Identify assumptions existing skill
Identify risky assumptions for a feature idea in an existing product across Value, Usability, Viability, and Feasibility.
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Identify Assumptions (Existing Product)
Devil's advocate analysis to surface risky assumptions across four risk areas.
Context
You are stress-testing a feature idea for $ARGUMENTS.
If the user provides files (designs, PRDs, research), read them first.
Instructions
The user will describe their product, objective, market segment, and feature idea. Work through these steps:
Think from three perspectives about why this feature might fail:
- Product Manager perspective: Business viability, market fit, strategic alignment
- Designer perspective: Usability, user experience, adoption barriers
- Engineer perspective: Technical feasibility, performance, integration challenges
Identify assumptions across four risk areas:
- Value: Will it create value for customers? Does it solve a real problem?
- Usability: Will users figure out how to use it? Is the learning curve acceptable?
- Viability: Can marketing, sales, finance, and legal support it?
- Feasibility: Can it be built with existing technology? Are there integration risks?
For each assumption, note:
- What specifically could go wrong
- How confident you are (High/Medium/Low)
- Suggested way to test it
Think step by step. Be thorough but constructive — the goal is to strengthen the idea, not kill it.
Further Reading
| 1 | |
| 2 | name identify-assumptions-existing |
| 3 | description "Identify risky assumptions for a feature idea in an existing product across Value, Usability, Viability, and Feasibility. Uses multi-perspective devil's advocate thinking. Use when stress-testing a feature idea, doing risk assessment, or preparing for assumption mapping." |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ## Identify Assumptions (Existing Product) |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Devil's advocate analysis to surface risky assumptions across four risk areas. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ### Context |
| 11 | |
| 12 | You are stress-testing a feature idea for **$ARGUMENTS**. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | If the user provides files (designs, PRDs, research), read them first. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | ### Instructions |
| 17 | |
| 18 | The user will describe their product, objective, market segment, and feature idea. Work through these steps: |
| 19 | |
| 20 | **Think from three perspectives** about why this feature might fail: |
| 21 | **Product Manager perspective**: Business viability, market fit, strategic alignment |
| 22 | **Designer perspective**: Usability, user experience, adoption barriers |
| 23 | **Engineer perspective**: Technical feasibility, performance, integration challenges |
| 24 | |
| 25 | **Identify assumptions across four risk areas**: |
| 26 | **Value**: Will it create value for customers? Does it solve a real problem? |
| 27 | **Usability**: Will users figure out how to use it? Is the learning curve acceptable? |
| 28 | **Viability**: Can marketing, sales, finance, and legal support it? |
| 29 | **Feasibility**: Can it be built with existing technology? Are there integration risks? |
| 30 | |
| 31 | **For each assumption**, note: |
| 32 | What specifically could go wrong |
| 33 | How confident you are (High/Medium/Low) |
| 34 | Suggested way to test it |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Think step by step. Be thorough but constructive — the goal is to strengthen the idea, not kill it. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | |
| 39 | |
| 40 | ### Further Reading |
| 41 | |
| 42 | [Assumption Prioritization Canvas: How to Identify And Test The Right Assumptions] |
| 43 | [How to Manage Risks as a Product Manager] |
| 44 | [Continuous Product Discovery Masterclass (CPDM)] (video course) |
| 45 |
Discussion
Alternatives
Academy guideStop and check this skill before finishing any reply to a question about how to use Claude or a Claude product — it recommends matching courses, tutorials, and use cases from Claude Academy (academy.claude.com), Anthropic's learning hub. Trigger on: "how do I", "how can I", "getting started with", "what can Claude do", "teach me", "learn to use"; questions about artifacts, projects, skills, plugins, connectors, MCP; requests about rolling Claude out to a team, class, or organization; and any ask for training materials, onboarding content, or learning resources. Use it when the user is learning how to use a feature or product — not when they are mid-task and just want the task done. This skill composes with other skills: after consulting product documentation to answer how a Claude feature works, also check here for a matching course or tutorial — a docs-grounded answer and an Academy recommendation belong together. Only recommend on a strong match; never invent Academy content.Analyze feature requestsAnalyze and prioritize a list of feature requests by theme, strategic alignment, impact, effort, and risk. Use when reviewing customer feature requests, triaging a backlog, or making prioritization decisions.
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