Identifying the Assumptions that Underpin your Features

Every product or feature we build rests on a foundation of assumptions about how users will behave. If these assumptions are wrong it could sink our whole feature. That's why identifying the key assumptions is critical to enable us to test our designs before we over-invest in building the solution.

But I've been there, sitting in a room trying to rack my brain to identify the assumptions we are making. It's not easy. That's where have a structured approach can result in better outcomes.

In this weeks article I go into detail about three approaches that you can take - mapping the process flow, using the four core product risks (plus a bonus fifth one) and conducting pre-mortem. The last is my favourite because you get to think about how someone might game your system. Well, we all find fun in different ways!

This Week’s Updates

Enabling the Team

Self-Managing Organizations And Steward-Ownership: A Perfect Match? by Joost Minnaar
Self-managing organizations and steward-ownership align to ensure long-term sustainability, purpose, and autonomy, as seen in companies like Voys and Buurtzorg.

How To Bring Up Inconvenient Feedback by Christopher K Wong
Practical advice on delivering constructive feedback, emphasizing the importance of timing, specificity, and empathy to promote growth and improvement.

Product Direction

Strategy & Decisiveness by John Cutler
Effective strategy requires decisiveness. John suggests that leaders should make clear, timely decisions to guide their teams and organizations toward their goals.

Tools Of The Trade: Building Opportunity Solution Trees In Vistaly by Melissa Suzuno
Vistaly helps teams build opportunity solution trees, making it easier to organize insights, prioritize solutions, and create actionable roadmaps.

Continuous Research

Researcher Triangulation In Qualitative Analysis by Nicole Jose
Researcher triangulation is a powerful method for enhancing the reliability, accuracy, and trustworthiness of qualitative research. Involving multiple researchers minimizes biases, identifies potential errors, and ensures inclusive and understanding of the data.

Beyond The Script: How To Elevate Your Qualitative Research Interviews by Emily Barnes | Askable
Improve qualitative research interviews by moving beyond scripted questions. Key strategies include:​ Prepare, Build Rapport Early, Practice Active Listening, Ask Open-Ended and Probing Questions. [Sponsored Content]

Continuous Design

3 Different Methods for Identifying Assumptions by Rory Madden
The most effective approach is to use all three techniques in combination. Start with process mapping to understand the flow, use the five risks framework to systematically identify assumptions, and finish with a pre-mortem to catch anything you might have missed.

Visualizing The Magic Of AI by Ken Olewiler
Incorporate AI into product experiences, by focusing on designing custom AI agents and expressing general intelligence within products.

Continuous Development

The End Of The Bronze Age: Rethinking The Medallion Architecture by Adam Bellemare
Time for the "shift left" approach, processing data once and making it accessible across various use cases, thereby reducing redundancy and improving efficiency. This provides more relevant, complete, and trustworthy data to users and systems, regardless of their specific requirements.

Devops Scaling Practices — A Roadmap With Challenges And Strategies by Vipul Makwana
Scaling DevOps enhances software delivery lifecycles, but increases the need for automation and improved collaboration. Some solutions to challenges are clear communication, training, breaking down tasks, integrating security practices, and prioritizing ROI.

Wildcard Finalist Voting Is Open!

This is your chance to shape the UXDX 2025 agenda for both EMEA (Berlin) and USA (New York). Your vote will directly impact which sessions make it to the stage, ensuring that the topics and discussions you care about are heard.

Check out the finalists below and cast your vote on LinkedIn:

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Don’t miss the opportunity to connect, learn, and level up your expertise before prices go up. Book now and see you in May!

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Video of the Week
Implementing Product Process Change in a Mature Organization

In this week's video, Chris delves into the challenges and strategies for transforming a mature organization with over 30k employees into a modern product-driven enterprise. He shares his team's journey of shifting from a business-led approach to a more dynamic and efficient product development practice.

This session offers great insights on how to make lasting, impactful changes in product delivery. Watch the full video here 👇

The Results of Last Week’s Poll

The question: Which approach has been most effective in getting design integrated into your development process?

Wow. Most people (34%) say that their company is open to change. I haven’t been lucky enough to work in those companies but that is great news.

For the other votes, in second place, shifting funding priorities works best, followed by large organizational change, and almost an identical amount who decide to move jobs rather than try to change from the inside. This is understandable when faced with alternatives of funding or org change because neither of them are easy to do, particularly if you do not have the authority to push through changes.

While these efforts vary, it’s clear that companies need to focus on building trust and aligning design with broader organizational goals to create a lasting impact. If you’re looking to strengthen the role of design within your organization or explore more strategies for integration, consider learning more through our Continuous Design course!