Minimum Viable Products TIPS

GET THE LATEST TIPS EACH WEEK

Get product resources, conference updates, along with access to an exclusive Slack channel by subscribing below.

A Guide to Validating Product Ideas with Quick and Simple Experiments

An effective experiment must include these four elements — a hypothesis, your riskiest assumption, the method, and a minimum criterion for success. So says Grace Ng, who provides details on how to assemble each of these. First, a customer-problem hypothesis is formed (a problem-solution hypothesis will be formed after it’s been validated), then your riskiest assumption will be identified for testing, then the method of testing chosen, and finally, your expected outcomes defined.

The 7 Habits for Running Highly Effective Lean Startup Experiments

Even the most celebrated scientists are not immune to cognitive biases. Ash Maurya quotes Richard P. Feyman who said: “the first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” Although a product manager need not go to the lengths required by the scientific community to ensure valid results, you still must vigorously test your own assumptions. Maurya teaches that you can develop habits that will help you do this on a continuing basis. These include clearly defining expected outcomes from the start, accepting imperfect information sources, depending on quantitative data, and becoming adept at turning your assumptions into falsifiable hypotheses.