotal solution. Our vision is to provide a contextual perspective that enables many roles within healthcare systems to focus on evaluation and alignment with strategic goals.

Currently, health systems are making decisions with complicated tools. While many are very useful, they fall short due to:

• High variance (across tools and data)
• No real way to measure against ROI
• Inability to react nimbly

Organizations manage using current tools by inventing their own processes around these shortcomings. But there will soon be a better way.

To date, internal expertise and organizational research has helped our design team understand the day-to-day challenges of our end users. This has been translated into the design of Pivotal’s user interface, which aligns with what we believe will be most valuable for our customers.

At the core, software teams practicing true agile production iterate and keep moving. Teams who move fast and invite their customers to experience the evolving product as partners have what’s truly needed to augment their vision and succeed. Their customers can also experience success during this process, as they can utilize an innovative tool which confidently improves their outcomes.

Software teams can learn from their customers beyond their internal vision by:

• Confirming or denying assumptions and bias
• Identifying friction points – both within an application and how it fits into their customers’ standard work and requirements
• Defining priorities
• Revealing confusion and blind spots

By understanding the priorities which surround users who perform analysis on a regular basis, Array Analytics will grow alongside our partners with confidence in the value Pivotal will provide. Our collaboration with customers during the development of this new digital experience will help drive its value; getting it into the hands of those who need the time to focus on quickly developing strategic plans. Providing a limited availability release to use in a real environment can help that power to be realized sooner.