implementing lean ux: the practical guide to lean user experience

Copyright © 2012-2013 Brilliant Experience

Implementing LeanUX: The practical guide to lean user experience John WhalenUX Lead & Founder, Brilliant ExperienceVP, UXPA-DC

#leanux #uxpa2013@johnwhalen

Welcome to SUNNY

Washington, DC


Meet Brilliant Experience

User Insights Strategy & Ideation User Experience

John tell me more about yourself, it is all so fascinating!


Agenda‣ Introduction to Lean UX

‣ Most successful Lean UX Pattern for Startups and Enterprise

‣ Secrets to implementing Lean UX (Strategy is the secret sauce)

‣ Common challenges and questions

‣ Leave after lunch for Segway tour of Washington


We find that many clients:

- know they’ve got a market for a product- have limited UX/design capabilities- were developing something that users didn’t really want- need to move faster, (not slower) while introducing UX


How do we “cross the chasm”?

User InsightsGreat Experience,

Successful Product

InsertMagicalProcess

Here

Not recommended

Hard to find

Try this


To help you understand what “this” is, let’s play ‘Name that Methodology’


1 2 3 4

Empathize with the audience you are designing for.

Brainstorm possible designs

Build a representation of one or more of your ideas

PrototypeIdeateResearch

Test your ideas for feedback

Test


Empathize with the audience you are designing for.

Brainstorm possible designs

Build a representation of one or more of your ideas

PrototypeIdeateResearch

Test your ideas for feedback

Test

Design

Thinking

1 2 3 4


Design Thinking


Build

1

Measure

2

Learn

3


Build

1

Measure

2

Learn

3

Lean

Startup


Lean Startup


User Stories

1

Design & Develop

2

Feedback

3


User Stories

1

Design & Develop

2

Feedback

3

Agile


Agile


What about LeanUX?

LeanUX...


Two key points


1. Must balance business & user needs


2. Iteration improves the product

That’s all swell John, but what was common to LeanUX solutions for startups and large enterprises?


The secret lies in the strategy



Getting strategy right helped to properly frame all the subsequent rapid design work.


Get internal focus on what matters and prioritize business goals.

Prioritize your audiences, define them and the scenarios in which they would use your product.

Brainstorm ways to satisfy 1 & 2.

IdeationAudience NeedsBusiness Needs

Flesh out best ideas. Get stakeholders on board with conceptual model.

Sketching

Strategy Session

1 2 3 4

CEO: I know you had an agenda, but let’s just sketch our ideas anyway...


Warm Up: Elevator Pitch

For

who

UXPA is a

that

Unlike

UXPA

(target customer),

(customer need),

(market category)

(one key benefit).

(competition),

(unique differentiator).


Warm Up: Elevator Pitch

For

who

UXPA is a

that

Unlike

UXPA

(target customer),

(customer need),

(market category)

(one key benefit).

(competition),

(unique differentiator).

UX Pros

idea

Students Sponsors

Prof Dev Education NetworkingCollaboration

ProfessionalOrg

Bring people together

One stop shop

Support the profession

SIG CHIIxDA


Business Goals


Business Goals for _____________‣ Write down business goals independently

‣ Prioritize through collaborative discussion

‣ Examples:

- Make us all rich! Ka ching!

- Totally wow users!

- Create (opportunity) that provides great value to customers.

- Drive (user behavior) by (strategic design goal). text

text

text


LeanUX Secret 1:Get the stakeholders aligned on prioritized business goals.



Personas


Prioritize Personas


LeanUX Secret 2:Prioritize personas.


Just a quick sketch

No detailed persona exercise. This is LeanUX!


LeanUX Secret 3:Sketch personas, don’t over think them.



Scenarios & Journey Mapping

What motivates your persona?

What motivates your personas?


LeanUX Secret 4:Focus on the experience journey.



Ideation & Sketching


Quantity over visual quality. The more ideas the better.

Sell your concept to the group.

Using prioritized user scenarios and business needs.

CritiquePresentIdeate

Creatively based on feedback.

Refine

The Process

1 2 3 4


LeanUX Secret 5:Debate design direction alternatives early in the process.

•  Agreed&upon&conceptual&direc0on&

•  Include&wall&with&pictures&

•  Liked&that&this&would&vary&between&user’s&stated&interests&and&related&things&(think&Pandora)&

•  Like&the&faces.&&Need&to&include&way&to&acknowledge&new&members&

•  Need&to&emphasize&who&has&viewed&your&profile,&or&liked&your&content&


LeanUX Secret 6:Develop conceptual model with stakeholders, not the design.


Rapidly Iterate Design


LeanUX Secret 7:Rapidly iterate design.



Rapidly Iterate Design

Rapidly iterate (all of this in a week), but share/test with stakeholders, potential users, etc.


LeanUX Secret 8:Share broadly. Be attentive to internal feedback.



Usability Testing

64

Why is this empty?

What is a past hosted events?

Why is the nav so complicated?

Feels awfully beige for a fun app.

Is this where I start?

How do explore

features and FAQ differ?Will drafts show invitations

or greetings or polls?


More Content, Less Navigation


Rapidly Iterate & Test

What are you using?


LeanUX Secret 9:Test continuously.



User Experience Design


Design Matters


LeanUX Secret 10:Take the time to produce brilliant experiences (by not trying to accomplish too much)



Common challenges to LeanUX


Things we don’t recommend:

- The “genius designer” mentality within the UX Team- Only periodic design / development interaction- The executive swoop down (aka hijack)- The anti-cheerleader who says “No we can’t!”


Let’s Review


LeanUX Secrets1. Get the stakeholders aligned on prioritized business goals.

2. Prioritize personas.

3. Sketch personas, don’t over think them.

4. Focus on the experience journey.

5. Debate design direction alternatives early in the process.

6. Develop conceptual model with stakeholders, not the design.

7. Rapidly iterate design.

8. Share broadly. Be attentive to internal feedback.

9. Test continuously.

10. Take the time to produce brilliant experiences.


Is he done?


Common Questions1. Does this work for a company like mine (Startup, Enterprise, Gov, etc.)?

2. What was the composition of the most successful UX teams?

3. How did the process differ between Startups and Large Enterprises?

4. How did the Design Studios work?

5. When/how did you test prototypes with users?

6. How much functional documentation (e.g,. Spec.) did the client need?

7. How does this work in an Agile development process?

8. What are the risks/benefits of a LeanUX approach vs. waterfall?

9. Can you do this on a fixed budget and timeline?

John Whalen@johnwhalen

User Research Strategy User Experience

BrilliantExperience.com

implementing lean ux: the practical guide to lean user experience

Technology

prioritized business goals

rapidly iterate design

produce brilliant experiences

develop conceptual model

ideas prototypeideateresearch test

2013 brilliant experience

test continuously

experience journey