Assumption Prioritization Canvas: How to Identify And Test The Right Assumptions

You can’t test everything. And you can’t test what you’re unaware of.

In product management, most of our ideas are not going to work.

It’s essential to test our assumptions before the implementation.

But you can’t test everything. And you can’t test what you’re unaware of.

So, in today’s post, I want to explain how to identify and test the right assumptions:

1. Traditional Assumptions Mapping Techniques
2. The Assumption Prioritization Canvas
3. How to Identify Hidden Assumptions
4. Summary and Takeaways

Let’s dive into it right now.

Hey, Paweł here. This is a free edition of The Product Compass newsletter, republished on Medium. See the original post (no paywall).

1. Traditional Assumptions Mapping Techniques

The original Assumptions Mapping technique was developed by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden, co-authors of Lean UX.

David Bland, co-author of Testing Business Ideas (from Strategyzer), who worked with them, developed his own approach.

The goal of both techniques is to identify and test the riskiest assumptions before the implementation.