Product Discovery & User Research
Last reviewed
Correct answer: D. It tells them which part of the idea has to change
Explanation
The principle — the value of a test is what its result can be attributed to.
Why the key is correct — Torres's claim is that When an assumption test fails, we know exactly what needs to change. That follows directly from the isolation: because Assumption testing makes it clear that we’re testing a single assumption and not the whole idea. the failure has only one thing it can be about. A team can act the next morning, and it knows which part to act on.
Why the others are wrong — a bundled failure returns one signal for many decisions, leaving the team to argue about which of them caused it, and that argument is exactly what isolating the assumption removes. Speed is a real side benefit and not the mechanism, since a fast bundled test is still unattributable. And a single failed assumption does not sink the idea; it names the part that has to be different.
Remember this — isolate the assumption and the failure comes back with an address on it.
Sources — Teresa Torres on assumption testing, Product Talk.
Sources
“When an assumption test fails, we know exactly what needs to change.”
“Assumption testing makes it clear that we’re testing a single assumption and not the whole idea.”
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