Spec for Customer Discovery Spec for Business Case Spec for Marketing Spec for Product or Service
Topics covered in this report
| topic | description |
|---|
| Hypotheses | List of at least 5 hypotheses, including testing status and results |
| MVPs | Descriptions of MVPs used or planned for hypothesis testing |
| Pivots | Pivots if any |
| Out-of-the-building work | Description of engagement with external parties to validate hypotheses |
General Specifications for the four Final Papers
IT IS OF ULTIMATE IMPORTANCE That the four students are working on one and the same product. That there is true alignment and disagreements are worked out in converation. Note that much of the work is done by all members of the team. It is just the specific writing of the report on the work is done by one of the four students.
- Each team will be writing four short papers as a final deliverable
- Each paper will stand on its own, written by one student with consultation and review by the others
- Each paper will have a logical flow, with a brief introduction and conclusion (and without a title page)
- Each paper should target between 4 and 6 pages, counting images. This is not a hard limit but longer is definitely not necessarily better (“If I had more time I could have made it shorter”)
- All four papers will have a consistent look in terms of fonts, titles, sections
Details
This paper is all about how the product idea(s) were tested against potential customers. What hypotheses were formed and how they were tested.
It is written in three drafts, stage 1, 2 and Final. It will be written and submitted by a single student (but input and collaboration from the team.)
The Hypothesis and MVP sections are closely related. The first will describe hypotheses and refer to MVPs that were or could be used to test them; The MVP section will describe the MVPs and refer to the Hypotheses that they were or could be used to test.
Hypotheses
List at least 5 hypotheses, prioritized and classified by type, and indicate whether they have been tested, and whether they were proven or rejected.
Early on you will not have tested many hypotheses but the process is ongoing. You will be asked to explain what Hypotheses are being tested by what MVP. Obviously you will not have tested all of them yet, and some you may never test. Initially the focus should be on the leap of faith, value and customer hypotheses. Make sure that they are consistent with your product concept/vision and that the team is aligned.
By the end you should have tested a series of hypotheses with out-the-building work. As we have learned, here are many ways to test hypotheses with real out of the building experiments, using MVPs of different kinds. Write them up and comment on the process and how it worked, what hypothesis was, and whether it was proven.
MVPs
List MVPs that were developed or will be developed as well as what hypotheses they have tested/will test. Test hypotheses with real out of the building experiments of various kinds with potentially different MVPs. Remember that sometimes you can legitimately test more than one hypothesis with one MVP. Write them up and comment on the process and how it worked, what hypothesis was, and whether it was proven. Many of these should be done virtually out of the building, meaning, with outside people who were not previously known to you. Include at least 5 hypotheses with real out of the building experiments, of various kinds, using a variety of MVPs. Write them up and comment on the process and how it worked, what hypothesis was, and whether it was proven.
Test hypotheses with real out of the building experiments of various kinds with potentially different MVPs. Remember that sometimes you can legitimately test more than one hypothesis with one MVP. Write them up and comment on the process and how it worked, what hypothesis was, and whether it was proven Many of these should be done virtually out of the building, meaning, with outside people who were not previously known to you. at least 5 hypotheses with real out of the building experiments, of various kinds, using a variety of MVPs. Write them up and comment on the process and how it worked, what hypothesis was, and whether it was proven.
Pivots
Were any pivots considered throughout the process? Did you need to do a pivot and if so what led to it and what kind of a pivot was it?
Out of the building work
Our metaphor of “out of the building” covers any time that you went beyond your own immediate team to validate your hypotheses. As you know there are a variety of tools and mechanisms and audiences that you can be tapping. We will see that some provide far better information than others. Asking your best friend, roommate or parent will be almost useless beause they will not want to disappoint you. Asking your social media friends is a little better. Gathering some random students in the library for an impromptu round table is very effective. Converation (live, phone or zoom) is far superior to sending out a google survey.