Audit Diagnostic Data to Decouple Evidence from Assumptions
Scrutinise every data point, market assertion, and capability score established in the diagnostic to categorise them as verified facts or untested hypotheses. Challenge the pedigree of market size estimates, channel partner interest, and regulatory clearance timelines.
Completing this action isolates unverified founder bias and high-risk assumptions from verified commercial reality. It secures the integrity of the diagnostic by ensuring that strategic capital decisions are anchored purely in validated evidence.
The founder must produce an Assumption versus Evidence Register that explicitly categorises every diagnostic input and highlights unverified hypotheses. Each assumption must be paired with a proposed validation method and timebound testing protocol.
Five questions an expert would ask when reviewing your output
Use these to challenge assumptions, pressure-test your logic, and check the quality of this action's output in the context of the parent task and wider venture development.
- 1
What primary research or signed letters of intent back up your claims regarding customer demand in the target market?
- 2
Which assumptions regarding local regulatory approval timelines pose the highest risk of catastrophic cash burn if proven wrong?
- 3
How have you stress-tested the assumption that your domestic pricing power will translate directly into foreign currency terms?
- 4
What proportion of your diagnostic score relies on secondary market reports versus direct, verified customer interactions?
- 5
Why have you classified your channel partner distribution lead times as a verified signal rather than an unproven assumption?