Why Are Product Goals Treated as Hypotheses?
Product Goals are hypotheses that help the team learn what advances the vision; they can change as the team discovers more about stakeholder and customer needs. This framing supports inspection and adaptation of the backlog.
Metaphor
Chasing a Product Goal is like setting up a science experiment. You start with a prediction, but the real insight comes from testing and seeing what actually happens.
Treating goals as hypotheses keeps the team focused on learning and adjusting to advance the product vision.
Works Consulted
In addition to any sources cited above, the following works informed my thinking: (1)
1.
Product Backlog Management [Internet]. scrum.org; [cited 2025 Sep 11]. Available from: https://www.scrum.org/learning-series/product-backlog-management/