Here are some tips for effective brainstorming: - Defer judgment. Don't criticize ideas as they're being generated. - Encourage wild ideas. Unusual, even seemingly ridiculous ideas can spark better ideas. - Build on ideas. Improve and combine ideas from others instead of proposing your own at every turn. - One conversation. Don't have side conversations that exclude others. - Stay focused. Keep ideas related to the topic to keep the brainstorm productive. - Go for quantity. Generate as many ideas as possible to increase the chances of good ideas emerging. - Record all ideas. Capture all ideas to avoid losing potentially good ones. The goal of brainstorming is to generate a

1. 500startups
Lean UX Design Bootcamp
Enrique Allen, Rick Boardman, Miche Capone, Karl Dotter,
Thomas Both, Laura Klein & Janice Fraser + more!

2. Thursday Day 1
4-4:15 4:15-4:30 4:30-5:00 5:00-5:30 5:30-6:00 6:00-6:30 6:30-7
Intro to
Who are you generative Distinguish
Think target users?
Business
interviewing needs
Stories
& insights
(Talk) Gut Check
Customer/ Laura
Lean User User
Setup Users Business Needs Problem Kim
UX Empathy Needs
Definition Aye
Make Draft questions
(Activity) Practice interviewing
Make persona Ecosystem Map Practice
of target user(s) Write out synthesizing
Write customer business empathy
hypotheses hypotheses map
POV madlib Lessons from:
IMVU
DailyAisle
Baydin
Check
(Reflect) Practice with
What are riskiest partner
How to test? Show partner
hypotheses & how
Refine POV Debrief
can you test?
questions

3. Quick review of
artifacts we’ll create

4. Personas
Draw the Person... Needs...
Add real names What are their pain &
Describe what they pleasure points?
look like Triggers?
Traits... Goals...
Demographics What do they want to
Age, Sex, Location accomplish? How do
Generalizable Attitudes they succeed?
& Characteristics

5. Personas

7. Ecosystem Map

8. Ecosystem Map

11. Interview Questions
Point of View: [Insert User...(descriptive)] + Needs List of
[Insert Needs...(verb)] + Because + [Insert Insight...(compelling & surprising)] hypotheses:
• “Tell me about the last time you...” When you go through
the interview check off
• “Tell me about an experience you’ve had with...” if you validated any
assumptions
• “How did you feel when ____ happened?”
• “What were you feeling at that moment?”
• “Really, can you tell me why that matters?
• “Say more about that...I see... Do you know why you think that?
• “Okay. And that is important because...”

12. Point of View
[User...(descriptive)]
Needs
[Needs...(verb)]
Because
[Insight...(compelling
& surprising)]

13. Now a little soapbox

14. Design?
• What comes to mind

15. Jesse Schell on
‘Design’
“Anyone who makes decisions about how the product should
be is a designer*. Designer is a role, not a person. Almost
every developer on a team makes some decisions about how
the product will be, just through the act of creating the
product. These decisions are design decisions, and when you
make them, you are a designer. For this reason, no matter what
your role on a development team, an understanding of the
principles of design will make you better at what you do.”

16. The Right Lean UX
Design Method for
the Job
“People cling to things like personas, user research, drawing
comics, etc.,” notes Dan Saffer. “In reality the best designers
have a toolbox of options, picking and choosing methods for
each project what makes sense for that particular project.”

17. Beyond the Surface
Visual Design
Interface - Navigation - Info Design

18. Beyond the Surface
You w ouldn ’t say
th at com puter
Visual Design
Interface - Navigation - Info Design
e nginee ring is
o nly abo ut the
fron t-end

19. Design Goes Deeper
Than You Think
Visual - Graphic Design
Interface - Navigation - Info Design
Information Architecture - Interaction Design
Functional Specs - Content Reqs
Underlying Tech - IP
User - Product - Biz Hypotheses & Objectives

20. Design Goes Deeper
Than You Think
T here’s a full
ck of d esign
Visual - Graphic Design
sta
Interface - Navigation - Info Design
dis cipline s that
Information Architecture - Interaction Design
crea te the “user
Functional Specs - Content Reqs
Underlying Tech - IP
e xperie nce”
User - Product - Biz Hypotheses & Objectives

21. We All Want to Hit this
Sweet Spot

22. Repeatable Process
to Great Design?

23. St artups don’t
rep eated ly get
thro ugh a whole
cyc le! (or really
have a pro cess)

24. Design Process for
Startups?
Start ups Have to
Bias T owards This
End

25. Design Process for
Startups?
We aim to improve We ai m to improve
design skills on this desig n skills here
end with low -cost, low- thro ugh data &
res methods distribution

26. Design Process for
Startups?

27. Let’s Start with
Empathy

28. Flare Out for
Inspiration

29. Search for Human
Values

30. What is Empathy?
• em·pa·thy: the intellectual identification
with or vicarious experiencing of the
feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another
• you can think through the experience of another by
understanding it completely
• you can feel what another is feeling by immersing
yourself completely in an experience

31. Huh?
• Empathy is when you feel what the
other person is feeling.You can
mirror their expressions, their opinions,
their hopes...

