# Tool Foundation Sprint Founding Hypothesis

Day 2 end capstone move of a Foundation Sprint.

- Repository: https://github.com/product-on-purpose/pm-skills (780 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last updated: 2026-10-31
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add product-on-purpose/pm-skills --skill tool-foundation-sprint-founding-hypothesis -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add product-on-purpose/pm-skills --skill tool-foundation-sprint-founding-hypothesis -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add product-on-purpose/pm-skills --skill tool-foundation-sprint-founding-hypothesis -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add product-on-purpose/pm-skills --skill tool-foundation-sprint-founding-hypothesis -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add product-on-purpose/pm-skills`

## Description

Day 2 end capstone move of a Foundation Sprint. Compresses the sprint's full strategic frame into a single canonical sentence (the Founding Hypothesis) plus an assumption scorecard, why-we-believe, what-could-prove-us-wrong, and recommended next validation step. Use after Magic Lenses is signed. Strict canonical template; paraphrase is not accepted in v0.1.0. The Founding Hypothesis is the spine artifact the sprint exists to produce.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

<!-- PM-Skills | https://github.com/product-on-purpose/pm-skills | Apache 2.0 -->

# Foundation Sprint Founding Hypothesis

Day 2 end of a Foundation Sprint. The team compresses the full sprint output into a single canonical sentence plus a testable scorecard. This is the artifact the sprint exists to produce; everything before this skill was preparation. Without a ratifiable Founding Hypothesis, the sprint failed.

Family contract: [`site/src/content/docs/reference/skill-families/foundation-sprint-skills-contract.md`](../../site/src/content/docs/reference/skill-families/foundation-sprint-skills-contract.md). This skill is a member of `foundation-sprint-skills`.

## When to Use

- Day 2 end of a Foundation Sprint.
- Magic Lenses is signed; top bet and backup are named.
- The team has 30-45 minutes left in Day 2 and the energy to write the sentence carefully.

## When NOT to Use

- Magic Lenses did not produce a clear top bet. Return to Magic Lenses; the Founding Hypothesis cannot stabilize on an unstable top bet.
- The team wants to "polish the hypothesis later." The hypothesis must be ratified by end of Day 2 or the sprint output is incomplete. Polishing later means re-litigating; that defeats the sprint's purpose.
- The team wants to ratify a vague hypothesis to "ship the sprint." A vague hypothesis is worse than no hypothesis; it gives false confidence and burns trust when validation fails.

## What This Skill Produces

A single bundled artifact with five sections:

The rest: https://github.com/product-on-purpose/pm-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/tool-foundation-sprint-founding-hypothesis/SKILL.md