1. Connect problem, audience and value
FMB case: six fictional notes, four about locating catalog products and two about scheduling. They are not unique people, identified customers or representative research. Problem hypothesis: locating basic information in a stationery catalog.
Hypothetical audience: someone voluntarily choosing this category in a future authorized test, without inferring age, income or sensitive attributes. Proposed value: an organized reference sheet of up to five products, not guaranteed additional sales. Scheduling is excluded because it addresses a different problem.
Activity: build a problem→audience→value chain citing FMB1 and one missing fact per link. The case does not establish demand, willingness to pay or preference for APEX.
Worked feedback
Evidence supports proposing catalog clarity, not saying six people would buy. Scheduling stays outside scope.
2. Design delivery, resources and limits
Hypothetical delivery: a catalog sheet from previously authorized, reviewed information; no publishing or sending. Fictional resources: local template, source for up to five products and 30 review minutes per unit. Price 100 MU and variable cost 40 MU are laboratory assumptions, not advice or fees.
Fixed cost 100 MU per period; availability 120 minutes per period. Capacity = floor(120/30) = 4 units. Do not add staff, hours or budget to fit requests; record unmet hypothetical requests. External expenses, taxes and effective costs are unverified.
Activity: define required inputs, reviewable output and stopping conditions: missing source, unconfirmed permission, sensitive data or capacity exceeded. A sheet is not a real customer or accepted contract.
Worked feedback
Four units is the laboratory ceiling. Unknown permission or missing source stops the proposal; neither creates contact authority.
3. Reconcile three hypothetical scenarios
E1: 2 hypothetical requests, 2 modeled deliverables, assumed revenue 200, variable cost 80, contribution 120, fixed cost 100, model balance 20 MU. E2: 4 requests and 4 units, revenue 400, variable cost 160, contribution 240, fixed 100, balance 140 MU.
E3: 6 hypothetical requests but capacity 4; model 4 units and 2 unserved requests. Revenue 400, variable cost 160, contribution 240, fixed 100, balance 140 MU. Do not calculate revenue for six units or claim sales growth. No actual payment or delivery occurred.
Balance/revenue: E1 20/200 = 10%; E2 and E3 140/400 = 35%. This is a bounded-model ratio, not actual net margin or ROI. Algebraic coverage point: 100/(100−40) ≈ 1.67 units; minimum whole number 2 within model and capacity 4, not proof of viability.
Worked feedback
E3 keeps a 140 MU modeled balance and 2 unserved requests. Two units cover algebraic assumptions, not effective profitability.
4. Validate hypotheses before concluding
Proposed local test: compare a source sheet and five-product prototype, checking each value has a source and unknowns remain unknown. FMB3 allows paper design only, not contacting people, collecting real feedback, charging or running a campaign.
Pending hypotheses: relevant problem, prototype clarity, review time, complete cost and value acceptance. Each needs separate evidence; arithmetic does not validate demand. Separate observed, assumed and unknown information. Contrary evidence requires model revision, not invented sales.
Submit nine connected blocks (problem, audience, value, delivery, resources, costs, revenue, risks, validation), three scenarios and a hypothesis log. Editorial self-inspection without approved PRO rubric, grade, enrollment, benefit or statement.
Worked feedback
Available validation concerns local consistency. Customer, demand, acceptance, payment and real operation remain unproven.
Complete source FMB
| FMB1 | notes | 6 | four clarity/two scheduling; not unique people |
| FMB2 | price_UM | 100 | fictional variable; no real offer |
| FMB2 | variable_cost_UM | 40 | per fulfilled unit; assumed complete only inside model |
| FMB2 | fixed_cost_UM | 100 | per equal laboratory period |
| FMB2 | minutes_per_unit | 30 | fictional task time |
| FMB2 | available_minutes | 120 | one period capacity |
| FMB3 | prototype_permission | 1 | local paper prototype only; no outreach or data collection |