The document discusses the importance of user research and validation in the product design process. It advocates for a lean approach of rapid prototyping, usability testing, and incorporating user feedback in short iterative cycles. This validates assumptions and helps ensure the product being built actually meets user needs rather than relying only on assumptions or features without understanding their value to customers.
2. A cautionary tale
• In 2002 I worked on a mobile (WAP)
application. Over several weeks…
– We discussed requirements
– I designed user flows and crafted wireframes
– We created a working prototype
– We did lots of internal testing
• Then we launched the product…
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
3. We may as well have
built one of these…
Photo by Steve Way:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_way/3409302647/
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
4. We made a lot of assumptions
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
6. We didn’t do any research with
customers
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
7. “Unfortunately, we again made the mistake
of focusing on engineering first and
customer development second…We
released our first version to some moderate
success and then proceeded to continue to
churn out features without really
understanding customer needs.”
Devver Blog – Lessons Learned
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
8. It’s tempting
to design a
product with
loads of really
cool features.
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
9. But in reality your
users will only use
a handful of useful
features
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
10. % Software features used
30
20
Used
Never used
Rarely used
50
Source: Standish Chaos Manifesto 2013
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
11. “ There is no doubt that focusing
on the 20% of the
features that give you 80% of the
value will maximize the investment
in software development and
improve overall user satisfaction.”
Standish Chaos Manifesto
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
13. Lean: deliver value to
customers, minimising
waste in the production
process
Photo by Toyota Material Handling
http://www.flickr.com/photos/toyotamheurope/8472007819
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
15. “There are no facts inside your
building, so get outside”
Steve Blank & Bob Dorf
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
16. “The question is not
“Can this product be
built?” Instead, the
questions are
"Should this product
be built? "”
Eric Ries
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
17. Principles of Lean Startup
• Eliminate uncertainty
• Work smarter, not harder
• Develop an MVP (Minimum
Viable Product)
• Validated learning
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
19. “Lean UX is the practice of
bringing the true nature of our
work to light faster, with less
emphasis on deliverables and
greater focus on the actual
experience being designed.”
Jeff Gothelf
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
20. Principles of Lean UX
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cross-functional teams
Outcomes, not output
Continuous discovery
GOOB: user-centricity
Shared understanding
Externalising your work
Making over analysis
Getting out of the deliverables business
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
24. “We wanted to make sure we were getting customer
feedback as we worked so that we were never working
on anything that wasn’t valued by the customer.”
Nordstrom Innovation Lab: Sunglasses iPad App
Photo by Prayitno
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34128007@N04/5279860498
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
26. Hypothesis:
Oracle Developers & DBAs
need a better way to source
control their database schemas
>70% interest – develop a tool
a.s.a.p.
Photo by Paigggeyy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paigggeyy/5533236567
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
31. Get the team on the same page
• Why are we doing this?
• Who are building this for?
• How will we know if we have succeeded?
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
32. State your assumptions!
• Review your user stories or requirements
• Which ones do you know to be true?
• Which assumptions pose the biggest risk?
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
33. Create a one page plan
Put it up where everyone can see it!
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
34. “Design is problem solving.
Design research is problem seeking.”
Ac4d design library
Photo by Tom Ryan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/t0msk/3983980813
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
35. “To make excellent products that truly
understand our users’ contexts, we must
look further, and investigate context firsthand” Cennydd Bowles
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
36. How and where will people
use your application?
Photo by Phil Dragash
http://www.flickr.com/photos/philman/2697665803
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
37. Who are they with?
Photo by Jo Shlabotnik
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/7364192792
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
38. Some research methods
• Observation & contextual interviews
– experience activities in context
– observe how people behave
– look for pain points and workarounds
• Surveys
• Guerilla usability tests
– 5 minutes in a coffee shop
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
39. Beware of asking people what they do,
or what they want.
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
40. Avoid questions like…
• Which of these features would be useful
to you?
• How would you like this to work?
• What would you most like to see in the
product?
• How do you think we should design this?
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
41. “What people say,
what people do,
and what they say
they do are
entirely different
things.”
Margaret Mead,
Cultural
Anthropologist
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
42. Ask questions like…
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tell me about the last time you did...
What went well? What didn’t go so well?
What happened?
Why was that?
What did you do?
Tell me more about that…
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
43. Get a shared understanding of user
needs and problems. Involve the whole
team in research!
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
44. Write the things you see or
hear on sticky notes.
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
45. Group similar sticky notes
together and discuss as a
team how you will solve
those problems for users.
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
46. You can’t design for
everyone. Personas
represent the main user
behaviours you are
designing for.
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
49. “if the call-to-action button is
red then the number of people
registering will go up”
www.mindtheproduct.com/2012/08/experiments-101/
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
50. Make sure it’s easy to test!
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
51. Design studio: a lo-fi
method to generate
lots of ideas quickly,
then refine them.
51
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
57. Closing the feedback loop
• Get the whole team to observe and
analyse usability test sessions
• Make usability testing habitual
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
58. Summary
• Treat requirements as assumptions
• Get out of the building and observe
customers in context
• Build a shared understanding in the team
of customer problems
• Rapid think > make > check cycles
• Everyone in the team owns the user
experience of the product!
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
60. Michele Ide-Smith
Senior User Experience Architect
University of Cambridge
@micheleidesmith
www.ide-smith.co.uk
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
61. References
Steve Blank and Bob Dorf, The Startup Owner’s Manual:
www.stevenblank.com/startup_index_qty.html
Eric Ries, Lean Startup:
http://theleanstartup.com
Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden, Lean UX Book / Hypothesis Template:
www.leanuxbook.com
Cennydd Bowles, Designing With Context:
www.cennydd.co.uk/2013/designing-with-context
Nordstrum Innovation Lab: Sunglass iPad App Case Study
www.youtube.com/watch?v=szr0ezLyQHY
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer
62. References
Alexander Osterwalder, Business Model Canvas:
www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas
Ash Mayura, Lean Canvas:
http://leanstack.com/
Atlassian, Experience Canvas:
http://blogs.atlassian.com/2013/10/fight-the-dark-side-of-lean-uxwith-the-experience-canvas/
Luxr, Experiment Template:
www.luxr.co @luxrco
@micheleidesmith | #GOTOBer