How Do You Check if Your App Solves Real Problems?

Most app ideas die a slow, expensive death because they solve problems that don't actually exist. I've seen it happen countless times—brilliant entrepreneurs pour months of work and thousands of pounds into building something they're convinced the world needs, only to launch to crickets. The harsh reality? They never bothered to check if anyone actually wanted what they were building in the first place.

It's a bit mad really, but this happens more often than you'd think. Someone has what feels like a lightbulb moment, gets excited about the technical possibilities, and jumps straight into development. They skip the unglamorous but absolutely necessary step of problem validation. By the time they realise their "revolutionary" app doesn't solve a real problem—or solves one that people don't care enough about to pay for—they've already burned through their budget and momentum.

The graveyard of failed apps is filled with perfectly functional products that nobody wanted

But here's the thing—it doesn't have to be this way. Smart app developers have learned to validate their ideas before writing a single line of code. They understand that market fit isn't just about having a good idea; it's about proving that real people have real problems they're willing to invest time and money to solve. This guide will show you exactly how to do that validation work properly, using methods that won't break the bank but will give you the confidence to move forward—or the wisdom to pivot before it's too late.

Understanding the Difference Between Ideas and Real Problems

Right, lets get something straight from the start—having a brilliant app idea doesn't mean you've identified a real problem. I can't tell you how many times clients have walked into meetings absolutely buzzing about their "next big thing" only to discover they're solving something that exists purely in their own head.

Here's the thing that trips most people up: they confuse their personal frustrations with universal problems. Just because you find it annoying that there isn't an app for organising your sock drawer doesn't mean millions of people are losing sleep over their sock organisation. That's not a real problem; that's just your quirky preference.

Real problems have three key characteristics that separate them from random ideas. First, they affect a significant number of people—not just you and your mate Dave. Second, people are already trying to solve these problems, even if their current solutions are rubbish. And third, the problem causes genuine pain or costs people time, money, or peace of mind.

I've seen brilliant technical solutions for problems that simply don't exist outside of the founders imagination. One client spent months building an app to help people choose what to wear based on weather data and their calendar. Sounds useful, right? But when we actually spoke to potential users, most people said they quite enjoyed picking their own clothes and didn't want an algorithm doing it for them.

The difference between ideas and problems comes down to this: ideas are what you think would be cool to build. Problems are what people are already struggling with, complaining about, or paying money to solve badly. Before you write a single line of code, you need to know which one you're dealing with.

Identifying Your Target Users and Their Pain Points

Right, so you think you've got a brilliant app idea. But here's the thing—your opinion doesn't really matter if you can't find the people who actually need what you're building. I've seen so many entrepreneurs fall in love with their own ideas without ever properly understanding who they're building for. It's a bit mad really, but it happens more often than you'd think.

The first step in proper user needs assessment is getting really specific about who your users are. Not "busy professionals" or "young people"—that's way too vague. I'm talking about understanding their daily routines, what frustrates them, where they spend their time online, and what makes them pull out their phone. You need to go deeper than basic demographics; you need to understand their behaviour patterns and motivations.

Create user personas based on real conversations, not assumptions. Interview at least 10-15 people who might use your app before you even think about wireframes.

Finding Your Users Where They Already Are

The best problem validation happens where your potential users are already hanging out. Join Facebook groups, browse Reddit communities, check out industry forums. Listen to what people are complaining about. What workarounds are they using? What tools are they cobbling together to solve their problems?

Look for patterns in the complaints. If multiple people are saying similar things across different platforms, you might be onto something. But don't just listen—engage. Ask follow-up questions. Find out how much time or money these problems are costing them.

Common Pain Points Worth Investigating

• Time-consuming manual processes that could be automated
• Information that's scattered across multiple apps or platforms
• Social or communication gaps in existing solutions
• Accessibility issues with current tools
• Pricing problems with existing solutions

Remember, a real pain point is something people are already trying to solve, even if their current solution is rubbish. If nobody's trying to fix the problem, it might not be a problem worth solving. Your feasibility research should focus on problems that keep people up at night—not problems that sound interesting but don't actually impact anyone's life or work.

Testing Your Problem Assumptions Before Building

Right, so you think you've spotted a real problem and you know who's struggling with it. That's brilliant—but here's where most people make a costly mistake. They jump straight into building without testing if their assumptions are actually correct. I've seen too many apps fail because the founder was convinced they understood the problem, only to discover users saw things completely differently.

