Reminder: Readings are your responsibility. You will be expected to come to class prepared, having read the material, and ready to participate in the discussion
Key Learning from Chapter 4: Hypotheses
- Also ‘assumptions’, but I like the term hypothesis better because it emphasizes that we don’t take a side as to whether it is true or not. We specifically want to generate evidence that will either prove or disprove it.
- Testable: You need to know how you would test it
- Explicit: You need to be able to state it succinctly (on a post-it note)
Types of Hypothesis
The point is, don’t get too hung up on classifications. What is important is the idea of formulating testable hypotheses, running experiments, and updating your plans accordingly.
- Customer: Who is the customer? Where would you find them?
- Problem: What is their pain? What is the ‘job’ they are ‘hiring’ a product to do?
- Solution: What kind of solution are they seeking? What features do they need? Will this solution actually address their problem?
- Pricing: Different tiers, prices, different customer segments
- Technology: What kind of computer, connectivity, sophsitication do they have
- Habits: “They do …”
- Growth Hypothesis: what ways will new customers discover the product? Why will they keep using it?
- Value Hypothesis: Assuming use, in what ways is the idea delivering value to the customer?
Examples of Hypotheses
Some case studies
Key Learning from Chapter 5: Getting out of the building
- Test your hypotheses by “getting out of the building”
- More generally:
- By talking to potential customers
- By finding evidence from research data
- By looking at other products
- By talking to an expert
- But not by talking amongst yourself
- Don’t believe your intuition
- Just because you once needed this product, or thought it would be cool, doesn’t mean much at all
But it’s hard
- Yes, and it’s one of the biggest learnings of this course
- Practice on easy subjects
- Look for relevant subjects (not your roommate or family member)
- They will always like what you are pitching
- Ask open questions
- Ask questions based on your hypotheses
Thank you. Questions?
(random Image from picsum.photos)