analysis paralysis

is, in business, the endless refining of plans which may be sound in principle, but, being untested, are ultimately often grounded in incorrect facts about customer behavior.

Other entrepreneurs can fall victim to analysis paralysis, endlessly refining their plans. In this case, talking to customers, reading research reports, and whiteboard strategizing are all equally unhelpful. The problem with most entrepreneurs' plans is generally not that they don't follow sound strategic principles but that the facts upon which they are based are wrong. Unfortunately, most of these errors cannot be detected at the whiteboard because they depend on the subtle interactions between products and customers. If too much analysis is dangerous but none can lead to failure, how do entrepreneurs know when to stop analyzing and start building' The answer is a concept called the minimum viable product, the subject of Chapter 6.

analysis paralysis, n.All

analysis paralysis