The DVF design framework is an innovation process that relies on three pillars: desirability, feasibility, and viability. This concept, introduced in the 2000s by the design firm IDEO, encapsulates design thinking as a process that “brings together what is desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable.”
We’ll delve into these three criteria individually, see how they contribute to the design process, and learn how they work together to form IDEO's Desirability, Viability, Feasibility Framework.
Table of Contents
- Importance of Feasibility vs. Viability vs. Desirability in Design
- Desirability: Finding Out What Customers Want
- Feasibility: Crafting New Solutions With Existing Capabilities
- Viability: Designing a Profitable Product
- Benefits of IDEO’s DVF Framework
- Viability vs. Feasibility vs. Desirability: The Bottom Line
- Feasibility vs. Desirability vs. Viability FAQs
Importance of Feasibility vs. Viability vs. Desirability in Design
Desirability, feasibility, and viability are the cornerstones of creating impactful and innovative products.
- Desirability focuses on understanding and addressing customer needs.
- Feasibility assesses the practicality of development with existing resources and technology.
- Viability evaluates the financial sustainability of the product.
Considering these factors ensures that a product is functional, resonates with users, and supports business growth. The key to this framework is evaluating each factor independently before bringing them together to create successful products.
By separately examining each factor, teams can identify potential imbalances that may hinder success. When combined, these insights offer a comprehensive understanding of a product's potential.
Before exploring how designers can benefit from harmonizing these principles within IDEO’s DVF Framework, let’s examine them individually.
Desirability: Finding Out What Customers Want
Desirability examines what users need and value. It is the foundation of human-centered design and emphasizes the creation of solutions that genuinely resonate with users.
To make your product more desirable, ask yourself:
- What do users want?
- What problems are they struggling with?
- How can this product improve their lives?
Methods such as user research, interviews, and analyzing statistics are instrumental in uncovering these insights.
Let’s say a streaming movie app’s research reveals that customers enjoy discussing movies and rely heavily on recommendations. To cater to this demand, the platform introduces social features enabling users to chat, review movies, and even host live-watch parties with integrated chat functionality.
Desirability overlaps with feasibility and viability, as the platform’s ability to implement these features depends on technological capacity (feasibility) and their impact on revenue growth (viability).
Feasibility: Crafting New Solutions With Existing Capabilities
Feasibility assesses whether a product can be built with your available resources, technology, and expertise. It ensures that innovation aligns with current capabilities while pushing boundaries.
To figure this out, teams should be asking questions like:
- Do we have the right tools to create this?
- What technical challenges might we face?
- How can we optimize our processes?
Consider an online music magazine that decides to publish an annual print report. Since they can use existing articles, interviews, and visuals created by their staff, the only added cost is printing. This example highlights feasibility’s overlap with desirability (offering a product readers may want) and viability (ensuring the cost-effectiveness of production).
Viability: Designing a Profitable Product
Viability focuses on ensuring a product’s financial success. It addresses questions such as:
- What is the market demand?
- How will it generate revenue?
Teams use methods like market research and competitor analysis to refine this aspect.
Revisiting the movie-streaming app scenario, adding things like a merchandise shop, pay-per-view movie premieres, and purchasable live interviews with filmmakers would make it more viable. These features complement desirability by catering to user interests and feasibility by utilizing existing technological infrastructure.
Benefits of IDEO’s DVF Framework
IDEO’s DVF Framework provides a structured approach to product and service design, ensuring alignment with user needs, technical capabilities, and financial goals.
By leveraging this framework, teams can:
- Ensure the product meets user wishes. This requires focusing on desirability to create solutions that truly resonate with customers.
- Identify technical or logistical issues early. Doing so allows you to evaluate feasibility and address potential challenges proactively.
- Gauge market demand. Assessing viability helps you understand a product’s financial prospects and market position.
- Evaluate long-term sustainability. This ensures the product remains relevant and profitable over time.
- Focus on high-potential ideas. Prioritize concepts with the greatest chance of success to maximize impact.
- Avoid resource wastage. Preventing investment in unfeasible or unviable projects is crucial for efficient resource allocation.
- Promote collaboration. Encouraging input from experts across disciplines fosters a well-rounded design approach.
- Maintain a structured evaluation process. This ensures consistency and thoroughness in assessing new ideas.
Viability vs. Feasibility vs. Desirability: The Bottom Line
Desirability, feasibility, and viability are essential both individually and collectively. Together, they form a balanced framework for crafting innovative solutions that meet user needs, leverage existing capabilities, and achieve financial success.
Designers must prioritize these principles to avoid creating products that fail to meet expectations, drain resources, or lack profitability. By embracing the DVF Framework, teams can design with confidence, knowing their efforts align with a comprehensive vision of success.
Feasibility vs. Desirability vs. Viability FAQs
1. What industries can benefit the most from embracing the DVF Framework?
Almost all industries can benefit, but sectors like technology, consumer goods, and entertainment particularly gain from the framework's structured approach to innovation. These industries often require products to balance user satisfaction, technical execution, and financial sustainability.
2. How do desirability, feasibility, and viability save money and resources?
The DVF Framework helps teams identify and address potential challenges early, ensuring they focus only on ideas with high potential. This avoids costly missteps, such as investing in unfeasible or unprofitable ideas, and optimizes resource allocation throughout the development process.
3. Which factor of the DVF Framework should designers focus on the most?
Designers should focus on all three factors equally, as each plays a crucial role in the product's success. Neglecting any one factor — whether it’s desirability, feasibility, or viability — can result in a product that fails to meet user expectations, cannot be developed efficiently, or is not financially sustainable.
