THE MISSION VALIDATION WORKSHEET
Fill this in BEFORE you build anything. If the demand isn't real, you find out here for the cost of an afternoon instead of a wasted weekend.


THE IDEA IN ONE LINE
Write the product you think you want to build, in one sentence, plain.

  I want to build ___________________________________________________

  for _______________________________________________________________

  so they can _______________________________________________________


THE MISSION CHECK
Six moves. Answer each one honestly. A weak answer here is the cheapest
warning you will ever get.

M - MAP THE PROBLEM
    Name the real struggle your people carry, in their words, not the
    prettier version you wish they had.

    Their actual words: _______________________________________________

    ___________________________________________________________________

I - IDENTIFY THE CUSTOMER
    Get specific. Who is this for, what level are they at, what did they
    already try and abandon?

    Who: ______________________________________________________________

    Level: ____________________________________________________________

    Already tried and quit: ___________________________________________

S - SURVEY THE DEMAND
    Put it in front of them and watch what their hands do. What people do
    buries what people say, every time.

    Where I'll put it in front of them: _______________________________

    ___________________________________________________________________

S - SIZE THE SMALLEST VERSION
    What is the smallest thing that solves one narrow problem fast? A
    template, a checklist, a mini-guide. Build that first, not the
    everything-guide.

    Smallest useful version: __________________________________________

    ___________________________________________________________________

I - INVITE THE PRE-SALE
    One sentence to your list: I'm building X, it'll include these
    things, would you pay this much for it. Write that sentence now.

    My pre-sale ask: __________________________________________________

    ___________________________________________________________________

O - OFFER A PRICE
    Price on the value it delivers, not the hours it cost you. Start one
    notch above comfortable. You can always slide down.

    My starting price: $______

N - NAME THE NUMBER THAT MEANS GO
    Decide your pass/fail line right now, before the data comes in, so
    you can't talk yourself past a bad signal later.

    Go if I get at least: _____________________________________________


THE TWO TESTS
Run one. Run both if you can. The number in the room is telling you what
to build.

THE WAITLIST TEST
    Stand up a plain page describing the thing. Count signups.
    Floor signal: 100 signups out of 1,000 visitors. Less than that, the
    idea needs more shaping before it earns a weekend.

    Visitors: ______    Signups: ______    Pass? Y / N

THE PRE-ORDER TEST
    Take money for a product that does not exist yet. This is the most
    honest signal there is, because a card swipe does not lie the way a
    thumbs-up does.
    Strong: 10 or more people pay. Problem: fewer than 5. Meet that
    problem now, while the fix is still cheap.

    Pre-orders: ______    Pass? Y / N


THE DECISION
Circle one and write the reason, so future-you remembers why.

  BUILD IT   /   RESHAPE IT   /   SHELVE IT

  Because: __________________________________________________________

  ___________________________________________________________________


THE LINE TO REMEMBER
Pre-sell it. Always. The market is in the room telling you what to build,
and the only mistake that craft can't save you from is building the thing
nobody asked for.