Visualize and stress-test business assumptions by mapping value proposition, customers, and revenue on one page.
Business Model Canvas maps how a product creates, delivers, and captures value across nine building blocks on a single visual page.
The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool created by Alexander Osterwalder that provides a visual overview of how a business creates, delivers, and captures value. It organizes nine essential building blocks -- customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure -- onto a single page. Product managers, entrepreneurs, UX designers, and strategists use the canvas to articulate and validate business assumptions before committing significant resources to development. By mapping these interconnected elements visually, teams can quickly identify gaps, test hypotheses, and compare alternative business models. The canvas fosters cross-functional alignment and makes it easy to communicate complex business logic to stakeholders, investors, and design teams. It is especially powerful when combined with UX research methods like personas and journey mapping, connecting user needs directly to business viability and ensuring that design decisions support sustainable value creation.
Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and lean startup template for developing or documenting new or existing business models. It is a visual chart with nine elements describing a firm's value proposition, infrastructure, customers, finances, and other aspects.
Assemble a team consisting of diverse members from different business areas. Collaboration from a variety of stakeholders will provide a broader perspective, ensuring a more comprehensive analysis.
Select a suitable Business Model Canvas template from tools such as Miro, Canva or simply use a large whiteboard or poster paper to physically draw the canvas. It should consist of nine blocks for each of the elements.
Describe the product or service, and outline how it solves customers' problems, meets their needs, or provides a unique value. This is the core offering of the business model and should be the focus of the canvas.
Identify the different groups of people or organizations your business serves. Determine your primary target audience and any secondary audiences. Understand their characteristics, needs, and preferences.
Outline the various ways your business will communicate, deliver, and distribute its value proposition to the customer segments. This includes marketing channels, sales channels, and distribution channels.
Describe the nature of the relationships you establish with each customer segment, such as personalized assistance, self-service, or dedicated support. These relationships are crucial for customer engagement and retention.
Identify the sources of income your business generates through the value proposition. This includes transactional revenue, recurring revenue, and additional revenue opportunities from partnerships, licensing, or ancillary services.
List the main assets your business requires to function, including physical resources, intellectual resources, human resources, and financial resources. This helps in understanding the investments needed and the infrastructure basis.
Outline the essential activities your business undertakes to make its value proposition available to customers. This includes production, problem solving, platform development, and any other critical operations.
Identify the crucial external partners that contribute to the success of your business. This includes suppliers, distributors, strategic partners, and any other organizations necessary for the functioning of the business model.
Enumerate the main costs incurred while operating your business, such as production costs, labor costs, marketing costs, and others. This provides context for understanding the financial sustainability of the business model.
Continuously revisit and update the Business Model Canvas as your business evolves, market conditions change, or new opportunities arise. This tool is meant to be a dynamic and collaborative guide to adapt to the ever-changing business environment.
After completing a Business Model Canvas session, your team will have a shared, one-page visual representation of how your product or service creates, delivers, and captures value. Each of the nine building blocks will contain validated or clearly marked assumptions about customer segments, value propositions, channels, revenue streams, and cost structures. The canvas will highlight the riskiest assumptions that need further validation, provide a foundation for strategic conversations with stakeholders, and serve as a living reference document that evolves with your product. Teams typically leave with clearer alignment on priorities and a concrete list of hypotheses to test through user research and market experiments.
If you work in a team, use Post-its, colors, and draw auxiliary pictures to help convey ideas.
Create and develop personas, a service journey, and test solution prototypes before filling in the Business Model Canvas.
Consider using the Value Proposition Canvas as a supplementary tool to dig deeper into customer jobs and pains.
Start with Customer Segments and Value Proposition since these two blocks drive all other canvas elements.
Challenge assumptions by asking 'what evidence supports this?' for each canvas element you fill in.
Create multiple canvases for different customer segments if your value proposition varies significantly.
Review the canvas regularly and update as you learn from user research and market feedback.
Identify the riskiest assumptions in your canvas and prioritize validating those first through experiments.
Completing the canvas alone misses diverse perspectives. Always involve team members from different functions to surface blind spots and challenge assumptions.
The canvas should evolve as you learn from users and the market. Schedule regular reviews to update assumptions and reflect new insights.
Filling blocks with untested assumptions leads to false confidence. Validate each element with real user research and market data before making decisions.
Adding too much detail defeats the purpose of a one-page overview. Keep entries concise and use the canvas as a summary, not a detailed business plan.
Rushing past the central block weakens the entire canvas. Spend adequate time defining what unique value you deliver and to whom before filling other blocks.
Illustration of unique selling points and how the product fulfills customer needs.
Outline of target user groups with their specific needs and expectations.
Breakdown of marketing, distribution, and communication channels.
Strategy for establishing loyalty, engagement, and feedback handling.
Overview of revenue generation methods, pricing, and sales projections.
List of essential assets including IP, human resources, and funding.
Core activities for delivering the value proposition to customers.
Analysis of strategic partnerships, suppliers, and collaborations.
Breakdown of fixed and variable costs, operating expenses, and investments.