BI-301b · Module 1

Customer Validation of Dark Assets

3 min read

The discovery sprint produces candidate dark assets from external data. Customer validation confirms them with internal data the customer provides. The validation conversation is structured: "Our research suggests your implementation time is significantly faster than peers. Can you share your actual numbers so we can quantify how significant this advantage really is?" The customer validates, corrects, or extends the preliminary finding. Validated dark assets become the foundation of the value narrative. Unvalidated candidates are either investigated further or set aside.

Do This

  • Present dark asset candidates as hypotheses, not conclusions — invite the customer to validate with their own data
  • Ask for specific metrics that would confirm or refute each candidate — the customer's internal data is the ground truth
  • Celebrate when the customer corrects your estimate upward — their actual advantage may be larger than your external estimate
  • Drop candidates the customer cannot validate — unverifiable dark assets weaken the credibility of the verified ones

Avoid This

  • Present dark asset candidates as confirmed findings before customer validation — this risks credibility if the candidates are wrong
  • Accept customer verbal confirmation without data — "yes, we're fast" is not validation; "our average implementation is 14 days" is
  • Overwhelm the customer with ten candidates — present the five strongest and validate deeply