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Playbook · Design and build · 7 steps
Deciding what to build
Make sure the architecture serves a real need before you design it in detail.
“No plan survives first contact with customers”
- 1Jobs to Be DoneWhat progress is the customer trying to make, and in what circumstance?People hire a product to make progress in a particular circumstance; understand the job and its circumstance, not the customer's demographic profile.Open
- 2Outcomes Over OutputWhich change in behaviour will tell us this worked, not just that it shipped?Judge and steer work by the change in human behaviour it creates, not by the features, projects or code it produces.Open
- 3Opportunity Solution TreeWhich customer opportunity does this solve, and what other solutions did we compare?Map a desired outcome to the customer opportunities that could drive it, the solutions that might address each opportunity, and the assumption tests that check each solution.Open
- 4The Four Big RisksWhich of value, usability, feasibility and viability is the riskiest, and how do we test it first?Before building, address four risks: value (will they use or buy it), usability (can they work it out), feasibility (can we build it) and business viability (does it work for the business).Open
- 5Kano ModelWhich features are must-haves, which scale with effort, and which would delight?Not all qualities satisfy in the same way: some are expected, some please in proportion, some delight, and today's delighters become tomorrow's expectations.Open
- 6Build–Measure–LearnWhat is the smallest thing we can build to learn whether we are right?Treat each product idea as a hypothesis: build the smallest thing that tests it, measure what people actually do, and decide whether to pivot or persevere.Open
- 7Sacrificial ArchitectureCan the first version be built to be thrown away once we know more?Design knowing you may throw the system away, and treat that as a sign of success.Open