What are the assumptions behind your vision (and how do you test them)?

This tweet has helped to guide my thinking about what to include in the first version of our product. It builds upon some of the thinking of the minimum viable product and asks: What do you need to build to test the assumptions behind your product’s vision?

Answering this question won’t always require building something. Sometimes a competitor’s product or user feedback can be enough to provide validation, but, as with any assumption, it’s important to consider and understand the beliefs behind it.

One other thing, I think the order of assumptions is pretty important to consider too. If you can prove all your assumptions correct except the first one, well then, you’ve still got quite a problem on your hands.