Lean Canvas: How to Compare Ideas and Pick One to Test

The 9 Boxes, in the Order You Fill Them In

On the printed template the boxes sit in a fixed layout. You don't fill them in left to right, though. Use the order below for every idea, so your canvases stay comparable.

Starting with customers and the problem stops you from writing a canvas built around the solution, where the product is clear but the buyer is vague.

• 1. Customer segments: who has the problem. Name your early adopters, the people who feel it most.
• 2. Problem: the top 1 to 3 problems, plus how people solve them today.
• 3. Unique value proposition: one sentence that says why your offer is different and worth attention.
• 4. Solution: the smallest set of features that solves each problem.
• 5. Channels: how you will reach these customers.
• 6. Revenue streams: who pays, and with what model (subscription, one-off, commission).
• 7. Cost structure: what it costs to build and run.
• 8. Key metrics: the few numbers that show the idea is working.
• 9. Unfair advantage: something others cannot easily copy or buy. "None yet" is an honest answer.

A Simple Scoring Grid

Score each criterion from 1 (weak) to 3 (strong). Each one links back to specific boxes, so you score what you actually wrote, not the idea in your head.

• Problem strength (Customer segments, Problem): 1 point if it is a nice-to-have people rarely mention, 3 points if people already spend time or money working around it.
• Reach (Channels): 1 point if you don't know where to find these people, 3 points if you can name places to reach them this week.
• Ability to build (Solution, Cost structure): 1 point if it needs skills or money you don't have, 3 points if you can build a first version with what you have.
• Willingness to pay (Revenue streams): 1 point if it is unclear who would pay, 3 points for a clear buyer and a payment model people already use.
• Edge (Unique value proposition, Unfair advantage): 1 point for the same promise as existing options, 3 points for a clear difference or an advantage you already hold.

Tie-Breakers When Two Ideas Are Close

The maximum is 15. The total doesn't prove anything. It is a fair way to decide which idea to test first. When two ideas end up close, use these tie-breakers.

• Pick the idea whose riskiest box is cheapest and fastest to test.
• Pick the idea where your scores rest on real conversations, not guesses.
• Pick the idea with the higher problem strength score. A weak problem is hard to fix later.

Worked Example: Three Ideas Compared

The ideas and scores below are made up to show how the grid works.

Here, the invoicing tool wins. It scores well on problem strength and reach, because the founder in this example is a designer who already knows where other freelancers gather. Its riskiest box is the problem. The made-up assumption to test could be: "Freelance designers lose time every week chasing late invoices."

The groomer booking tool is close behind and stays as a backup. The meal planner scores low on reach and willingness to pay, so it goes on hold. It isn't a bad idea, but it would take longer to test.

• Invoicing tool for freelance designers: 12. Problem strength 3, reach 3, ability to build 2, willingness to pay 2, edge 2.
• Booking tool for dog groomers: 11. Problem strength 2, reach 2, ability to build 3, willingness to pay 3, edge 1.
• Meal planner for shift workers: 7. Problem strength 2, reach 1, ability to build 2, willingness to pay 1, edge 1.

Lean Canvas vs Business Model Canvas

The lean canvas is an adaptation of the business model canvas, made for new ideas where almost everything is uncertain. Both fit on one page with 9 boxes.

The business model canvas suits a business that already sells and wants to map how it works. It includes boxes such as key partners, key activities and key resources. The lean canvas replaces these with problem, solution, key metrics and unfair advantage. Those boxes focus on what usually kills a young idea: a problem nobody cares about, or a solution nobody wants.

For comparing ideas, use the lean canvas. You can't fill in partners and activities honestly for an idea that doesn't exist yet.

From the Chosen Canvas to a Roadmap

A canvas shows what you believe. A roadmap shows what you will do about it, and when. Each risky box becomes a phase, each test becomes a step and each result becomes a milestone. Our guide on how to make a roadmap walks through that structure in detail.

To run the test itself, follow the plan in our Value Proposition Canvas guide. It covers interviews, a landing page and the decision step.

Once the riskiest box holds up, the next phases depend on what comes next. For mistakes that show up later, once the plan is running, see 12 roadmap mistakes to avoid.

• Gathering early interest: see how to build a SaaS waitlist before launch.
• Building a first version: see how to build an MVP in 30 days.