research commercialisation

I've got a friend who runs a boutique marketing strategy agency. She is frequently asked, 'at what point in the innovation process should one begin market research?' Her answer is always simply, "before you've written your first line of code."

In other words, engaging your prospective market—that is, asking your prospective customers whether your design for a better mousetrap is a useful should happen before you've spent any time, money or other resources on the project.