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Simple & Pragmatic Problem Solving
#26Chapter 4: Assumption Formulation Techniques• Making AssumptionsCreative ThinkingIndividual and Group Mode15-45 min(Fast)

Assumption Reversal

From the book "Advanced Problem-Solving Toolbox: 115 Creative Plays" | Compiled & Edited by: Mojtaba Goudarzi, Open translation: Mehrshid Goudarzi
Executive Synopsis & Core Logic:

List the most obvious assumptions governing work, turn them 180 degrees and create disruptive business models.

Operational Parameters & Specifications

Category
Making Assumptions
Dominant Thinking
Creative
Participation
Individual and Group
Estimated TimeFast
15-45 min
Fast
Input Format
Assumptions and Presuppositions
Output Format
Idea Generation
Key Application
Designing innovative business models (Disruptive), creating new blue markets, and recreating the customer experience.
Core Differentiator:

Focus on destroying the common assumptions that all industry players have accepted as the definitive rule.

Quick Field Example:

Reversal of the "restaurants should serve food and charge money" hypothesis -> a restaurant where the food is free and the customer pays for the time they stay.

Operational Benefits & Implementation Risks

Advantages & Value Creation:

Explosive creativity, definitive departure from traditional mental traps, creating an unattainable competitive advantage.

Risks & Potential Trade-offs:

Some reversed assumptions may seem impractical, impossible, or ridiculous at first.

Real-World Organizational & Industry Scenarios

Startups and fintech: Reversing the assumption that "a bank must have a physical branch" (neobanks).
Online Education: Reversing the Hypothesis "The teacher teaches and the student listens" (Flipped Classroom).
Enterprise software: Reversing the assumption that "software must be developed by our team" (open source and ecosystem-oriented models).

Strategic Rationale & Why to Apply

1Freeing Invisible Assumptions: Breaking the Prison of Beliefs Unquestioningly Accepted for Years.
2Sparking Disruptive Innovations: Many of the world's innovation giants were born from reversing a simple hypothesis.
3Unlocking untapped market territories: creating models that no competitor has thought of.
4Testing the strength of strategy: discovering how our business will survive if fundamental conditions change.

Conceptual Framework & Book Method Description

In the "Assumption Reversal" technique, we first write 10 basic assumptions that are taken for granted like oxygen.

Then we boldly reverse each assumption: What if the restaurant has no seats? What if the software pays the user instead of selling the license? This inversion gives a creative shock to the mind and produces revolutionary models.

Step-by-Step Real-World Implementation Scenario

Scenario: The Evolution of User Interaction in the Learning Platform with Hypothesis Reversal Technique
1
Step 1: extracting the traditional and obvious assumptions of thesystem, recording the assumptions: 1) users must watch videos to learn 2) the instructor must compile all the content 3) evaluation is done by tests 4) the content must be formal and serious.
2
Step 2: 180 Degree Reversal of AssumptionsReversal 1: Users shouldn't watch videos, they should play and create! Reverse 2: The content should be created by the students themselves! Reverse 3: There is no test, the evaluation should be in the form of a team challenge!
3
Step 3: Search for Feasibility and Fertilization of IdeasFirst and Second Reverse Review: The platform can create small interactive practical challenges (Micro-learning) with the possibility of peer feedback instead of long videos.
4
Step 4: Inverse Model Prototype DesignDesign the "Solve Interactive Simulated Scenarios" feature where the user progresses through the game and gets points from correcting a classmate's mistake.
5
Step 5: Implementation and jump of the engagement indexRelease of the new version, which led to a 3-fold increase in the daily active presence of users on the platform.

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