Every product investment rests on a value argument — a chain of claims connecting a human need to a business result. DesigningROI makes that argument visible, identifies the first gap in the evidence, and shows what to test next.
Select a connection to see what it claims — and what evidence would support it.
Connection
Claim
What to look for
What initiated this work, and what must be true for the investment to create value?
Walk the connections in dependency order. The first unresolved gap is where to start.
Each phase addresses a different kind of uncertainty.
Frame
Is the problem or opportunity worth pursuing?
Create: an evidence-backed problem statement.
Change
What should we create or change, and what do we expect to happen?
Create: a testable hypothesis.
Observe
What happened when the solution was tested or put into use?
Create: a record of observed changes.
Interpret
What value does the evidence support, and what should we do next?
Create: an evidence-based value assessment.
Use what you learned to identify the next uncertainty, make a decision, or stop. Phases repeat as needed — each pass narrows the uncertainty until the evidence supports a decision.
Why it’s different
Human-centered design discovers and validates unmet needs. Process improvement refines how existing work runs. Neither is designed to test the full chain from human need to business result. DesigningROI is.
Weighing a product investment and want to pressure-test the reasoning? james@designingroi.com
james@designingroi.com · © 2026 James Wondrack