Assumption Grid Template
Make decisions with confidence with the assumption grid template.
About the Assumption Grid Template
Most business models and decisions are based on assumptions. Whether you’re a startup, an enterprise company, or somewhere in between, you’re probably making assumptions almost every day. But when resources and time are on the line, it can be hard to decide whether your assumptions are worth making -- and if you’re making tough judgment calls, it’s not always easy to know which assumptions to test.
Developed by IBM, an Assumption Grid is a powerful tool that helps you decide which assumptions from your business model you should test first. The grid plots your assumptions on two axes: high impact assumptions for which you have little information, and low impact assumptions for which you have little information. Visualizing your assumptions can empower you to make judgment calls, prioritize, mitigate risk, and overcome uncertainties.
Once you’ve placed a variety of items on the grid, the Assumption Grid becomes a great conversational tool. Bring your team into a room and have them go over the results. New assumptions might materialize, or you might move items around on the grid.
How do you use the assumption grid template?
Here are the steps to use our template effectively: 1. Customize the template according to your specific requirements. 2. Invite team members to join your board and collaborate with you. 3. Create color-coded sticky notes to keep track of each person’s contributions. 4. Use the username or video chat feature if you require input from others. 5. Upload various file types, such as documents, photos, videos, and PDFs, to store all the relevant information in one place. By following these steps, you can effectively use our assumption grid template and streamline your team's workflow.
When should you use the Assumption Grid template?
IBM recommends using the Assumption Grid as often as possible, and that is sound advice. For most organizations, risk is the only constant. The sooner you can recognize and evaluate your teams’ assumptions, the more quickly you can mitigate potential risk and make judgment calls. You can use the Assumption Grid anytime you’d like to promote critical thinking about your ideas. The grid prompts you to consider levels of certainty and risk, which can help you and your team to uncover some of your biases and unfounded beliefs. The Assumption Grid is also a useful tool for overcoming decision-making roadblocks. If your team is divided on a decision, bring everyone together to build an Assumption Grid. The ensuing conversations might clarify goals and expectations.
Get started with this template right now.
Cost-Benefit Analysis Template
Works best for:
Leadership, Decision Making, Strategic Planning
With so many day-to-day decisions to make—and each one feeling high-stakes—it’s easy for all the choices to weigh a business or organization down. You need a systematic way to analyze the risks and rewards. A cost benefit analysis gives you the clarity you need to make smart decisions. This template will let you conduct a CBA to help your team assess the pros and cons of new projects or business proposals—and ultimately help your company preserve your precious time, money, and social capital.
Value Chain Analysis Template
Works best for:
Leadership, Strategic Planning, Workflows
First coined by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, the value chain analysis helps your team evaluate your business activities so you can find ways to improve your competitive advantage. A value chain is a set of activities that a company performs in order to deliver a valuable product from start to finish. The analysis itself allows your team to visualize all the business activities involved in creating the product—and helps you identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and miscommunication within the process.
Cisco Recommended Security Architecture Template
Works best for:
Software Development, Diagrams
Cisco offers data center and access networking solutions built for scale with industry-leading automation, programmability, and real-time visibility. The Cisco Recommended Security Architecture uses Cisco elements to visually show the network design of Cisco networks.
Lean Inception Workshop
Works best for:
Agile, Lean Methodology
The Lean Inception Workshop streamlines project kickoff by aligning teams on goals, scope, and priorities. It leverages Lean principles to eliminate waste and maximize value, guiding exercises to define user personas, map user journeys, and prioritize features. By fostering cross-functional collaboration and customer-centric thinking, this template accelerates project initiation and ensures alignment between stakeholders, empowering teams to deliver customer value faster.
Fishbone Diagram Template
Works best for:
Operations, Diagrams, Workflows
What is the best way to solve any problem your team faces? Go straight to the root. That means identifying the root causes of the problem, and fishbone diagrams are designed to help you do it best. Also known as the Ishikawa Diagram (named after Japanese quality control expert Kaoru Ishikawa), fishbone diagrams allow teams to visualize all possible causes of a problem, to explore and understand how they fit together holistically. Teams can also use fishbone diagrams as a starting point for thinking about what the root cause of a future problem might be.
Agenda Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Meetings, Workshops
Even when you’ve hosted meetings for years, hosting them online is different. Keeping them structured, purposeful, and on-task is key. That all starts with having a detailed agenda, and this template makes it so easy for you to create one.