Problem definition
Assumption Busting
Overview
Challenging assumptions, often referred to assumption busting, is a simple technique that involves listing all of the assumptions that are important to your problem, including the obvious ones, and then challenging the correctness of each assumption in turn.
What to do
Undertake the technique in 3 simple steps:
- First of all, list all of the assumptions that are relevant to your problem or situation. Look at the situation you are in. What are the assumptions you are making about it? What is so obvious that you would not normally think about challenging it? Make all of your assumptions explicit and list them out, especially the obvious ones that you would not consider challenging. Typical assumptions include: that is not possible, the customer will not accept it, and it will exceed the project budget. If you cannot find assumptions, you are assuming that they do not exist.
- Pick one assumption at a time, and challenge it by asking under what conditions it might not be true. Explore these conditions using different scenarios, no matter how extreme, of what might happen, to explore the space of possible ideas. You will start to make new assumptions as you challenge some assumptions, so simply add these to the list, and challenge them later.
- For each assumption that you discover might not be true, brainstorm new ways in which it might be true, or could be forced to be true, and right down the resulting new ideas and opportunities.
People
Works best with any number of people.
Problem solving characteristics
Assumption Busting is useful when you want to generate lots of initial ideas to choose from for further development at the start of the project, and to seek to increase the number of ideas that have discovering by opening up the space of what is possible.
Creative phases
Assumption Busting is useful if you want to generate ideas no matter how difficult their implementation is.
Location
Any quiet space according to the number of participants.
Equipment
Post-it notes, pens, a table (optional) and a flipchart.