This document discusses using Lean methods like Lean UX and Lean Startup to reduce uncertainty through iterative experiments. It emphasizes formulating assumptions and hypotheses to guide product development, creating minimum viable products (MVPs) to test hypotheses, and using cross-functional collaboration in an iterative process to continuously learn and improve. The goal is to avoid wasting resources building things no one wants by getting customer feedback faster through lower-risk, more frequent experiments.

1. © Josh Seiden, 2017, All rights reserved.
From
Requirements
to Hypotheses
Framing Work To Promote Learning
June 15, 2017

2. Hypotheses | June 2017
– –
Agenda
2
1. Lean UX, Agile, & Uncertainty
2. Assumptions
3. Hypotheses
4. Experiments
5. Q/A

3. Hypotheses | June 2017
– –
Internet Mouse
3

4. Lean UX

5. 5
Old assumptions, new reality
4

6. Old assumptions, new reality

7. @jboogie
Software is continuous

8. 11.6
seconds

9. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _9
The CORE of
Agile?

10. Microsoft | March 2015
_ _10
Responding to change
over following a plan.

11. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _11

12. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _12
Over time,
Agile became an
engineering project-
management system that
settles for working code.

13. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _13
Agile doesn’t have a brain.
- Bill Scott, Sr. Dir of UIE at PayPal

14. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _14
How do we put
the pursuit of value
back into our
Agile process?

15. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _15
By creating a culture
of continuous learning
with Lean UX.

16. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _16
Foundation:
Iterative, not Incremental

17. Incremental: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rZLXcppEI5w
Incremental

18. Incremental: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rZLXcppEI5w
Iterative

19. St Jude | July 2015 – –
Increase Speed of Learning
No one
clicked.
This is
going to
be BIG!
Make a
design
decision
MONTHS
HOURS
Get feedback
from market
Concept credit: @clevergirl

20. St Jude | July 2015 – –
Less risk, more often
The old
way...
The new
way!
Concept credit: @clevergirl

21. Lean Processes

22. Lean Startup

23. Hypotheses | June 2017 _ _23
Reduce waste.
Don’t build things people
don’t want.

24. Lean UX
Inspired by Lean Startup and Agile development theories, it’s
the practice of bringing the true nature of a product to light
faster, in a collaborative, cross-functional way with less
emphasis on deliverables and greater focus on a shared
understanding of the actual experience being designed.
It must be true!
It’s in a book!

25. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _25
Foundation:
Shared understanding.

26. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _26
Regular discussion & iteration
…creates broader buy-in

27. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Today’s Focus
27
• State the vision / idea / outcome
• Declare your assumptions
• Hypothesize: write the test first
• Design an experiment
• Make an MVP
• Get out of the building
• Team synthesis
• Repeat
Ideas
Build
Product
Measure
Data
Learn

28. In Summary

29. Hypotheses | June 2017
– –
About Lean Methods…
Summary
• Use Lean Methods to avoid waste
• Use Lean Methods when uncertainty is high
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Do it more than once!
• Do it more than once!
29

30. Assumptions & Hypotheses

31. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –31
http://youtu.be/b240PGCMwV0
Feynman on Science…

32. – –Auto Trader UK | February 2015 32

33. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Declare your assumptions
33
What are the fundamental
assumptions we have about our
customers, their needs and our
solution that, if proven wrong, will
cause us to fail?

34. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Lean and the Design of Business
34
• Every decision you make about your offering is a
customer experience decision
• Declare the assumptions you have about your solution
and test them
• Evaluate your results ruthlessly, and be prepared to
change course

35. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Typical product
• Who is the user? Who is the customer?
• Where does our product fit in their work or life?
• What problems does our product solve?
• When and how is our product used?
• What features are important?
• How should our product look and behave?
35

36. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Typical Business Assumptions
36
• How will we acquire customers?
• How will we make money?
• Who are our competitors?
• What’s our differentiator?
• What’s our biggest risk?
• How do we expect to solve it?

37. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _37
HYPOTHESES
Exercise:

38. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Hypothesis Statement
38
We believe that __________________.
We’ll know this is true when we see
[this evidence (from the market)].

39. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Hypothesis Statement: Feature
39
We believe that
[this business outcome] will be achieved
if [these people] successfully
achieve [this user need]
with [this feature].
This might fail because ______________.
We’ll test this by_____________________.

40. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Compared: Hypothesis vs. Requirement
40
We believe that if we
make the login button bigger,
infrequent visitors
will have an easier time finding the button, and will log in
at an increased rate.
VS.
Create a very big green login button on the home page.

41. Experiments & MVPs

42. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Method: Minimum Viable Product
42
What is the smallest thing we can do or make to test
our hypothesis?
The answer to this question is your MVP.

43. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
MVP might not be a P
• Pre-sales/landing page
• Button to nowhere/feature fake
• Concierge/wizard of oz
• Non-technical
43

44. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
Focus on Learning
44
What do we need to learn first?
What is the least amount of work we need to do to
learn that?

45. Hypotheses | June 2017 – –
MVP: Pre-Sales
45

46. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _46
MVP: Call-to-action button
212 555 1212
212 555 1212
212 555 1212

47. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _47
MVP: In-context tests

48. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _48
MVP: Non-technical

49. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _49
MVP: Cardboard

50. Hypotheses | June 2017
_ _50
MVP: Concierge / Wizard of Oz

51. Hypotheses | June 2017
Questions?
joshseiden@gmail.com
@jseiden