32. Why Empathy?
• to discover people’s explicit and implicit
needs so that you can meet them through
your designs
• Find meaning & stories
• Uncover latent needs
• The difference between what people say & do

33. Why Empathy?
“People care about their
problems (or pleasures ;) not
your F-ING solution”
- Dave McClure

34. How well do you know
your ‘user’?
Usability
(how easy to use)
Use
(goals your customer wants to accomplish)
Meaning
(deep insights about the context of “why?”)

35. Startup Examples of
Empathy?

36. How to Find
Empathy?
• First let’s start with who think your users
are...

37. Personas
Draw the Person... Needs...
Add real names What are their pain &
Describe what they pleasure points?
look like Triggers?
Traits... Goals...
Demographics What do they want to
Age, Sex, Location accomplish? How do
Generalizable Attitudes they succeed?
& Characteristics

38. Do it now!
• Quickly break into teams you got 20
minutes!
• Write out as many personas as possible!

39. Personas
Draw the Person... Needs...
Add real names What are their pain &
Describe what they pleasure points?
look like Triggers?
Traits... Goals...
Demographics What do they want to
Age, Sex, Location accomplish? How do
Generalizable Attitudes they succeed?
& Characteristics

40. How would you
validate those
personas?
• When you talk to users do they accurately
fit any of your personas?
• Which personas are most valuable for your
businesses in the short & long term?

41. Now time to zoom
out from your
personas

42. Ecosystem Map

48. Ecosystem Map

49. Entrepreneur’s Guide to
Customer Development

50. Ecosystem Map
• Map out all the players in your ecosystem
on Post-Its
• This could be BD relationships,
competitors, platforms, channels

51. Ecosystem Map
Connections
• Now start to place them into different
parts of your business model
• Then draw relationships between each
entity
• Draw solid lines for direct value and dotted
lines for indirect value

52. Ecosystem Map
Assumptions
• This map shows you your assumptions
about each player, now lets list them out
• Then highlight your most riskiest
assumptions (tech, market, team)
• Which relationships in the ecosystem do
you have any leverage, potential for high
impact, unique advantage?

53. Ecosystem Value &
Growth Hypotheses
• Now circle relationships you want to focus
on over the next 3 months to reduce risk
• Write unique value hypothesis statements
for each player
• Write growth hypothesis statements for
each player

54. Value hypothesis
Tests whether a product or service really delivers value to
customers once they’re using it.
Example: We believe that people like....[eg persona/
ecosystem partner] have a need for...[eg action/behavior]
We know we will have created value if...[eg quantitative
measurable outcome or qualitative observable outcome]
which will contribute to our...[key performance indicator]

55. Growth hypothesis
Tests how new customers will discover a product or service eg
from early adopters to mass adoption.
Example: We believe that people like....[eg persona/
ecosystem partner] will want to share our product or
service when...[eg use case with motivation/ability/triggers]
We know we will be on track to grow if...[eg quantitative
measurable outcome or qualitative observable outcome]
which will contribute to our...[key performance indicator]

56. Test Your
Hypotheses?
• How would you test these ecosystem
hypotheses?

57. How to else find
Empathy? (&
validate your
personas)
• One way is to interview...

58. There’s lots of ways
of asking questions
• To generate stories and inspiration
• To evaluate and assess
• To test and isolate variables

59. Interview Tips
• 1st RULE: You do not say ‘usually’ when asking a
question.
• 2nd RULE: You do NOT say ‘usually’ when asking a
question.
• 3rd RULE: If someone says “I think” or states a
belief or seems to prefer one thing over another,
then the conversation is NOT over. Ask why that’s
important.
• 4th RULE: Only 10 words to a question.
• 5th RULE: One question at a time.

60. More Interview Tips
• 6th RULE: No binary questions, no leading
questions.
• 7th RULE: A conversation started from one
question will go on as long as it has to.
• 8th RULE: If you’re the only one interviewing, then
you HAVE to use a voice recorder to capture!
• ...

61. Seek Stories
• “Tell me about the last time you...”
• “Tell me about an experience you’ve
had with...”

62. Talk about feelings
• “How did you feel when ____ happened?”
• “What were you feeling at that
moment?”

63. Follow Up with
“Why?”
• “Really, can you tell me why that matters?
• “Say more about that...I see... Do you know
why you think that?
• “Okay. And that is important because...”

