8. Testing a Solution Ethically: Smoke Tests, Pilots, Pre-Sales
After this lesson you can
- Match each solution test to the hypothesis it tests and know what it cannot show
- Apply five ethical rules for honest smoke tests, pilots and pre-sales
- Write a value proposition with a resonating focus on one or two quantified points of difference
- Design two-sided tests that check beneficiary value and funder fit separately
- Track technical readiness and customer readiness separately for research ventures
- Record each result against a threshold written before the test
Video coming soon
Videos are planned to publish from December 2026.
A lesson on testing a solution without misleading the people you test with. It matches prototypes, smoke tests, concierge and Wizard-of-Oz tests, pre-sales and letters of intent to the questions they answer, and sets five rules for honest testing.
Questions and answers
Questions a learner would ask about this lesson. Think through your own answer before you open each one.
- What is behavioral evidence, and why does it matter here?
Show answer
Behavioral evidence comes from what people actually do, such as signing up, using, paying or signing, rather than what they say they would do. Stated preferences, like "I would definitely use that" or a survey rating, are cheap to collect and weak as evidence. Solution tests sit on rungs 4 and 5 of the evidence ladder, and the lesson advises climbing only as high as the hypothesis needs.
- What is the difference between a concierge test and a Wizard-of-Oz test?
Show answer
A concierge test delivers the value manually, person to person, and the customer knows how it is delivered. A Wizard-of-Oz test shows customers an interface while people do the work behind it, and it needs honest limits on what is claimed about how it works. Presenting manual work as automated is a false claim.
- What are the five rules for honest solution tests?
Show answer
Say plainly that the product is not available yet; take no payment for what you cannot deliver without clear terms for scope, date and refunds; collect only the data you need and say why; use no fake testimonials or inflated numbers; and make no false claims about how it works. Specific compliance questions go to professionals.
- Is a letter of intent the same as a sale?
Show answer
No. A letter of intent is a written statement that an organization intends to buy, pilot or partner under stated conditions. It signals commitment but often is not binding. The lesson suggests recording its conditions and asking what would turn intent into an order.
- What makes a strong value proposition?
Show answer
Drawing on Anderson, Narus and van Rossum, the lesson describes three kinds: all benefits, favorable points of difference, and resonating focus. A resonating focus, built on the one or two points of difference that matter most to the customer and stated in measurable terms, is the strongest. Treat every number as a hypothesis until it is measured and verified with customers.
Practice quiz
- Question 1A concierge test is best described as:
- Question 2Which rule applies to smoke tests in this course?
- Question 3In Anderson, Narus and van Rossum's framework, the strongest value proposition type is:
- Question 4A pilot has staff manually entering appointments behind an interface clinics think is automated. The ethical issue is:
- Question 5Founder C collects a letter of support from a foundation and outcome signals from families. This founder is:
- Question 6Which test is designed to test whether people will commit money, and creates obligations to deliver or refund?
- Question 7In the lesson's example results table, 2 of 5 past clients book Founder B's pre-booked package. What share is that?
- Question 8What does the lesson say a smoke test cannot show?
- Question 9Instead of a "Book now" page for a package that does not exist, what does Founder B do in the case step?
- Question 10The ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code, quoted in the lesson, says marketing communications should be truthful and not misleading. How does the lesson describe the code?
Saved in your browser only: no account, no server.
Entrepreneurship for Graduate Students is education, not legal, tax, financial, or immigration advice. Bring questions about your own situation to your university technology transfer office, a licensed professional, or the right campus office.