Product and strategy
Lean canvas
A one-page business plan for a new product: problem, customers, solution, unique value and the numbers that matter.
- Time45 to 90 minutes
- People1 to 6 people
- Steps5
What it's for
The lean canvas adapts the business model canvas for something that doesn't exist yet. It starts from the problem and the customer rather than partners and resources, and asks for the one metric and the unfair advantage that will decide whether it works.
Fill it fast, in under twenty minutes for a first pass. It's a snapshot of current beliefs, not a document to perfect.
How to run it
Problem and customers10 min
The top three problems, and who has them. Note how they solve it today.
Unique value8 min
One clear sentence on why you're different and worth attention.
Solution and channels10 min
The simplest solution to each problem, and how you'll reach customers.
Numbers and advantage10 min
Revenue, costs, the key metrics, and what can't easily be copied.
Pick the riskiest box4 min2 votes each
Vote on the box to test first.
Tips
- Leave unfair advantage empty if you don't have one. Most early ideas don't.
- Fill a canvas per customer segment if they have different problems.
Where it comes from
Adapted from the business model canvas by Ash Maurya in 2010 for early-stage products, and described in his book Running Lean. It is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence.
Pairs well with
Business model canvas
Nine boxes (customers, value, channels, revenue, costs and the rest) that describe how a business creates and captures value.
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.
Hypothesis statement
Write an idea as a testable belief: what we'll build, for whom, the outcome we expect, and the signal that will show we were right.