In fast-paced environments, it’s easy for product teams to dive into delivery with the best of intentions, but without the necessary proof. We often see the same pattern repeat: product development begins based on internal opinions and assumptions, features are added to please multiple stakeholders, and the pressure to launch overrides the need to validate with real users. In this rush, three critical gaps emerge: a lack of early research, the absence of a clear value proposition, and siloed execution. While the pace feels productive, the cost of reversing these missteps later can be significant.
To illustrate how this pattern plays out in practice, we’ll share an example from a recent project we were involved in. We received a call from a product team who believed they were only weeks away from releasing their newly conceived product. Designs were approved, code was progressing smoothly, and marketing teasers were drafted. Yet no one outside the organisation had seen, or used, the prototype. According to McKinsey & Company, nearly 80 % of features in digital products deliver little or no value because they are built without validating customer needs (McKinsey Product Development Benchmark, 2023). We were brought in to find out whether the MVP actually resonated with customers and if this was something they would see value in.
The Hidden Cost of Assumption-Driven Build
Our first realisation was the absence of evidence. Features that looked elegant on a sprint board were still guesses about real people’s problems; every new line of code hardened those guesses into something expensive to undo. We pressed pause and ran rapid discovery interviews to understand how customers currently approach the problem the product aims to solve, and what needs, behaviours, and pain points shape that experience. We then tested early design concepts with a click-through prototype to see how well the solution aligned with participants’ expectations and needs. The feedback was blunt: several of the so-called “must-have” features didn’t reflect any real customer demand, while real customer struggles that had been overlooked during early planning were repeatedly mentioned across the research sessions. That brief reality check trimmed scope before a single feature reached production. Accenture’s 2022 Cost of Quality survey shows that resolving defects after launch can cost six times more than addressing them during discovery; an expense this pause helped us avoid.
Turning Insight into a Compass
Until this point, the team had been steering without a compass. Without a clear value proposition, the team struggled to agree on what mattered most, leading to added features that didn’t serve a clear purpose and increasing the chances of launching something that wouldn’t connect with customers. With fresh insight on the table, we distilled the findings into a single‑sentence CVP (Customer Value Proposition). Because the CVP was grounded in research, it became a compass rather than a slogan. Boston Consulting Group’s 2024 Digital Value Creation report found that teams with a clearly articulated value proposition accelerate time‑to‑market by 35 % on average. Roadmap debates that once hinged on internal opinion now referred back to a promise anchored in user reality. Priorities were clarified, “nice-to-have” ideas were moved to the backlog, and the remaining work felt purposeful instead of political.
From Silos to Shared Momentum
Yet another quieter risk undermined progress: organisational silos. Product, engineering and marketing each owned a different version of success, which meant three parallel-but-different roadmaps. Using the research artefacts and the new CVP as common ground, we facilitated a few cross-functional workshops. As the team worked through the research findings side‑by‑side, they more readily let go of internally favoured features; seeing how a leaner scope reduced downstream complexity, tension gave way to empathy. A single, sequenced plan emerged that every discipline could support. Deloitte’s 2023 Project Alignment Index shows that cross‑functional alignment more than doubles the likelihood of hitting launch targets.
What began as a checkpoint for a nearly built MVP became a lesson in how evidence, focus and collaboration reinforce one another. User research surfaced the truth of customer needs; a value proposition translated that truth into direction; and shared ownership turned direction into decisive action. Treating those steps as one continuous motion transformed anxious momentum into confident progress.
For teams moving at pace, the takeaway is straightforward: pressing pause for proof is not a detour but the quickest route to a product that resonates the first time it meets the market. Evidence keeps investments honest, a clear promise keeps teams disciplined, and cross-functional alignment turns momentum into meaningful outcomes. If your roadmap feels busy yet oddly unconvincing, a short return to genuine customer insight may be the fastest way to regain both clarity and speed.
Ready to avoid costly rework and align your team around what truly matters?
