Name the assumption the plan needs

Write the claim a plan depends on, the observation that would make you stop, and the fact you have not checked yet.

A plan can look finished while it still depends on one unchecked claim. This guide shows how to write that claim in one sentence, name the observation that would make the plan stop, and keep the unchecked fact visible.

Write the claim in one sentence

Start from the decision, not from the task list. Finish this sentence: We will continue only if this claim stays true. A useful claim names a condition you can look at. More people will like it is not a claim you can check this week.

In a fictional reading-list plan, the claim is: the three testers can finish the save path without help. The plan to add a second screen depends on that claim. If you cannot write the claim, you do not yet know what the plan needs.

Name the observation that stops the plan

Write the observation before you collect it. For the fictional plan, two of the three testers failing to save is enough to stop the second screen. Decide that line first so a disappointing result is not renegotiated after you see it.

Also write what you have not checked. The fictional plan has not checked phones, slow networks, or a second browser. Those gaps stay in the note. An unchecked gap is not a pass.

Keep the original claim when you retest

If you change the claim after a bad result, keep the first claim in the note and say what changed. Replacing the sentence hides the reason the plan moved.

Put the claim, the stop observation, and the unchecked list at the top of the decision note. The rest of the plan can change. Those three lines should stay readable.