Before you spend months and thousands of pounds on development, you need to validate your problem assumptions. Start with simple conversations. Find five to ten people who fit your target user profile and ask them about their daily routines. Don't pitch your solution—just listen to how they describe their challenges. You might discover the problem you thought was keeping them awake at night is actually just a minor inconvenience.

Quick Validation Methods That Work

Here are some practical ways to test your assumptions without breaking the bank:

• Create a simple landing page describing the problem and see if people sign up for updates
• Post in relevant Facebook groups or forums asking about the specific pain point
• Run small surveys using tools like Google Forms or Typeform
• Spend time observing your target users in their natural environment
• Interview customer service teams at companies in your target market

The goal isn't to prove you're right—it's to understand if you're solving the right problem in the right way. Sometimes you'll discover your original assumption was spot on. Other times, you'll uncover a different, more pressing problem that makes for a better app opportunity.

Don't skip this step. Testing your assumptions early saves you from building something nobody wants. And trust me, that's a lesson you don't want to learn the expensive way.

Validating Market Demand Without Spending a Fortune

Right, so you've identified a problem and you think people might actually pay to solve it. But here's the thing—thinking and knowing are two very different beasts. I've seen too many brilliant developers spend months building apps based on assumptions, only to find out there wasn't enough market demand to sustain a business. It's painful to watch, honestly.

The good news? You don't need a massive budget to validate market demand. Start with the simplest approach: create a basic landing page that describes your app's solution. Include an email signup form and drive some targeted traffic to it through social media or small paid ads. If people aren't willing to give you their email address for early access, they probably won't download your app either.

Testing Willingness to Pay

But here's where most people get it wrong—they stop at email signups. You need to test whether people will actually pay for your solution. Try preselling your app concept with a "coming soon" price and see how many people are willing to commit financially. Even if it's just £5, that commitment tells you more about market demand than a thousand survey responses.

The difference between someone saying they'd use your app and someone actually paying for it is the difference between a nice-to-have and a must-have solution

I always recommend running small Facebook or Google ads targeting your specific audience with different messaging angles. Spend £50-100 testing various headlines and value propositions. The click-through rates and conversion data will tell you which problems resonate most strongly with your target market. Its a tiny investment compared to building an app that nobody wants.

Measuring Problem Severity and Frequency

Right, so you've identified a problem and found your target users. But here's the thing—not all problems are created equal. Some are massive headaches that keep people up at night; others are minor annoyances they forget about five minutes later.

The difference between these two determines whether your app succeeds or becomes another forgotten download. I've seen brilliant apps fail because they solved problems that simply weren't painful enough, and I've watched simple solutions become million-pound businesses because they tackled something that genuinely frustrated people daily.

How Often Does This Problem Actually Happen?

Start by asking your potential users specific questions about frequency. Don't just ask "Do you face this problem?" Instead, ask "How many times this week have you dealt with this issue?" You want numbers, not vague responses.

Problems that happen daily or weekly are gold mines. Monthly problems? They can work, but your solution needs to be exceptional. Yearly problems? Unless they're catastrophic when they occur, they're probably not worth building an app around.

Pain vs Inconvenience: The Make-or-Break Factor

Here's something I learned the hard way: there's a world of difference between a problem that causes genuine pain and one that's just a bit inconvenient. Use this simple scoring system when evaluating problems:

• Score 1-3: Minor inconvenience (people grumble but carry on)
• Score 4-6: Moderate frustration (people actively look for workarounds)
• Score 7-10: Real pain point (people would pay money to solve this)

You want to be targeting problems that score at least 7 out of 10. Anything lower and you'll struggle to get people to download your app, let alone use it regularly. Trust me on this one—I've built apps for 5-out-of-10 problems before, and the user engagement rates were absolutely dismal.

Competitive Research That Actually Matters

Most people approach competitive research completely wrong—they download every similar app, screenshot everything, then create these massive comparison spreadsheets that nobody ever looks at again. But here's the thing: your competitors aren't just other apps that look similar to yours.

I've seen clients obsess over direct competitors while completely missing the real threat. If you're building a meditation app, sure, look at Headspace and Calm. But also look at how people currently solve their stress problems. Maybe they listen to music on Spotify, watch YouTube videos, or even scroll through TikTok. Those are your real competitors.

When I do competitive research for problem validation, I focus on three specific things. First, what problems are existing solutions actually solving? Read the app store reviews—not the 5-star ones, but the 1 and 2-star reviews. That's where people tell you exactly what isn't working. Second, how are people currently working around the problem? Check Reddit threads, Facebook groups, and forums where your target users hang out. You'll find brilliant workarounds that reveal gaps in the market.

