Risk Checklist
Use these questions when the basic verdict is not obvious.
Demand
- Who has the painful problem today?
- What workaround are they using now?
- What behavior shows urgency: payment, repeated manual work, switching tools, or asking for the same outcome more than once?
Positioning
- Can the target user say what this is for without hearing the implementation details?
- Is the promise tied to a concrete outcome rather than a broad category?
- Does the idea have a clear alternative it must beat?
Monetization
- Who controls the budget or time savings?
- Is the value large enough to support the required build and maintenance cost?
- Would the first useful version create enough value to justify payment, adoption, or internal sponsorship?
Retention
- What makes the product useful after the first session?
- Does it create a saved workflow, history, collaboration loop, or recurring decision?
- Would users remember to come back without reminders?
Trust
- What data, permissions, integrations, or behavior changes does this require?
- What proof would make a cautious user comfortable trying it?
- What failure would make the product feel unsafe or unserious?
Distribution
- Where can the exact target user be reached repeatedly?
- What existing channel, community, workflow, or integration can expose the product?
- Is there a realistic path beyond one launch post?
Feature Adoption
- What existing user behavior will this feature change?
- Is the feature tied to an active user pain or just a product idea?
- Can adoption be measured with one clear event?