Purpose
The method helps clarify customer problem, solution idea, and evidence concretely. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as click data, interest signal, and learning decision.
Product Discovery
Fake Door Test
Turns customer problem, solution idea, and evidence into a tangible result by defining the hypothesis and target signal, shaping the fake door, and deciding what to learn next.
Does the measured demand at the fake-door entry clearly confirm the demand hypothesis above the predefined success threshold?
MediumAsync1-5 Tage
How it works
The team follows the steps: define the hypothesis and target signal, design the fake door, drive traffic, measure clicks and reactions, and make a learning decision. Each step is captured visibly. At the end, click data, interest signal, and a learning decision are available so decisions, tests, or actions can follow directly.
Visual orientation
Method sketch for a quick mental model.
Flow
- 1Define the hypothesis and target signal
- 2Design the fake door
- 3Drive traffic
- 4Measure clicks and reactions
- 5Make a learning decision
The runsheet guides execution with 4 phases, timeboxes, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.
Open runsheetIdeal for
- Feature Demand
- Product Experiments
- Growth Discovery
Not good for
- Deceptive communication without transparency
- Critical workflows
Deep dive
In detail
Fake Door Test follows a clear working logic: define the hypothesis and target signal, design the fake door, drive traffic, measure clicks and reactions, and make a learning decision. This turns the method into a visible thinking process rather than only a conversation. Participants move step by step from raw material, observations, or options toward a shared structure. The result is click data, interest signal, and a learning decision that make decisions, learning, or further planning actionable.
Facilitation
Prepare a clear guiding question, the right information, and a visible workspace. Plan about 1-5 days and use the format asynchronously. The method needs clear structure and preparation; short timeboxes, visible intermediate results, and a parking lot for open questions help.
Output artifacts
Click DataInterest SignalLearning Decision
Artifact templates
Experiment PlanShort plan for hypothesis, test design, success criteria, and decision.markdown
Experiment PlanShort plan for hypothesis, test design, success criteria, and decision.
markdownexperiment-plan-markdown.md
Short plan for hypothesis, test design, success criteria, and decision.
Experiment Plan
Hypothesis
We believe that ...
Target audience
Who are we testing for?
Test design
What exactly will participants or users do?
Success criterion
We count the test as positive if ...
Risks and limits
What can the test not prove?
Decision afterward
If positive: ... If negative: ...
Owner and date
...
When to choose differently
Short decision aid for existing alternatives.
Landing Page Test
Statt Fake Door Test, wenn du mit Landing Page Test Interesse an einem Angebot über eine konkrete Angebotsseite messen willst.
Similar methods
All methodsProduct Discovery
MVP Test Matrix
Moves customer problem, solution idea, and evidence toward a concrete result through "list assumptions", "map assumptions to dimensions", and "derive the test plan".
Product Discovery
Pretotyping
Turns a product idea into a market claim and tests demand with the smallest possible real-world setup before investing in a prototype.
Product Discovery
Smoke Test
Turns customer problem, solution idea, and evidence into a tangible result by defining the hypothesis and signal, building the minimal test, and deriving the decision.
Product Discovery
Landing Page Test
Turns customer problem, solution idea, and evidence into a tangible result by formulating the value proposition, creating the landing page, and evaluating messaging and offer.
Statt Fake Door Test, wenn du mit Landing Page Test Interesse an einem Angebot über eine konkrete Angebotsseite messen willst.
Product Discovery
Riskiest Assumption Test
Moves customer problem, solution idea, and evidence toward a concrete result through "collect assumptions explicitly", "rate uncertainty and leverage for each assumption", and "decide to pivot, persevere, or stop".
Product Discovery
Experiment Canvas
Moves customer problem, solution idea, and evidence toward a concrete result through "clarify the learning goal and the assumption to test", "formulate the hypothesis as an if-then statement", and "define the decision rule after the test".