1. LEAN USER RESEARCH
Liya James
Principal, Idean
www.idean.com/academy
CEO, The Next Lab
www.thenextlab.co

2. AGENDA
• What is lean user research?
• Who does it?
• When to do it?
• How to do it?
• Exercises
• Q&A
• Wrap-up

3. I’M LIYA
HELLO
CEO, The Next Lab
www.thenextlab.com
Principal, Idean
www.idean.com/academy

4. QUICK SURVEY

5. WHAT IS USER RESEARCH?

6. DISCOVER
NEW IDEAS
VALIDATE
WORK
WHAT IS USER RESEARCH?
Research you do with
existing or potential
customers to find new
ideas or validate your
work
@Liya_James

7. COPYRIGHT © 20157
Who How What
...is the user of my
product/service and why
is s/he motivated?
...will s/he do they achieve
their goals today? How
will they ideally achieve
this goal tomorrow?
...is the solution I provide
them with? How is that
better than the way they
currently solve this
problem?
When
... and what
circumstances would
trigger them to use the
app/site/this feature? Is
this an unmet need or
latent need?
Do discovery research to look for new ideas
WHAT IS USER RESEARCH?
@Liya_James

8. COPYRIGHT © 20158
Do user research to check your work: 2 levels of detail
WHAT IS USER RESEARCH?
@Liya_James
Conceptual UI level

9. WHAT IS LEAN USER RESEARCH?

10. WHAT IS LEAN USER RESEARCH?
Not
Lean

11. WHAT IS LEAN USER RESEARCH?
Lean
Search Execution

12. WHAT IS LEAN USER RESEARCH?
What’s the minimum investment to
keep your team moving forward
building meaningful, useful, viable,
feasible products or services.
Lean
@Liya_James

13. WHAT IS LEAN USER RESEARCH?
Lean
investment
Cost of
Decision
mins hours days
Guerrilla test - pull people off the street/at coffeeshops
Remote usability test with usertesting.com
Adword Test
Remote observation
Email Validation
5 second test
squint test
Photo Narratives
Intercept interviews
Mental Model Games
Phone tours
Co-creation sessions
A/B Test
Vote with your money
Landing page validation

14. WHAT IS LEAN USER RESEARCH?
DISCOVERY
mins hours days
Guerrilla test - pull people off the street/at coffeeshops
Remote usability test with usertesting.com
Adword Test
Remote observation
Email Validation
5 second test
squint test
Photo Narratives
Intercept interviews
Mental Model Games
Phone tours
Co-creation sessions
A/B Test
Vote with your money
Landing page validation

15. WHAT IS LEAN USER RESEARCH?
mins hours days
Guerrilla test - pull people off the street/at coffeeshops
Remote usability test with usertesting.com
Adword Test
Remote observation
Email Validation
5 second test
squint test
Photo Narratives
Intercept interviews
Mental Model Games
Phone tours
Co-creation sessions
A/B Test
Vote with your money
Landing page validation
VALIDATION

16. COPYRIGHT © 201516
Photo narratives
Phone Tours
Validations
Games
(e.g. cash flow diagram)
ObservationsInterviews
Example:
4 weeks
Lean research
Lagos, Nigeria
@Liya_James

17. COPYRIGHT © 201517
WHAT IS LEAN RESEARCH
@Liya_James
PITFALL

18. COPYRIGHT © 201518
Look for patterns and don’t react to everything you hear.
@Liya_James

19. WHO DOES USER RESEARCH?

20. WHO DOES USER RESEARCH?
User Researcher Everyone
Coaches
Trains
Plans
Facilitates
Manage database
Runs Complex Experiments
Learn Basics
Shadow
Participates
Run Simple Experiments
@Liya_James

21. WHO DOES USER RESEARCH?
Customers
Who has the problem we are solving?
Would they buy product?
How much?
How?
Friends & Family
Can find “Forehead Slappers”
Who do you talk to?
Co-workers
Experts
@Liya_James

22. WHEN TO DO IT

23. WHEN TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH?
DESIGN SPRINT 0 DESIGN SPRINT 1 DESIGN SPRINT 2 DESIGN SPRINT 3
DEV SPRINT 0 DEV SPRINT 1 DEV SPRINT 2
In design sprints
?
or…
any time you have a question
that’s blocking you?
@Liya_James

24. COPYRIGHT © 201524 @Liya_James
or…
when it feels like this

25. HOW TO DO LEAN RESEARCH

26. VALIDATE
WORK
DISCOVER
NEW IDEAS
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

27. COPYRIGHT © 2015
OBSERVATION
CO-CREATION
DIARY STUDIES
INTERVIEW
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
7 tips for doing discovery research

28. COPYRIGHT © 201528
1. Have a plan.
The gems and inspirations that
come from design research are
often the unexpected discoveries
you didn’t know to ask for. Have a
plan for your interview that will
move you towards the goal of
research, but don’t restrict
yourself with a rigid script.
“Tell me about a typical day.”
“What does an extremely bad
day look like?”
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

29. COPYRIGHT © 201529
2. Ask good questions.
We can put aside assumptions
about user needs by asking open
questions. these questions can
help us discover things that
surprise us and can lead to
product ideas that solve latent
needs people have but can not
articulate.
“When do you go to
the grocery store?”
“Do you go to the grocery store?”
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

