Stages of Hypotheses Development

Coming back to the topic of MVP development in product development approach — today we’d like to share a few lifehacks concerning hypothesis creation. As we mentioned previously, an MVP is an ideal tool to test product hypotheses — but where do they come from in the first place?

The simplest hypothesis development formula looks like this:

“If we do [this], we can change the behavior of [these people] [this way], thanks to [these qualities] of the product.”

To come up with hypotheses, you need to go through a simple 4-step algorithm; see more in the slides. Also, to make sure the concept is 100% clear, we provide examples based on an imaginary product development process: let’s say, we’re going to develop a webinar platform, just like Zoom or better. Let’s create some hypotheses!

1. Describe your audience’s behavior

Your product is supposed to change the behavior of people who use it. Who are they? Describe all your audience groups in full detail.

Example: for our webinar platform, the audience consists of speakers, target attendees, random attendees (those who came without an invitation), organizers.

2. Find the wording for your MVP

First, let’s see how NOT to do it:

Avoid general statements that don’t reflect who your audience is, and how your product changes their behavior. Also, there’s no need to try to describe minimal functionality in terms of features. These details will come in handy for the developer team later.

Example of incorrect wording:

Situation: “We don’t like the “trolls” and bots coming to the webinar trying to disrupt the event.”

Hypothesis statement: “If we want to change the behavior of visitors, we can, for example, develop a secure login with a password or with face recognition, to allow only pre-approved attendees.” These are only feature descriptions, irrelevant to the benefit your product will deliver to your audience.

3. Talk about the change in people’s behavior

Let’s get back to the “trolls” example. How do we want to change their behavior?

We want to make sure that they are not there. That’s how their behavior should change: they shouldn’t come.

4. Eliminate the barrier

A barrier is an obstacle that prevents us from changing people’s behavior. Another definition of an MVP is a way to break such a barrier.

Example:

Our task is to change the behavior of a particular group of people (to make sure that the “trolls” don’t come), without changing the behavior of another group (to make sure that this change does not influence the target audience).

Note that we still haven’t discussed any software features. We talk about people: about different groups and how to change their behavior. First, we need to determine the audience groups and describe their behavior, and then — the ways to change it.

Another useful idea: start with narrow groups because it’s easier to notice their specifics. Then you may move on to larger market niches.

More about MVP development is on our website: https://jet.style/product-development. If you need to develop an MVP for your business, you can get in touch with us and get a free consultation. orders@jet.style