Fake Door Testing: The Benefits, the Risks, and How to Build Functional Tests

Fake door testing is a lean research technique used by product teams to validate new products, features or services. It involves presenting users with an invitation to use a non-existent product and gauging their interest through click-through rates, page interactions or sign-ups for waitlists. This method helps in minimizing the risk of failure, gathering relevant user feedback and evaluating even the smallest product updates before going into development. However, fake door testing can also cause potential distress, trigger disappointment and diminish credibility if not done right. To make an effective fake door test, choose the right tools, pick your audience, build a test and follow-up journey, gather data and measure success.