Desirable – Viable – Feasible

Every viable innovation must satisfy three conditions simultaneously: people must want it (Desirability), the business model must work (Viability), and it must be technically and organizationally implementable (Feasibility). Only at the intersection of all three dimensions does something emerge that can sustain itself in the market. This triad prevents teams from fixating too early on one dimension — such as feasibility — while neglecting the others.

In practice, the model serves as an evaluation framework for innovation ideas. A product team develops a new digital offering, for example. The idea is technically feasible and commercially promising, but user interviews reveal that the target group sees no need. Without the Desirability check, the team would have invested months in development before the problem became visible. The triad compels teams to examine all three perspectives early and with equal weight.

The framework was shaped by IDEO and Tim Brown and is now standard in user-centered product development. Importantly, the three dimensions are not a checklist to be worked through once but must be reassessed in every iteration.