Kill criteria worksheet
The result that would make you stop, written down before the test starts. The bet, the test, two or three criteria about what people do, who makes the call, and a place to record the result against them.
Free to use and adapt. No email needed. Opens in Word, Google Docs and Pages.
Everything in the file, readable here.
Write down the result that would make you stop, before the test starts, while you can still read it without flinching. Two or three criteria, each about what people do rather than what they say.
The bet
- What we believe, in one sentence
- To fill in
- Who it's for
- To fill in
The test
- What we'll run
- To fill in
- With whom
- To fill in
- Until when (a date)
- To fill in
The criteria
Behavioural, specific to this bet, and few. Set each one from where you are today, not from someone else's benchmark.
| The result we need | How we'll measure it | We stop if | Where the evidence comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
Who decides, and where it's published
- The person who makes the go or stop call
- To fill in
- Where the criteria are published, before the result
- To fill in
The result (fill in after the test)
| Criterion | Met or not met | The evidence |
|---|---|---|
- Decision: go or stop
- To fill in
- Date
- To fill in
- Signed
- To fill in
Four things that make it work.
Write it before the test
Once the results start arriving, every number looks like a reason to carry on.
Keep it to two or three
Each one about behaviour: people use it, come back, pay. Not what they say.
Name who decides
One person makes the go or stop call, against the criteria as written.
Publish it where you can
Criteria shared before the result can't be quietly moved afterwards.
Read with it: Kill Criteria and Is it worth building? Decide before you pay, and Idea Diagnosis.
Published 28 September 2026. Free to use and adapt.