Process: Lean UX

“It’s very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better.”—Jonathan Ive, Chief Design Officer, Apple

Deciding on the right product-development process for your team can often be a paradox. Maintaining balance amidst a proliferation of inconsistencies in product requirements and development outcomes is challenging for both large and mid-sized organizations —especially when teams lack any metrics to measure their impact on a release.

Friction arises when there is a mismatch between the user’s mental model and product features. When a development team finds itself in an untenable situation, the blame game begins. But as Mad Men’s Don Draper often said, “Move forward.” Read More

This is a sample chapter from Tomer Sharon’s new book Validating Product Ideas Through Lean User Research. 2016 Rosenfeld Media.

Chapter 5: Do People Want the Product?

“Mmm…” I thought to myself as I was reading Nate Bolt’s Facebook post about the Automatic app (see Figure 5.1). “A smart driving assistant? One that hooks up to my car’s computer and sends data to an iPhone app that will help me save energy and money? I want that!” (See Figure 5.2.)

I ordered an Automatic two minutes after I saw that post. It cost me $70. At the time, the product wasn’t shipping yet, and I was paying to participate in a beta that was going to start in a few months. Usually, I’m extremely skeptical about such things. But this was different. I really wanted that thing. I thought the idea was brilliant, and I was 100% positive that I would use and love it. The beautiful, smooth Automatic Web site and purchasing workflow reassured me that I could trust my instincts. When the Automatic package arrived at my doorstep a few months later, I was happy. Unboxing it was very “Apple-like,” and onboarding was great. I hooked the Automatic car adapter to my car (somewhere under the steering wheel where I was able to find the data port quickly), installed the app, and made sure it worked when I drove the car. Read More

Each UX project is different, with variations in time and budget constraints, user needs and business requirements, and often, goals and requirements that change over time. When you’re practicing Lean UX, your goal should be to capture research data as often as possible to help you make quick, actionable decisions.

At a bare minimum, companies who have adopted Lean UX should be analyzing as much user data as possible to understand what users who share the characteristics of certain user personas are doing with their product or service. Ideally, you should also endeavor to understand why users are behaving in certain ways. Read More