Experiment Map

OUTCOMES

A prioritised list of critical assumptions to be tested based on their importance, your confidence in their validity, as well as the cost and time it may take to test them.Well-structured experiments that will address your critical assumptions and help you define your path forward.

USING THE TOOL

Once the most critical assumptions have been identified, it is important to plan how an experiment should be conducted so you can collect the correct data. This data can validate concepts by providing evidence of the value of your concept, or help you plan next steps if the data suggests you should abandon or adapt your concept.

Use the Experiment Map to plan an experiment for each of the most critical assumptions (prioritising those that can be done quickly and cheaply), then track what you have learnt and what the significance is for each experiment.

1. Identify critical assumptions: Detail your critical assumption and any underlying assumptions.

2. Define an experiment: Consider and describe an experiment that could test these underlying assumptions. Remember the experiment does not need to closely resemble your final concept, it only needs to in/validate the assumption.

3. Describe behaviour: Describe the behaviour or outcome you would expect to see during your experiment.

4. Define metrics: Describe how you will measure it and what target metric will depict success for you.

5. Identify outcomes: Then use the lower half of the map to detail the outcomes of the experiment including the results, why they happened, what the insights are and what that means for your next experiment.

good sequence

Critical Assumptions > Experiment Map > Card Sorting

Tips

• Although this stage helps build concrete evidence and guide the direction of your development, it can also cause other behaviours, patterns and mechanisms to emerge. These emerging elements can be hugely valuable even if they weren't planned. So, remain observant and open to learning from unexpected outcomes

• The experiment does not need to closely resemble your final concept, it only needs to in/validate the assumption. Later you can move to develop 'Minimum Viable Products'