Good Next Move

Idea validation worksheet

Separate an assumption, a small test, observations, and the next decision.

Prepared by Good Next Move editorial · Original editorial guidance and examples prepared with AI assistance. Provider facts are shown separately with their dated source evidence; these pages do not claim personal testing or professional credentials.

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When to use this tool

Use this worksheet before treating an idea as established demand. Name the audience and assumption, then choose an observation that would help you assess it. Keep participant agreement and the time and cash limits visible. Record what happened separately from what you think it means.

Connect it to the decision

A small test can lead to stopping, changing the idea, or investigating further. A compliment, an expressed preference, and a completed purchase are different observations. The worksheet does not prove business viability or estimate income.

Read alongside the tool

Questions to resolve

Do my worksheet answers become site content?

No. The tool uses your entries in browser memory. Use the explicit print or export action if you want a copy, and reset to clear the workspace.

What does a blank amount or answer mean?

Blank means not entered or unknown. Use zero only when that is the actual amount you intend; the calculation asks for required inputs instead of silently assuming them.

Your worksheet

How to use it

  1. Write one assumption and an observation that would help you assess it.
  2. Choose a small first experiment, a time and cash limit, and a review point. Explain your idea accurately to willing participants.
  3. Record observations separately from interpretations, then decide what to change, continue, or stop. A plan or positive response does not establish income.
Read an original worked example

Hypothetical example: “A local club needs a simpler event signup page.” A reader asks three willing organizers about their current process, records the problems they describe, limits planning work to one afternoon, and reviews whether a small prototype is worth making.

Answers stay in this page’s browser memory. Reloading or resetting clears them. Print or export explicitly to keep a copy.

Download an original blank template

Downloads include evergreen instructions and a labeled original example. They do not contain your current answers.

Explore the earning experiments topic · More tools & templates

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