I had originally put this together after reading both Inspired and Continuous Discovery Habits. The intent being to highlight that we have the ability to de-risk an idea, starting from the moment it is conceived. In the discovery phase we do that through assumptions testing. And then assuming something is selected to be worked, we do something similar through risk assessment in the design/build phases.

Product assumptions and risks happen to look really similar. Which means that assumptions tests give you a great foundation and set of pre-work that can be used in risk assessment.

Reading this article, I realized I missed a key piece of the puzzle, who takes lead for each of these items. Ultimately the product trio shares ownership of answering each of these assumptions and risks. But various members of the team should lead out based on the area in question.

From the article:

“Recall that in product discovery there are always four risks to consider: value, usability, feasibility and viability.  In an empowered product team we need the three critical competencies of product management, product design and engineering in order to address all four of these risks”

In many organizations, the PM will work the areas they are responsible for, while also shepherding the work in the other two areas. They may even do some of the initial leg work (mock-ups, reading technical documentation) before handing off to their fellow trio members. The intent here being to allow their fellow trio members to focus their time/effort on more high-value work. But ultimately each member of the trio must address their respective area. And in the end the trio must own the decisions and outputs that come from this work.