HADI cycles

What Are HADI Cycles

HADI cycles are a project management method that involves the step-by-step development and testing of hypotheses. This approach allows for significant savings in key resources-time and money-while quickly launching a new product, service, or even an entire company to achieve desired results.

HADI cycles are one of the Agile methodologies. This is a whole philosophy, a flexible system of values ​​and management principles, which states that the priority of any activity is meeting the needs of end consumers, and the critical indicator of progress is a working product. All Agile processes should be configured to ensure sustainable project development, with gradual changes that improve the final result. HADI cycles promote consistency, flexibility, and continuous quality improvement.

Before starting a startup, opening a business, developing strategies, or launching products, it's important to test several hypotheses-assumptions about your offering-and determine whether it will be helpful to potential consumers, in demand in the market, and profitable. HADI cycles help break the project into stages of planning, implementation, and evaluation of intermediate results. This approach minimizes risks and losses, allowing you to discard unpromising ideas and avoid unnecessary expenses.

For example, in business, HADI cycles are used to adapt more quickly to market changes and improve product quality and customer service. In addition, this allows you to maintain high client satisfaction and quickly respond to new market demands. HADI cycles in marketing. are as popular and in this area, they are used to optimize advertising campaigns and increase the effectiveness of content strategies. For instance, marketers might hypothesize that altering the timing of social media posts could boost audience engagement. By posting at different times and collecting data on audience interactions, they can determine the most effective time to post.

What Does the HADI Cycle Include?

The HADI cycle consists of four key stages:

• H - Hypotheses;

• A - Action;

• D - Data;

• I - Insights.

Now, let's take a closer look at each stage.

First of all, it is necessary to formulate a hypothesis. Essentially, it is an assumption about something, for example, that a particular action will bring the result you need. HHypotheses might sound like this: "I believe that by launching targeted advertising, we can attract more users to the site and increase conversions by 10%," or "If we add a detailed description to each product on the site, sales will increase by 15%." Another example could be: "Changing the design of our homepage will increase the number of registrations by 20%." Every hypothesis needs to be tested for validation or refutation, which is the core purpose of the HADI cycle. Therefore, it is unnecessary to test facts that have already been proven.

Once the hypothesis is formulated, the next stage is Action. Here, the team implements the necessary changes to the product or takes other steps to test the hypothesis. For example, they might conduct tests or surveys, launch an ad campaign, modify the design, or add a new feature to the product. These actions must be carefully planned and executed within a short time frame.

At the third stage of data collection, it is necessary to analyze the information gathered to determine whether the hypothesis was confirmed. For example, you would examine whether the number of visitors to the official website or clicks on links has increased, if conversions have improved, or if there has been a change in sales statistics. In other words, this stage evaluates the validity of your assumption. The data collected must be relevant to the hypothesis and accurate to ensure the conclusions are justified and well-founded.

The final stage is summarizing. This involves comparing the company's current status or the new version of a product with the data that existed before testing the hypothesis. It's crucial to assess whether the hypothesis was confirmed and decide whether the changes should be implemented or if the proposal should be rejected, prompting the need for a new hypothesis.

The HADI cycle can be repeated multiple times with different hypotheses until the team reaches its goal and is satisfied with the results. This approach ensures that the product or company's performance will improve gradually and systematically, leading to increased profits, new customers, and greater brand awareness. Furthermore, the HADI framework can be applied at any stage of business development, whether before the launch of a startup, during the development of an MVP, while improving the product line, or when entering new markets.

How to Work with HADI Cycles: Expert Advice

Tip 1: Use the SMART technique when formulating a hypothesis

According to the SMART technique when formulating hypotheses:

• Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve by the end of the HADI cycle. Formulate your hypothesis as precisely and unambiguously as possible to avoid any confusion. Ideally, a hypothesis can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no."

• Measurable: Establish the ideal outcome and how you will measure it.

• Attainable: Set goals that are achievable with the resources you have. The hypothesis should have a high likelihood of success.

• Relevant: Ensure the hypothesis is aligned with the overall business strategy, consistent with the project goals, and contributes to the primary objective.

• Time-bound: Testing the hypothesis must be limited to a specific timeframe. For larger hypotheses, break them down into smaller, manageable parts, each with its deadline. The optimal time to test a hypothesis is typically 2-3 weeks.

It's crucial to give special attention to the first stage of the HADI cycle because the formulation of the hypothesis determines the subsequent steps and their verification.

Tip 2. Evaluate the hypothesis based on two key parameters

These parameters are the team's belief in the hypothesis's correctness and its implementation's complexity. Ask each team member, especially those directly involved in the HADI cycle, to rate their belief in the hypothesis on a scale of 1 to 100%. The complexity of implementation should be rated on a 5-point scale. If most of the team strongly believes in the hypothesis, feel confident proceeding with testing. Typically, hypotheses with solid team support are more straightforward to implement.

