How we could use Email as a simple but effective tool to both validate problems and potential solutions AND to understand the users we are designing for a little better in a practical sense. Like Mobile-First, only a bit different...

1. J u s t l i k e ‘ M o b i l e - F i r s t ’
EMAIL FIRST DESIGN
Leveraging Email as a Lean Strategy AND as a Tactical
Lens to reveal User Journey Insights.

2. Email has become so integral in
our daily interaction with the web,
it has almost disappeared.
2

3. That is why it can yield such useful
insights for designing lean,
practical user experiences.
3

4. I believe that like “Mobile First” a similar
approach called “Email First” can yield
excellent user insights.
4

5. SOME QUICK HISTORY: MOBILE FIRST
5
What is it?
UX design that focusses on the Mobile device first.
!
This includes:
▫︎The mobile interface limitations as they are the most difficult.
▫︎Network and access issues.
▫︎The user context whilst using mobile as to design the most valuable,
relevant experience.
▫︎Exploration of opportunities that only exist in mobile e.g. GPS,
Accelerometer, etc.
▫︎First in the design process, not necessarily the production process or an
m. site.
▫︎Often the UI development is written mobile first, but doesn’t have to be.

6. EMAIL PROVIDES LEAN VALIDATION
6
So what kinds of things will help us with lean validation?
▫︎Quick deployment of information and features to customers.
▫︎Quick feedback from those customers, essentially a closed loop.
▫︎No big back-end infrastructure, where possible fake it.
▫︎Low budgets required.
▫︎Focus on validating or invalidating problem hypotheses.
!
EMAIL DOES ALL OF THESE

7. EMAIL IMPROVES USER EXPERIENCE MAPPING
7
So what are we looking for to allow us to design meaningful, useful
experiences?
▫︎Minimum/ key interaction points with the product.
▫︎Where the most alignment with the user’s existing processes and patterns
may exist.
▫︎Ability to integrate with other systems through the most reliable base
platform.
▫︎Device/platform/ place agnosticism.
▫︎Ability to handle a range of content types.
▫︎Ability to time asynchronously. (A Service Design theme you’ll find in much of the latest UX thinking.)
EMAIL IS AN EFFECTIVE LENS FOR FINDING THESE POINTS

8. USE 1 - LEAN VALIDATION
8
Once the problem hypothesis has been articulated, the
problem itself or a solution may be tested in order to
validate it.
Email may be used to engage a small set of users on
the subject in order to tease out an answer.

9. USE 1 - LEAN VALIDATION
9
For example:
A small set of qualified users [in this case customers] have
signed up to a service that will provide information as the
product at set intervals, say daily.
This information can be emailed to the subscriber list manually,
without needing a website or any code to be written. The emails
are essentially experiments, and must be structured correctly in
order to protect the integrity of the data collected, and indeed to
illicit a response. [Some formal research knowledge is helpful
here.]
Another example could include the use of email as a way to alert
a user to a specific page of information hosted on a lightweight
site, without a login system or account setup required, again
quick and easy to setup and gather responses to learn about the
user’s interest and ability to affect an action.

10. WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE - LEAN VALIDATION
10
Hours/ Days
Does this solve
your problem?
Not really!
How about
now?
Yep, how do I
purchase?

11. USE 2 - CORE EXPERIENCE MAPPING
11
The goal of any design is to make it as meaningful, and
simple as possible. Understanding how your product
idea might integrate with, and leverage the one service
everyone uses and relies upon, is an effective aid in the
design process.
At this core level, you are forced to think about the key
needs of the user, gains provided by the product, and
technical constraints of the content.
!
!

12. USE 2 - CORE EXPERIENCE MAPPING
12
For example:
You are beginning to design for a problem you have
validated. You need to understand the user journeys to
ensure you can remove as much friction in the process
as you can. This will allow you to create a product which
has features for solving the core problem, but also
features intrinsic to the design itself.
!
!
!

13. USE 2 - CORE EXPERIENCE MAPPING
13
For example cont:
By focussing in on email, you will be able to discover and
articulate a number of things including:
▫︎The most relevant sign up/ login in method. [ No password /
token based is one of my favourites.]
▫︎Define how the user is intended to return to the product later.
▫︎Understand how the user moves from one product to another
throughout the day/week.
▫︎Define the minimum viable amount of content that can be sent
whilst still delivering value in the transaction.
▫︎Discover way the product can be integrated with other services
via the user before building an API.
▫︎Discover ways the product can be controlled via the single
common language on the web.

14. USE 2 - CORE EXPERIENCE MAPPING
14
The user/ customer journey
The product
Login info Use on Tablet/
computer
Add info to
product
Not online period
Get document
from system
Getting on
with life.
Queue
information to
go into system

15. In a lean environment
(unknown problem space + unknown solution space)
where it is important to validate ideas whilst
reducing risk, Email-First forces the designer
to focus on the most practical and meaningful
of all interaction points.
15

16. WHAT IS SOCIAL FIRST?
16
Could we do the whole thing using a social first lens?
Of course. Here are some of the key differences:
Social - first:
▫︎Allows you to access users that are not already in your database.
▫︎Allows you to A/B test semi-rich content in the process. (a double edge
sword).
▫︎Response/feedback rates may be lower.
▫︎Response/feedback may be much faster.
▫︎Validity of responses may be lower/less useful.

17. It’s up to you to work out just how lean
you can go in the process of discovering
insights and validating ideas.
17

18. FURTHER READING ON THE EMAIL-FIRST MOVEMENT
18
!
!
▫︎http://ryanhoover.me/post/43986871442/email-first-startups
▫︎https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5279590
▫︎The story of how The Ladders validated their product before
building a website. Which is in part, covered in the book, Lean
UX: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=K-RmSR_jo5MC
▫︎#emailfirst
▫︎@metamikebiggs