I don’t want your idea, I want your hypothesis
Ideas are great for a few uses:
- A structured workshop
- A brainstorm whiteboard session
- A divergent thinking exercise
And… that covers most use cases. As product designers the rest of the time we should be forming a hypothesis rather than tossing out ideas.
Where ideas miss the mark
It’s easy to present a partially-formed opinion when presenting an idea. Ideas are usually rooted in quick instinctual reactions to a problem or situation and commonly need further thought or clarification to be debated, discussed, or tested. To objectively assess a product opinion is not just difficult, it’s almost impossible without slipping into an argument over personal preferences.
Why a hypothesis is better
Next time, don’t pitch an idea, present your hypothesis. Hypotheses—by design—are actionable, testable, and ideally grounded in research or observation. Therefore a hypothesis is very unlikely to be opinion-based. And even if it’s rooted in opinion, a hypothesis is actionable (read: testable). Together, we should be able to test—or discuss—your hypothesis and have an objective conversation about its merits. Also, hypotheses have a self-correcting structure. If a hypothesis is too difficult to test, you have a key indicator it needs further refinement.
The next time you have a product idea, try to form a product hypothesis. You’ll end up with a more productive discussion and a higher likelihood of your hypothesis going somewhere.