However, if the evaluation reveals a discrepancy-for example, the complexity is rated 4 out of 5 and the team's belief is only 30%-it may be worth reconsidering whether to pursue this hypothesis within the HADI cycle.

Tip 3. One HADI cycle - one hypothesis

During testing using the HADI method, only one hypothesis can be confirmed or refuted per HADI cycle. Do not try to test several hypotheses at once during one cycle. In addition, you should not use one to evaluate hypotheses two or more indicators simultaneously. For example, when you launch targeted, contextual, and offline advertising, it is almost impossible to determine exactly what increased conversions and brought new customers.

Tip 4: Be Consistent and Continuous

In the HADI cycle, it is important not to disturb sequence stages. Otherwise, the results may be inaccurate and mislead you about the correctness of a particular assumption. Repetition is also crucial for the experiments (i.e., hypothesis testing) and analyze the results consistently. Until you develop the correct hypothesis, formulate new assumptions and continue the HADI cycle.

Tip 5: Select the most appropriate metric

You should ensure that the metrics, or hypothesis testing tools, match your assumptions. The best way to determine a company's target audience's behavior, needs, and desires, for example, is to use assessment methods like interviews, tests, and surveys. You can collect data twice sometimes. Even though this increases your financial and time costs, it will allow you to collect data that is as complete and accurate as possible. Repeated surveys and information collection are only necessary when simultaneously testing global hypotheses affecting several vital indicators.

Tip 6. Don't delay testing your hypothesis

As we've already discovered, collecting data multiple times is sometimes helpful. Hypothesis testing should last only briefly, for example, 2-3 months. During this time, market conditions, the behavior of its participants, and their attitude towards your company's products may change. Thus, you should start testing your hypothesis as soon as possible and stop when you have the necessary information.

Tip 7. Don't rush to say goodbye to an unconfirmed hypothesis

If a hypothesis isn't confirmed, don't be quick to discard it. Reflect on whether the hypothesis could be valid under different circumstances and identify what those might be. Adjusting certain variables and testing the revised assumption may be worthwhile before entirely abandoning it.

Tip 8. Be objective

However, don't become too attached to a hypothesis. Always base your conclusions on solid facts and data, not personal biases. If a hypothesis fails after thorough re-evaluation, acknowledge the error and move on to a new one. This is precisely what the HADI cycle is designed for-continuous learning and improvement.

Advantages and Disadvantages of HADI Cycles

HADI cycles allow you to:

• test as quickly and effectively as possible a variety of assumptions that affect product quality, customer service, and the overall development of the company;

• conduct effective experiments with minimal financial and energy costs;

• improve the product by gradually achieving the key goal;

• focus on data and always make informed decisions;

• know which decisions have the most significant impact on business profitability by assessing and measuring results;

• quickly adapt the product to changes in the market and customer demands;

• save time and other resources to identify promising development areas;

• minimize risks and external dangers when creating new products and introducing innovative solutions;

• constantly train the team in new techniques, develop flexibility of thinking and the ability to quickly and effectively test their judgments;

• use this method in any field of activity and area of ​​business.

However, it must be noted that HADI cycles also have some disadvantages. Compared to the advantages, the disadvantages are significantly fewer. However:

• Working with HADI cycles demands a well-defined hypothesis and a systematic approach to testing and measurement. Strict adherence to the prescribed implementation stages is essential for effectiveness.

• HADI cycles evaluate individual hypotheses but do not compare them. Therefore, to choose between two validated hypotheses, additional analytical tools are needed.

• HADI loops cannot be used to test hypotheses affecting multiple metrics or indicators. Consequently, the results may be distorted and misinterpreted;

• HADI cycles do not include feedback forms; they do not allow participants and users to provide feedback;

• The principal stress when using the HADI cycle effectively is timing. Each stage must have a deadline, including time for comments, discussions, coordination, and revisions. Observing timing and gradually adjusting to it is not a drawback of HADI cycles but their feature, which even experienced practitioners find challenging.

Conclusion

In conclusion, HADI cycles are an excellent tool for quickly testing various hypotheses. They enable companies to adapt to market changes swiftly, operate with greater flexibility and efficiency, and gradually improve their products while minimizing risks associated with business growth. When combined with other goal-achieving methods and business process improvements, HADI cycles can deliver the desired results quickly. Success hinges on correctly formulating hypotheses, using appropriate and accurate metrics, objectively analyzing the data, and leveraging insights to implement innovative solutions, develop products, and support internal processes. Whether you work for a large international corporation or a startup, HADI cycles will significantly increase your chances of success!