Lessons from Descartes, part 2: technology and market dichotomy

The coordinate system, as we know it today, is called the Cartesian system, after the French mathematician René Descartes, who first described it in one of “Discourse…” three appendices, one titled “The Geometry”. The coordinates and values, expressed as distances from the origin, are used since then in millions of variations, so how about yet another: market versus technology readiness?

Imagine solution from a research project that has been tested only in lab environment, with relatively “low fidelity” data (think of cybersecurity attack simulation), compared to the eventual system. This solution might have high market traction, defined as “quantitative evidence of market demand.”. Many projects conduct market research, but only few actually do surveys and conversations with potential customers and/or consultants that could help to validate “market readiness level” or MRL. Too often, traction is based on assumptions or data that comes “from the thin air”.