Building a better world
through lean + design
MON, JUN 3, 2013
+
Lean startup at the
intersection of
beauty & complexity

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Luxr makes tools to help startups
deliver products that people want,
need & love to buy.

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@katerutter
@luxrco
Kate Rutter
Co-Founder
www.luxr.co
TWEET!

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a story...
MVP
Maximum
Vision
Possible
= product that
will save lives
visionary idea
+ amazing research
+ engaged team
+ executive support
x 6 months

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risk
time

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a story...
= 1000s of hours
+ 4 designers
+ 4 researchers
+ 3 developers
+ 2 executives
x 6 months
= no lives saved

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a story...
= 1000s of hours
+ 4 designers
+ 4 researchers
+ 3 developers
+ 2 executives
x 6 months
FAIL= no lives saved
= NO PRODUCT

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the biggest fail is...
the product that
doesn’t ever get into
the hands of people.

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“But the code validated!”
“The design was brilliant.
It just never launched.”
“We made an amazing thing.
But nobody wanted it.”
What I NEVER want you to
experience...

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
“But the code validated!”
“The design was brilliant.
It just never launched.”
“We made an amazing thing.
But nobody wanted it.”
What I NEVER want you to
experience...
FAIL

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
“But the code validated!”
“The design was brilliant.
It just never launched.”
“We made an amazing thing.
But nobody wanted it.”
What I NEVER want you to
experience...
waste

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
a different story...
A team of techies, designers,
entrepreneurs, statisticians,
researchers, and artists, all
trying to discover the future
of retail.

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YouTube Feature Film
view on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szr0ezLyQHY

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command/control
waterfall
optimizing
invention-driven
design
risk aversion
collaboration
agile
disrupting
validated learning-
driven design
scaled risks

Lean Startup
~ the quick version ~
What’s going on?

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3 Key Ideas
Build.
Measure.
Learn!
Validated
Learning
Get out of
the building!
Customer
DevelopmentAgile
Development
Collaborate.
Release.
Improve!

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The Agile
Manifesto
resulted from a
ski scrum in
February 2001.
The big idea...
over over over over

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Steve Blank
introduced
“Customer
Development”
in 2006.
The big idea...

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Eric Ries wrote
a blog post on
Sept 8, 2008
titled “The Lean
Startup.”
incremental
releases
+
reduce
waste
The big synthesis...
make products
customers
want
+

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Build.
Measure.
Learn
• Hypotheses
• Experiments
• Validated learning
(These change everything)
And a big innovation...

Wait. We know most
of this already.
User Experience

User Experience
~ the mindset, not the craft ~

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Empathy.
Design.
Products!
UI UX
via Ed Lea: http://design.org/blog/difference-between-ux-and-ui-subtleties-explained-cereal
product
The big idea...

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UX =a mindset
focused on delivering value
inspires the right kinds of ideas
defines “good”
guides decisions

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UX Stack BUILD
MEASURE
LEARN
interactions,
interfaces,
pixels
Vision &
purpose
Features
Product
Users
Uses
Mary can...
Needs
I need...
I want...
My goal is...

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
UX Stack BUILD
MEASURE
LEARN
interactions,
interfaces,
pixels
Vision &
purpose
Features
Product
Users
Uses
Mary can...
Needs
I need...
I want...
My goal is...
Customer
development
Experiments,
MVPs &
metrics
Sketches &
prototypes

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Making the shift
3 things to jump-start
your week.

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Customer
development
or...user research lite
Find the right
thing to solve.
Get first-hand
experience with the
problem.

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Learning from research
QuantitativeQualitative
Generative
Evaluative
Interviews
Metrics
Surveys
Usability
Sessions

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QuantitativeQualitative
Generative
Evaluative
Surveys
The current way
Mental Models •
(Indi Young)
Contextual Inquiry •
(Byer & Holzblatt)
Starbucks •
• Analytics
• Optimizely
• Key
Metrics
• A/B
Testing
Hallway usability •
remote usability •
Q/A testing •
programs
5-second test •

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QuantitativeQualitative
Generative
Evaluative
Interviews
Metrics
Surveys
Usability
Sessions
An adapted way

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013

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SSCI
(Super Simplified Customer Interviews)
• Identify who you want to talk to.
• Articulate your hypotheses.
• Jot down conversation prompts.
• Have the conversation
• Debrief!

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{Challenge}
Sketch it out
people + problems + solutions
Luxr Molecule method:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi97WSqdH5Q
Template at end of deck
Who are the users?
What problems do
they have?
What would be a
proposed solution?

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Users + Problem + Solution map
a mobile app for
delegating tasks
business professionals
Working parents with
with kids
need to know when
something’s done
Too much to do, not enough time
need to share tasks on the go
Task-a-doodle
“the DNA of your idea”
May 2013

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Validate outside,
not inside.
listen!

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Sketches &
prototypes
or...rapid iteration
Take small steps,
not heroic leaps.
Iterate fast to burn
down risk.

