Methodology
IdeaSense helps early-stage teams pressure-test a software idea through structured dialogue, staged review, DVF scoring, and a decision-ready report.
Method snapshot
Proceed, but expose the highest-impact unknown first.
Typical review
30-60 minutes to reach a first structured evaluation
Built for
0-1 founders, student teams, and mentors
Outcome
DVF scoring, key risks, and a report you can export
Core principle
Unknown is allowed, but unchecked certainty should not silently become an official conclusion.
Why this exists
Most early concepts feel stronger than they are. The real work is not polishing the pitch. It is separating facts, estimates, assumptions, and unknowns before a team commits time, money, and momentum.
01
Facts that already exist
02
Estimates that still need pressure
03
Assumptions carrying the idea
04
Unknowns that should stay unknown
The framework
IdeaSense uses a DVF framework to assess whether an idea is desirable, viable, and feasible in the real world.
We test the problem, the target user, the context of use, the urgency of pain, current alternatives, and whether real demand signals exist.
We examine the value proposition, business logic, market dynamics, channel friction, competition, and the assumptions behind commercial success.
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Viability
We assess MVP scope, technical approach, dependencies, data and compliance constraints, team capability, and delivery risk.
How it works
The conversation moves through structured stages. Each stage has anchors, a summary checkpoint, and a clear standard for what is ready to move forward.
Stage gate discipline
Each stage has anchor questions that matter.
Users can correct the summary before it becomes official.
Progress does not require every answer, but critical anchors cannot all remain unresolved.
01
Capture what matters
The system gathers the problem, user, scenario, proposed solution, and the assumptions currently carrying your confidence.
02
Challenge weak logic
It pushes on missing evidence, edge cases, hidden dependencies, and reasoning gaps across the DVF dimensions.
03
Confirm before advancing
Before a stage closes, the system summarizes the current view and gives the user a chance to correct or confirm what should count as official input.
Uncertainty matters
A strong evaluation system should not force fake confidence. IdeaSense is designed to preserve uncertainty where evidence is weak, instead of converting every guess into a conclusion.
Users can correct summaries before they become official.
Important fields cannot all remain unresolved.
Weak evidence is treated differently from confirmed evidence.
What you get
The final output is meant to support discussion, comparison, printing, export, and next-step planning.
DVF scoreboard and overall decision band
Lean Canvas summary
Market evidence and verification summary
Key risks and unresolved assumptions
Overall summary with export and print options
Report overview
Decision-ready artifact
DVF score
77 / 100
Decision band
Proceed with guardrails
Priority risks
3
Scoreboard
Output modules
Core judgment
79/ 100
Proceed with guardrails: validate completion and report traceability first.
Final takeaway
If a decision matters, it deserves more than instinct. It deserves a process that can be questioned, defended, and revisited.