Prioritising Assumptions

A thorough assumption-mapping exercise might reveal 20, 30, or even more assumptions for a single feature. We don't have time to test all of them so we need to be strategic about which assumptions we validate first.

But how do you compare a desirability assumption against a usability or viability one? This is where we need a prioritisation framework to help. I really like David Bland's Importance & Evidence 2x2 matrix. Map our each assumption on whether it is of high importance to the success of the feature and whether you have strong or weak evidence for the assumption.

It's a quick and easy way to highlight your leap-of-faith assumptions (high importance, low evidence). These are the ones you should test first. By focusing on the most critical assumptions you can validate (or invalidate) your solution quickly.

I go into more detail in my article, including highlighting the importance of mapping and prioritising multiple solutions in parallel.

This Week’s Updates

Enabling the Team

Balanced Teams – Here's How To Make Them Work by Martina Hodges-Schell
Structural resistance, siloed priorities, and lack of shared accountability are challenges organizations face when implementing balanced team.

Why Great Advice Isn’t Enough by Steven Morris
Brilliant strategies fail without the right environment. Building trust, alignment, and commitment within teams creates the conditions for advice to lead to lasting impact.

Product Direction

Why You Need A 'not Doing' List, Not A Todo List by Ant Murphy
Create a 'NOT Doing' list to identify and eliminate underused features can reduce maintenance overhead & improve product focus. Unused features can complicate codebases and slow down development.

A Modern Take On Strategy, Goals, And Roadmaps by Itamar Gilad
Focus on outcomes over outputs, embedding evidence-based learning into strategy, and considering multiple strategic options to navigate the unpredictable nature of product development. By embracing uncertainty, teams can adapt more effectively and make informed decisions that drive product success.

Continuous Research

UX Analytics: How to Measure Your User Experience The Right Way by Syed Balkhi
Choose the right UX metrics, dive into how to gather meaningful data to improve user interactions and drive better product decisions.

How I’m Using AI To Streamline Persona And Journey Map Creation by Kyle Soucy
AI tools like ChatGPT can speed up persona and journey map creation by drafting elements like taglines. However, human insight remains essential to ensure authenticity and accuracy.

Continuous Design

Prioritising Assumptions by Rory Madden
By ranking assumptions based on importance and evidence and mapping them across multiple solutions, we can focus our efforts on the high-impact, high-uncertainty areas.

Saas Localization: Strategies, Tools, And Best Practices For Global Success by Rachel Wolff
SaaS products can effectively enter global markets by using localization strategies, including content adaptation, formatting changes, and supporting regional preferences. [Sponsored Content]

Continuous Development

WTF is activation and why should engineers care? by Ian Vanagas
Defining and measuring activation metrics help to improve user engagement and retention. Engineers can influence activation by optimizing product features and user flows to facilitate these key actions.

Tool-building With AI by Jon Yablonski
The ability to generate, modify, and iterate on custom tools through simple conversation with AI has effectively bridged the long-standing gap between technical capability and creative vision.

The Wildcards of 2025

Thank you to everyone who voted! While the results were tight, our wildcards for 2025 have been selected. We're thrilled to welcome Mahmoud Fahmy to UXDX EMEA and Tanesha Smith-Wattley to UXDX USA! We can’t wait to see your talks and hear your insights. Stay tuned for more updates on the agenda!

Leaders in Tech
Meet the women of 2025 speaking at UXDX

In 2025, progress isn’t a given… It’s something we must actively champion. In honour International Womens Day we at UXDX are proud to showcase an incredible lineup of women leaders who are driving innovation, breaking barriers, and shaping the future of tech and design.

This is your chance to learn from the best and gain insights that will empower you to lead, innovate, and break barriers in your own career. Don’t miss out on hearing from these inspiring women at UXDX EMEA in Berlin and UXDX USA in New York!

Secure your ticket now before prices increase again in 2 weeks!

FREE COMMUNITY EVENTS 

Check out more upcoming community events 

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

In this week's video, Lee Cooper, VP Product & Technology at BBC Studios, delves into the transformation of BBC.com from a UK-centric public service website to a globally recognized commercial product. Lee shares the challenges and strategies involved in balancing the public service mission with the need to drive commercial revenue.

Check out this valuable talk on product transformation at the BBC. Watch the full video here 👇

The Results of Last Week’s Poll

The question: Do you have a systematic way to identify the assumptions underpinning your features?

It’s clear from the results of this week’s poll that a lot of teams could benefit from a more structured approach to identifying assumptions behind their features. While 9% of respondents are happy with their systematic approach, a larger 27% have a method in place but aren’t fully satisfied with it.

Interestingly, nearly half (46%) rely on an unstructured approach, and 18% don’t identify assumptions at all. It’s important to note that assumptions can influence product decisions, and without a clear system for addressing them, teams risk making decisions based on guesswork rather than data.

If you’re looking to improve how assumptions are identified and validated in your product development process, check out our Continuous Research course for strategies and insights!

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