Experimentation

Assumption Mapper

The assumption mapper is a tool designed to identify and prioritise key assumptions about desirability, viability and feasibility of a product or service. The key to de-risking innovation projects is not just identifying the riskiest assumptions — the ones that if invalidated would kill the project — but also figuring out which ones are the easiest to test.

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Format TemplateTimeframe 1 hourGroup Size 5Facilitation Level BeginnerRequired Materials Papers, Post-its

Steps

  • Individually write down 4 key assumptions about desirability, viability and feasibility – 10 min.
  • Share your assumptions and build on each other’s assumptions –15 min.
  • Identify which assumptions are critical by asking yourself: If this assumption were invalidated, would it kill our project –15 min?
  • Focus on the critical assumptions and identify which ones would be easy or difficult to test –10 min.
  • Agree with the team on which assumptions you will test first based on your assumption map –10 min.

Benefits

  • Challenging and prioritising assumptions.
  • De-risking product or service failure.
  • Prioritising the features to be tested.
  • Identifying areas of improvement.

Tips

  • Focus on the assumptions from the users’ point of view.
Download Tool Supporting Files Not available