Product and strategy
Business model canvas
Nine boxes (customers, value, channels, revenue, costs and the rest) that describe how a business creates and captures value.
- Time60 to 120 minutes
- People2 to 8 people
- Steps5
What it's for
The canvas puts a whole business model on one page, so a team can see how the parts depend on each other: who the customers are, what they value, how they are reached, and what it all costs and earns. Changing one box usually means changing others, which is the point.
Use it for a new product, a new market, or to compare your model with a competitor's.
How to run it
Start with customers and value15 min
Fill customer segments and value propositions first.
How you reach them10 min
Channels and customer relationships.
How it works15 min
Key activities, resources and partners.
The money10 min
Revenue streams and cost structure.
Find the weak spots5 min3 votes each
Vote on the boxes you're least sure about.
Tips
- Use one note colour per customer segment, and the same colour for what serves that segment in other boxes.
- Each note is an assumption until it's tested. Mark the untested ones.
Where it comes from
Created by Alexander Osterwalder and described in Business Model Generation (2010), written with Yves Pigneur. Strategyzer publishes the canvas under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence.
Pairs well with
Lean canvas
A one-page business plan for a new product: problem, customers, solution, unique value and the numbers that matter.
Assumption map
Place every assumption behind a plan by how important it is and how much evidence you have, to find what to test first.
SWOT analysis
List strengths and weaknesses inside the organisation and opportunities and threats outside it, to see a situation before planning.