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risk
timeDefine
The old way
Design
Develop
Release

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risk
timeDefine
A better old way
Design
Develop
Release

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risk
time
A different way

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risk
A different way
MAKE
release
MEASURE
BUILD
LEARN
MEASURE
BUILD
time

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FAIL

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FAIL

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FAIL

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{Challenge}
Iterate through ideas &
assumptions
http://leanstartupmachine.com/validationboard/
WSD:
Write stuff down.
Validate with intent.
AFAP:
As fast as possible.

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BUILD
MEASURE
LEARN
More cycles in less time,
reduce the risk.
faster!

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Experiments,
MVPs &
metrics
Design is a
hypothesis,
not a solution.
Small experiments
help you learn faster.

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* the Brandon Schauer cupcake model
The old way

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* the Brandon Schauer cupcake model
A different way

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* the Brandon Schauer cupcake model
MVP
⤷
A different way

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FAIL

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Experiments have 3 parts
The belief you
want to test
The testable
“thing”
An indicator
We believe people like [customer
type] have a need for (or problem
doing) [need/action/behavior].
The smallest thing we can do to
prove that need is [experiment].
We will know we have
succeeded when [quantitative/
measurable outcome] or
[qualitative/observable outcome].

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LUXR.CO JUNE 2013

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✔ 2000 users
✘ high sharing

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What assumptions about your customers
do you have that, if you are wrong,
your product will fail.
Write down 3.
(Test these.)
{Activity}
Assumptions
1.
2.
3.

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{Challenge}
State the assumption
as a hypothesis.
we believe that ________________
Template at end of deck

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Keep it small,
keep it tasty.
mmmm!

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
UX Stack BUILD
MEASURE
LEARN
interactions,
interfaces,
pixels
Vision &
purpose
Features
Product
Users
Uses
Mary can...
Needs
I need...
I want...
My goal is...
Customer
development
Experiments,
MVPs &
metrics
Sketches &
prototypes

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This journey is
not easy.

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artists
inventors
scientists
storytellers

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“The courage to speak truths,
pleasant or unpleasant, fosters
communication and trust.
“The courage to discard failing
solutions and seek new ones
encourages simplicity.
“The courage to seek real,
concrete answers creates
feedback.”
—Kent Beck

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Simplicity
Courage
Trust
Process
Continuous Improvement
(from Lean Manufacturing and Extreme Programming)
Lean Startup teams believe in...

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Not just who’s on the team, but how they
work together (no ninjas, gurus, rockstars!)
Invest time in developing productive
relationships
Commit to continuous process improvement
Team first, then product

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
The right team will
find the way to the
right product.

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
“The (validated) code validated!”
“The design is getting brilliant.
We know because people use it more
with each iteration”
“We made an amazing thing.
Because everybody uses it.”
Then we ALL can say...

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a closing story...
A cohort of artists,
scientists, inventors
and storytellers blaze
a new path of
innovation & growth.

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
a closing story...
A cohort of artists,
scientists, inventors
and storytellers blaze
a new path of
innovation & growth.
WIN

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go be awesome.

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Geek out & learn more }

LUXR.CO JUNE 2013
Luxr makes practical learning products for early stage
entrepreneurs, so that they can deliver products that
customers want, need and love to buy.
Luxr.co • 3435 Cesar Chavez, San Francisco, CA • 94110
The Juhl, 353 E. Bonneville Ave., Las Vegas, NV • 89101
info@luxr.co • http://luxr.co • twitter: @luxrco • www.facebook.com/LUXrInc
Images + credits
• Origami by Robert J. Lang: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/national/origami-joins-up-with-science/nRtCw/
• Sketches, templates and models via the Luxr team
• Nordstrom Innovation Lab: Sunglasses iPad App Case Study [YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szr0ezLyQHY]
• Ed Lea: http://design.org/blog/difference-between-ux-and-ui-subtleties-explained-cereal
• Startup Weekend logo: http://sanjose.startupweekend.org/
• Restaurant buzzer, via BuzzTable: http://www.buzztable.com/restaurant-pagers/history-of-the-buzzer/
• Restaurant paging system image, via Microframe: http://www.microframecorp.com/product/342030.html
• Doug Morgan screenshot via Michael DeLucco: https://socialcam.com/v/Qok9JVdU
• Risk model: Chris Jones, Hot Studios
• Lumatic story via Ellen Dunne
• Validation board via Lean Startup Machine: http://leanstartupmachine.com/validationboard/
• 100Plus demo: via Chris Hogg on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH6WWikZdA4
• Lean book series via OʼReilly: http://oreilly.com/
* Slides available on slideshare: slideshare.net/intelleto

Templates*
* You will notice that most of these templates are extremely simple. You
can make them from plain white paper and a sharpie. No special
templates are needed once you know how they work.
‣Molecule
‣Assumptions
‣Experiment

http://luxr.co @luxrco © 2013
The Molecule
people
problem solution
have
addresses
use
Team name date
/ /

http://luxr.co @luxrco © 2013
Assumptions
1
Riskiest
Assumption
Testingnow
Later
Team name date
/ /
2 3
Nextup

http://luxr.co @luxrco © 2013
Experiment
We believe that...
We will do/make...
We will know the hypothesis is valid if by we get...
Hypothesis
date
quantitative
measurable outcomes
TestEvidence
qualitative
observable outcome
Team name date
/ /