30. COPYRIGHT © 201530
3. Ask for stories.
Stories help us discover the “why.”
“Tell me about the last time you
went to the supermarket?”
“Can you usually find what
you’re looking for?”
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

31. COPYRIGHT © 2015
“…I called her and she said CVS was the
only store that carried her brand. How
was I supposed to know that?”
31
4. Steer the conversation.
Doing an interview with someone is a
dialogue. Asking follow up questions that
point the dialogue to a direction you want
is key in conducting a natural yet
informative session. “That would be hard to know. What
other specialty stores does your
family shop at?”
“I’d have to ask my wife for a list, but as
far as I know…”
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

32. COPYRIGHT © 201532
5. Listen and summarize.
Asking a direct questions will not get us
the same result as asking for a story and
summarizing our understanding.
Summaries help the conversation
transition to the next topic naturally.
“It sounds like you go to the supermarket for
special occasions and you use it as an
opportunity to spend time with the kids.”
“Why don’t you go grocery shopping?”
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

33. COPYRIGHT © 201533
6. Take good notes.
Good notes capture the “How” and
“why” of specific observations.
They should contain compelling
quotes and insights into the
thoughts and feelings of users. “She hasn’t been trained on X System,
so she couldn’t remember how to
correctly enter the information into the
program. So, she just put it into Excel.”
“She decided to just put the info into Excel.”
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

34. COPYRIGHT © 201534
He has labeled company
news alerts in Outlook
because it’s impossible for
him to find specific emails
otherwise.
— P3
@Liya_James
7. Look for patterns

35. COPYRIGHT © 201535 @Liya_James

36. COPYRIGHT © 201536 @Liya_James

37. COPYRIGHT © 201537 @Liya_James

38. COPYRIGHT © 201538
Make user insights visible on a wall, blog, or mural.ly
@Liya_James

39. COPYRIGHT © 201539 @Liya_James
PRACTICE: LEAN USER RESEARCH TO DISCOVER NEW IDEAS
Go to PAGES 1-2 of your handout
15 mins

40. DISCOVER
NEW IDEAS
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
VALIDATE
WORK

41. HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
Make a prototype
@Liya_James

42. HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
Make a plan
ASSUMPTIONS DECISIONS STRUCTURE
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
@Liya_James

43. HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
Pick a Method
@Liya_James
mins hours days
Guerrilla test - pull people off the street/at coffeeshops
Remote usability test with usertesting.com
Adword Test
Remote observation
Email Validation
5 second test
squint test
Photo Narratives
Intercept interviews
Mental Model Games
Phone tours
Co-creation sessions
A/B Test
Vote with your money
Landing page validation

44. HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
Decide Who and How Many People
ONE IS BETTER THAN NONE
@Liya_James

45. COPYRIGHT © 201545
USABILITYPROBLEMSFOUND
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
3 6 9 12 15
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
@Liya_James

46. COPYRIGHT © 201546
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH
Recruit
Craigslist
Facebook
Linkedin
Emails
Malls
Airports
Coffeeshops
Co-working space
Bars
Street
@Liya_James

47. COPYRIGHT © 201547
Example: The Next Lab, first round in person
@Liya_James
DISCOVERY
VALIDATION
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH

48. COPYRIGHT © 201548
• Fourth round of test in 4 weeks.
• Emailed questions and link to 10
students and parents
• Took about 2 hours to reach out
• We wanted to know:
• Is the concept clearer?
• Did the copy resonate with students?
• Is the price still too high?
• Is there enough information?
Example: The Next Lab, Fourth Round, remote
@Liya_James
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH

49. COPYRIGHT © 201549
Looked for patterns in responses.
Took about 2 hours to find patterns.
Then we came up with solutions for the high
priority issues:
• Changing details of concept (e.g. internships, pay cash)
• Changed voice of the copy
• Changed Price
• More information about the classes
• Less information about the “What” and the “Why”
Example: The Next Lab, Fourth Round, remote
@Liya_James
HOW TO DO LEAN USER RESEARCH

50. COPYRIGHT © 201550 @Liya_James
Go to PAGE 3 of your handout
10 mins
PRACTICE: LEAN USER RESEARCH TO VALIDATE YOUR WORK

51. WRAP-UP

52. WE DO LEAN RESEARCH BY BOTH LOOKING FOR NEW IDEAS
AND CHECKING YOUR WORK.
DISCOVER
NEW IDEAS
VALIDATE
WORK
From the perspective of an
existing or potential customer
or your product or service
WRAP-UP

53. LIYA JAMES, PRINCIPAL, IDEAN
Q&A
WRAP-UP
@Liya_James

54. LIYA JAMES, PRINCIPAL, IDEAN
WHAT CAN YOU BRING
BACK TO WORK?
WRAP-UP
@Liya_James

55. LIYA JAMES, PRINCIPAL, IDEAN
RESOURCES
Prototyping:
• Invision for early concept
• Pixate for higher fidelity
mobile apps
Recruiting & Remote:
• usertesting.com
• ethn.io
@Liya_James

56. THANK YOU!
liya@thenextlab.co
@liya_james