Figure 10-1. Box 6 of the Lean UX Canvas: Hypotheses
When the team arrives at Box 6, it has all the raw material it needs to start writing tactical, testable hypotheses. Before we do that, though, let’s talk about hypotheses in general.
Hypothesis has become a popular word in product development recently, in no small part because of The Lean Startup, in which Eric Ries describes a method of product development inspired by the scientific method. He advocates testing your hypotheses early and often. So what is a hypothesis anyway? According to The Oxford Dictionary of Difficult Words, it’s “a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.”1
That’s what we’re about to create: we’re going to take all of our assumptions (assumptions are statements based on “limited evidence”), and we’re going to gather them into a unified statement (our “proposed explanation” of our problem and solution) so that we can begin our research and testing process (our “further investigation”).
OK, with that out of the way, let’s get started writing hypotheses. This is the template we recommend:
We believe we will achieve [this business outcome]
If [these personas]
Attain [this benefit/user outcome]
With [this feature or solution]
The template starts with the words “we believe.” This is explicit because ...
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