DesignGenie / The Open Basement — next validation plan
Prepared 8 November 2026. This is a protocol, not a report of completed research.

Physical verification
1. Measure full plan, ceiling, soffits, support column, stairs and all openings.
2. Check delivery access, existing services and required routes.
3. Mark proposed furniture footprints on the floor and review movement.
4. For gym options, obtain the actual equipment manufacturer operating/overhead clearances and verify suitable floor/site conditions.
5. Replace allowances with selected products and a complete current local cost schedule.

Product usability sessions — proposed, not yet conducted
Recruit 5 adults who plan a room in an existing home or rental. Record consent. Do not use friends' comments as representative market validation.
Task: create one real room brief, mark an owned piece, compare three directions, move a piece, resolve a conflict, identify a sourced price versus an allowance, and export the concept.
Observe: task completion without assistance, critical errors, time on task, source/assumption comprehension, and recovery after a change.
Ask: What is this total based on? What is confirmed? What would you check before buying? What changes in the exported plan when you edit the layout?
Success criteria to test: 4/5 complete the core journey without intervention; all participants distinguish a real photo from concept imagery and an allowance from a sourced price. These targets are hypotheses, not results.
Log each observation separately from the designer's interpretation. Prioritize severe misunderstanding over cosmetic preferences.

Evidence boundary
No participants have been recruited or tested for this published case. No conversion, retention, time-saving, satisfaction, revenue or construction results are claimed. Implementation tests verify the prototype's logic and behaviour only.