PMs Reduce Risk by Making Assumptions Explicit
Before building, ask what you are assuming. Common assumption types include:
<ul>
<li>desirability: do users care?</li>
<li>usability: will they understand it?</li>
<li>feasibility: can we build it?</li>
<li>viability: does it help the business?</li>
</ul>
If the assumptions stay hidden, the team often overbuilds.

Which is a desirability assumption?

"Users will love this feature" is a strong hypothesis because it is specific and testable.

Good Hypotheses Are Testable
A useful PM hypothesis usually sounds like:
If we do X for Y, we expect Z because reason.
That format forces specificity and makes evaluation easier.

A useful hypothesis should make it possible to tell what result would support or weaken it.

Test the Biggest Risk First
When multiple assumptions exist, do not treat them equally.
Strong PMs ask:
<ul>
<li>which assumption is most uncertain?</li>
<li>which one would make the whole idea fail if wrong?</li>
<li>which one can we test cheaply first?</li>
</ul>

A team wants to build an AI planning assistant for enterprise operations managers. What is often the best first risk to test?

Teams often waste time when the biggest assumption is never made explicit or tested early.