Idea Validation Playbook

Validation Patterns

89 plays

playbook illustration

Idea Validation

Strategies to test your business idea

Validation Strategy System

Do you have evidence that you are solving a major problem?

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Validate the problem

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Do you have evidence that the users having the problem make up a market?

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Validate the market

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Can you point to evidence that your product solves the problem?

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Validate the product

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Do you have people willing to reach into their wallets and pay for it?

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Validate willingness to pay

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You are ready to go implement your idea!
Order the Validation Pattern card deck

These experiments are part of the Validation Patterns printed card deck

A collection of 60 product experiments that will validate your idea in a matter of days, not months. They are regularly used by product builders at companies like Google, Facebook, Dropbox, and Amazon.

Get your deck!
Order the Validation Pattern card deck

These experiments are part of the Validation Patterns printed card deck

A collection of 60 product experiments that will validate your idea in a matter of days, not months. They are regularly used by product builders at companies like Google, Facebook, Dropbox, and Amazon.

Get your deck!

Don’t go implement something nobody wants

These patterns provide a framework for making data-driven decisions that can help your team move quickly and continuously discover new ideas. By using validation patterns, you can validate your ideas, prototype without building, and build a shared vocabulary among your team.

  • Make Data-Driven Decisions. Don’t rely on the loudest voice in the room to decide the future of your company. Instead, trust in the power of data to make informed decisions. Validation patterns provide a framework for understanding what constitutes good research quality and evidence strength, making it easy for your team to communicate in the language of product experimentation.
  • Move Fast. Get answers in hours, not months by using produt experiments. Don’t start with the data you have to see what questions you can answer. Start with what questions you have and create the data yourself by using these archetypical product experiments - prototypes if you will.
  • Continuous Discovery. Conduct product experiments that produce useful research evidence measured in hours and days rather than weeks and months. Make decisions based on data you just received - that relate to the decision you are making, right now.
  • De-Risk Product Decisions. Building a successful product is a risky endeavor. But by using validation patterns, you can de-risk your product decisions and let solid evidence guide your roadmap.
  • Creating Your Own Data. Questions before data. Create the data you need to answer your existing questions rather than starting by looking at existing data to see what questions you can answer.
  • De-Risk Success. Avoid humiliating launches by making sure there is an actual demand for what you are building.
  • Sharpen your portfolio and backlog. Only work on projects and features that matters, delivers results, and is proven to have impact.