Assumption-based planning

Assumption-based planning in project management is a post-planning method that helps companies to deal with uncertainty.

RAND defines an assumption as "an assertion about some characteristic of the future that underlies the current operations or plans of an organization."

It helps managers and entrepreneurs maximize business development learning at least cost.

[7][8] CAP is built on the foundation of the work of Block (1989) who showed that assumptions can stand in the way of perceiving current business realities.

The identification and assessment of assumptions solves this problem and forms the foundation for managing new business ventures.

This step takes "a comprehensive analysis of what is known and unknown about the competition, market and technology" (Sykes 1995).

CAP measures the criticality of an assumption as a change in the net present value of a venture (NPV).

A major focus of the CAP method is to maximize the learning per unit expenditure on testing.

In most companies or start-ups clearance from senior managers or venture capitalists is needed to conduct the tests.