Risk & Assumptions Mapping

Every solution is built on a mountain of unstated assumptions. If any of these assumptions are wrong, your solution will fail. Solution Validation is the process of testing these assumptions before building the final product.

The Four Categories of Risk

Marty Cagan, author of Inspired, categorizes product risks into four buckets:

1. Value Risk: Will customers buy it or choose to use it?
2. Usability Risk: Can users figure out how to use it?
3. Feasibility Risk: Can we build it with the time, technology, and skills we have?
4. Business Viability Risk: Does this solution work for our business (legal, financial, compliance, brand)?

The Assumptions Mapping Grid

To prioritize what to test, map your assumptions on a 2x2 grid:

• X-axis (Evidence): Known (lots of evidence) vs. Unknown (no evidence).
• Y-axis (Importance): Critical (business fails if wrong) vs. Marginal (nice-to-know).

Focus your validation experiments exclusively on the Critical + Unknown quadrant. These are your "Leap-of-Faith Assumptions" (LOFAs).