Product Hypotheses

The product hypotheses section distills critical assumptions about the tangible and intangible attributes of a product. It facilitates meticulous forecasting of how the product should look, feel, and function, and how it resonates with potential customers.

Features

Begin with a concise outline of what your product will offer. Translate technical features into compelling benefits that stand out to customers. Each feature's description should be a short (one or two sentence) summary that precisely captures its importance and anticipated appeal. Try to define between seven and ten features in this section.

Benefits

List the distinctive benefits that the product will deliver. Whether it's offering something revolutionary or simply doing things better, faster, or more cost-effectively, these benefits are what you hypothesize will meet customer demands. These are the selling points that you will put to the test against what customers are truly seeking.

What makes your product stand out, and why should your customers care? Explore the direct advantages your product promises to deliver, and predict how it will enhance the customer experience. Craft questions that challenge your team to dig deep and justify each assumed benefit:

1. What specific problem does each product feature solve for the customer?
2. How do these benefits improve upon current solutions or market offerings?
3. In what ways will the product save time, reduce costs, or improve efficiency for the user?
4. What are the potential increases in productivity or revenue that your product could enable?
5. How will the product enhance the user experience or customer satisfaction?
6. Is there an environmental, social, or ethical benefit your product provides?
7. Can any of the benefits lead to a paradigm shift in the way customers operate in their personal or professional lives?
8. How might these benefits evolve or scale with future versions or updates of the product?

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property (IP) is fundamental in safeguarding and capitalizing on your product’s innovations. This section prompts you to carefully consider what elements of your product might warrant legal protection or require careful navigation of existing patents.

1. What unique creation, invention, or innovation does our product include that may be eligible for intellectual property protection?
2. Based on a preliminary assessment, which aspects of our IP have the potential to be patented, and what is the strategic value of acquiring such patents?
3. Have we identified any trade secrets within our processes or technology that are integral to our competitive advantage and need to be safeguarded?
4. What steps have been taken to review existing IP in the market to ensure our product does not infringe on the rights of others?
5. In the case of potential IP infringement, how prepared are we to engage in licensing agreements or make necessary design alterations?
6. How do we plan to monitor and enforce our intellectual property rights, and are there resources allocated for potential IP litigation?
7. What is the plan for maintaining the confidentiality of IP-related information, especially during the early stages of product development and when engaging with external parties?
8. Should we open source parts of our technology, and what strategic benefits or risks does this pose for innovation, community building, and our economic model?
9. How will open sourcing impact our company's revenue and long-term growth, and what steps can we take to secure the integrity and value of our proprietary features?

Dependency Analysis

Understanding external factors that can impact your product's success is just as crucial as the product details themselves. Analyze the circumstances and changes outside of your control that may influence market acceptance and sales. Define how you plan to track these changes and what metrics will signify their influence on your product strategy.

1. Which technology trends or emerging standards might affect the relevance of the product?
2. How do changes in regulatory policies or international trade laws impact product distribution or functionality?
3. What consumer behavior trends could influence the adoption of your product?
4. Are there any political or policy changes that could alter your product's marketability?
5. How might shifts in economic conditions, such as inflation rates or currency fluctuations, affect product pricing and customer purchasing power?
6. In what ways could advancements in complementary technologies boost your product's utility or desirability?
7. What industry-specific risks, such as supply chain disruptions or competitive innovations, must be navigated?
8. Which partnerships or alliances are crucial for the product's integration into broader ecosystems or platforms?

Product Delivery Schedule

Beyond the initial launch, strategize the rollout of your product's subsequent versions or features. Assess and map out a timeline that encompasses the product's evolution in the short and medium term. This flexible roadmap is a tool for dialogue with early customers and not a set of concrete promises.

This is more than just the delivery date of the first customer shipment, but the delivery and feature schedule for follow-on products or multiple releases of the product as far out as the team can see (up to 18 months). The customer development team will be out trying to convince a small group of early customers to buy based on the product specifications, long before you can physically deliver the product.

1. What is the projected date for the initial product launch, and how was this date determined?
2. What key milestones must be achieved leading up to the launch, and what are their deadlines?
3. How have customer feedback and testing influenced the development timeline and feature prioritization?
4. What are the risks that could delay the product delivery, and how can these be mitigated?
5. How does the delivery schedule align with key sales and marketing initiatives?
6. What resources (team, budget, technology) are necessary to stay on track with the delivery schedule?
7. How will the success of each product release be measured, and what criteria will determine if 1. adjustments to the schedule are needed?
8. After the initial release, what is the timeline for subsequent feature rollouts, updates, or iterations?

Total Cost Ownership/Adoption

Estimate the comprehensive cost for customers when adopting your product. This estimation encompasses not only the price of the product itself but also auxiliary costs such as training, systemic changes, and the phase-out of current solutions. Reflect on every aspect that wi

1. Do they need new equipment? Training? Physical or organizational changes that need to happen first?
2. What will be the cost of deployment?
3. Do they need to change any part of their current purchasing or usage behavior?
4. Do they need to throw away or obsolete something they use today?