Third, and this is where most people mess up, look at what successful competitors charge and how they make money. If nobody in your space is making money, that's a red flag about the problem you're trying to solve. Users might complain about something, but if they won't pay to fix it, you don't have a viable business problem.

Don't just analyse what competitors do—understand why users choose them over dozens of other options. That "why" often reveals the core problem that actually matters to real people.

The best competitive research happens when you use competitors' products as a real user would, not as someone building an app. Sign up, go through their onboarding, use the product for its intended purpose. You'll spot opportunities that spreadsheet comparisons never reveal.

Building Your Minimum Viable Solution

Right, so you've done your research, talked to users, and confirmed there's a real problem worth solving. Now comes the tricky part—building something that proves your app can actually solve it without spending your life savings in the process.

Here's the thing most people get wrong about minimum viable products (or MVPs as we call them): they think "minimum" means cheap and nasty. It doesn't. It means focused. Your MVP should do one thing really well rather than ten things poorly. I've seen too many first-time app builders try to cram every feature they can think of into their initial version—it's a recipe for disaster and empty bank accounts.

What Makes a Good MVP

Your MVP needs to solve the core problem you've identified, nothing more. If you're building a fitness app and the main problem is that people can't stick to workout routines, don't worry about social features or meal planning just yet. Focus on making the workout tracking absolutely brilliant first.

The key features of any good MVP include:

• One core function that directly addresses your users main problem
• Basic user onboarding that doesn't confuse people
• Simple data collection to measure if its actually working
• Feedback mechanism so users can tell you what's missing
• Reliable performance—nothing kills credibility like crashes

Testing Your Solution Hypothesis

Your MVP is basically a test. You're asking: "Does this solution actually fix the problem we identified?" That means you need to be measuring the right things from day one. Don't just track downloads or sign-ups—track whether people are using your app to solve the problem you set out to address.

I always tell clients to launch their MVP when they're slightly embarrassed by how basic it is. If you're proud of it, you've probably built too much. Remember, you can always add features later, but you can't get back the time and money you spent building stuff nobody wanted.

Getting Honest Feedback From Real Users

Right, you've built your minimum viable solution and now comes the scary part—actually showing it to real people. And I mean properly showing it, not just your mum saying "that's lovely dear" or your best mate nodding along because they don't want to hurt your feelings.

The trick to getting honest feedback is making it safe for people to tell you the truth. Start by telling your testers that you genuinely want to know what doesn't work; that their job isn't to be nice, its to help you build something people actually want to use. I always tell testers "please break this—I'd rather you find the problems now than discover them after launch."

Who Should You Ask?

Don't just grab anyone who'll give you five minutes. You need people who actually have the problem you're trying to solve. If you're building a fitness app, find people who struggle with staying active—not fitness enthusiasts who already have their routines sorted. The wrong feedback from the wrong people will send you down rabbit holes that waste months of development time.

What Questions Actually Work

Skip the "do you like it?" questions because people will lie to be polite. Instead, ask behavioural questions: "What would you do next?" or "When was the last time you had this problem?" Watch what they do more than what they say. If they're tapping frantically trying to find something, that tells you everything.

The most valuable feedback often comes in the pauses—when users hesitate, look confused, or try to do something your app doesn't expect

Record these sessions if possible (with permission, obviously) because you'll catch things you missed in the moment. And here's something most people get wrong—don't explain how your app works during testing. If users can't figure it out on their own, that's not their fault; that's your design telling you it needs work.

Conclusion

Right then, we've covered a lot of ground here—from spotting the difference between a good idea and an actual problem worth solving, all the way through to getting proper feedback from real users. But here's the thing that I want you to remember above everything else: checking if your app solves real problems isn't something you do once and tick off your list. It's an ongoing process that never really stops.

I've seen too many brilliant developers get so caught up in the technical side of things that they forget to keep asking the simple question: "Are we still solving the right problem?" Markets change. User behaviour shifts. What felt like a massive pain point six months ago might not matter anymore. And that's perfectly normal—it just means you need to stay connected to your users and keep listening.

The techniques we've talked about—user interviews, competitive research, MVP testing—they're not just for the beginning of your project. I use these methods throughout the entire development process and beyond. Even after launch, I'm still validating assumptions and checking that we're on the right track. Because honestly, the apps that succeed long-term are the ones that evolve with their users' needs.

Don't try to be everything to everyone. Focus on solving one problem really well first. Once you've nailed that, you can think about expanding. But get that foundation right, make sure it genuinely matters to people, and you'll have something worth building on. Trust me on this one—I've learned it the hard way more times than I care to admit!