<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" width="40px" /> This is one out of the 130+ canvases and exercise we developed within the StartHack Framework - a practical set of 6 workbooks to take your startup from an idea to P/M fit in 6 months
How it works?
The Hypothesis Canvas is a tool for validating business assumptions. It involves writing down an assumption and converting it into a testable hypothesis using a scientific method. Assumptions are then ranked using the RICE framework to prioritize which ones to tackle first.
<aside> ℹ️ Before you start!
We suggest you hide (or fold if you have the physical copy) the right side of the canvas. The “Learn” section will not be needed until after we launch and test the experiment.
Here’s a reference to how StartHack Validation Loop works. Check ‣ for more info.
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Start with the end in mind and phrase your assumption as “We believe…”
In our Idea stage, our assumption should be around
I think [Idea name] is a great potential because it [customer name] has [problem definition] and the [current solution] is not the best one out there.
It’s important to follow the scientific method when trying to validating things out. The first thing is to check the boxes of what part of the biz model this assumption is part of:
It’s ok if your assumption checks more than one part of your business model. Although, we highly recommend to limit this to as few as possible because if the experiment failed, it’s usually hard to know the responsible factor, which makes the learning part not useful. This is also why we have to approaches to the StartHack Framework (as stated in the intro): the WISE way and the BULLET way.
Since we’re just testing out our idea, in general, we don’t have to worry about this a lot.
The next thing is to use this guideline to convert our assumption to a testable hypothesis:
If all are checked, then we’ve converted an assumption to a testable hypothesis that is disconnected from human emotional bias or subjective gut feelings.
As you approach your business, you must have a lot of assumption cards. The key is to prioritize the key one to tackle, one at a time.
We’ll follow a simple prioritization framework called RICE:
If you don’t want to use a score or find it hard to throw one, we’ve included a quick mapping card:
<aside> ℹ️ After you’re done defining your assumption, you should proceed to your Experiment Card (found below) to design, build and launch your experiment.
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This is the section where you need to mention the experiment you used to reach to whatever finding you’ve find. Sharing the description of the test, the SIR score, who was the lead, how long it took and the metrics used to analyze the results will all give you enough context about the experiment used to validate or invalidate this hypothesis.
The Experiment Card provides a detailed guide on how to design, build, and measure experiments to validate business hypotheses or assumptions.
It explains the steps involved in picking potential tests, defining a key performance indicator (KPI) or "One Metric That Matters" (OMTM), sketching the experiment, defining and finding the target audience, and listing and ranking the best channels to find the audience.
The canvas also provides steps on how to translate the plan into actions and how to analyze and reflect on the results after running the experiment. It emphasizes the importance of documenting and reflecting on findings and updating your progress board.