Validating your Opportunity Hypothesis

Validating your Opportunity Hypothesis

How do you sort out the great ideas from the merely good ones?

Once you have a Hypothesis you need to run an experiment to prove or disprove the hypothesis.

Options

1. Build full product/feature and see if customers like it. This is expensive and takes a long time.
2. Use Lean principles 
1. Discuss with stakeholders and use internal analytics 
2. Talk with real customers - current and potential - using interviews and surveys
3. Low-cost MVP 
4. A/B test

Regardless of how the hypothesis is tested, you must have:

• Objective data
• anecdotal data
• Cost/benefit data

SWOT Analysis
“A SWOT analysis is a common method for looking at how an opportunity hypothesis fits in. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This framework helps you identify the most important internal and external elements of achieving your goals.

To do a SWOT analysis, first identify your key goals and success metrics. Then create a two-by-two table like Table 4-1. The top row will be your internal elements—the strengths and weaknesses for the product/company around achieving your goals. The bottom row will look at external elements—the opportunities and threats, including things like cultural, governmental, and technological trends.”

Excerpts From: Josh Anon. “The Product Book.” Apple Books.