64. Demo

65. Your Turn
• Draft questions that help you better
understand your users without directly
asking them about your product (5 min)

66. Interview Questions
Point of View: [Insert User...(descriptive)] + Needs List of
[Insert Needs...(verb)] + Because + [Insert Insight...(compelling & surprising)] hypotheses:
• “Tell me about the last time you...” When you go through
the interview check off
• “Tell me about an experience you’ve had with...” if you validated any
assumptions
• “How did you feel when ____ happened?”
• “What were you feeling at that moment?”
• “Really, can you tell me why that matters?
• “Say more about that...I see... Do you know why you think that?
• “Okay. And that is important because...”

67. Find a partner
• Time permitting
• Interview them (10 min each)

68. Refine Questions
• Time Permitting
• Refine questions, look for categories & themes
to dig deeper into (5 min)

69. Interview Arc

70. Now how do we
synthesize?
• Circle ‘needs’ your notes (look for verbs,
quotes, actions, behaviors)
• Circle ‘insights’ in your notes (stories about
the context)

71. Look for
Inconsistencies
A gap between what they say & do
is the design opportunity?
What they
say?
What they
actually do!
What they
say about what
they do ?

72. Capture Share

73. Saturate & Group

74. Empathy Map

75. Journey Map

76. Define the
opportunity

77. Define
• This actionable problem statement (often
referred to as a POV) is the guiding statement that
focuses on the insights that you uncovered from
real users.

78. POV Madlib
• Go back to your persona & ecosystem
players
• Describe your user + need + surprising
insight
• Pick a user individually, divide and conquer
• 10 min!

79. Point of View
[User...(descriptive)]
Needs
[Needs...(verb)]
Because
[Insight...(compelling
& surprising)]

80. Find a partner
• Time permitting
• Share with your team (2 min each)

81. Don’t take my word for
it- let’s introduce:
• @LauraKlein, usersknow.com,
• http://www.slideshare.net/LauraKlein1/building-
empathy
• @KimSheBlue, dailyaisle.com
• @AyeMoah, baydin.com

82. Prep for tomorrow
• Refine your point of view(s) & prepare a
question(s) to brainstorm?
• How might we...[insert prompt]?
• Bring in any copies of any sketches,
wireframes etc and prepare questions for
mock interviews/testing
• Recruit remote users for Saturday & in-
person users for Sunday

83. Debrief

84. Friday
12-12-30 12:30-1:30 1:30-2:30 2:30-3:30 3:30-4:00 4:30-5:00 5:00-
How to Low-fi
Think Brainstorm Agile <3 UX
Low-tech
Prepare for
Agile + Lean UX Get Visual Stories
(Talk) Saturday
Ideation Sketch Uses & Rapid Tara Guerrilla
Ian McFarland Debrief
Warmup Features Prototypes Kelly Testing
Make
(Activity) Sketch User Make features Practice
Re-Visit POVs Wireframes walkthroughs
& Biz needs Sketches in
Framing context &
Brainstorm stories
about use
Wireframe Check Test with real
users &
Check Metrics Check- KPIs
Product
(Activity) Choose Design Guild
Prioritize based on Themed
context that
tech feasibility, Release?
triggers
business &
most use
distribution viability

85. Introducing Ian
McFarland
• Group CTO at Digital Garage
• Former VP of Tech at Pivotal Labs
• @IMF

87. Now that you have
a POV
• Let’s talk about ideation

88. Ideation

89. What’s Ideation
• Ideation is the process of idea generation. Mentally
it represents a process of “going wide” in terms
of concepts and outcomes. Ideation provides the
fuel for building prototypes and driving innovative
solutions.

90. Why Ideate
• Ideate in order to step beyond obvious
solutions. We ideate to harness the
collective perspectives and strengths of our
teams. We ideate to create fluency
(volume) and flexibility (variety) in our
innovation options.

91. Examples of from
Startups?

92. Bad Brainstorming
• Everyone thinks they already do it
• Not a regular meeting
• Not something you take “formal notes” at
• Not a presentation
• Shouldn’t feel like “work”
• It’s actually a tool that needs skill

93. How to Kill a
Brainstorm
• The boss gets to speak first
• Everybody gets a turn
• Experts only please
• Do it off-site
• No silly stuff
• Write down everything

94. How NOT to
Brainstorm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWhK-NO4g8

95. How to Brainstorm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=W1h5L_0rFz8&feature=related

96. Brainstorming Tips
• One Conversation at a Time
• Go for Quantity
• Defer Judgement - NO Blocking
• Build on the Ideas of Others
• Encourage wild ideas
• Be Visual
• Stay on Topic
• Headline!

100. Ideation

101. Tip: don’t make HMWs? too narrow or too
broad

102. Your Turn - Frame
the Brainstorm
• From your POV...come up with a few “how
might we...? statements
• How might we trigger [insert
persona, POV] to do [insert verb,
behavior]?

103. Find a partner
• Brainstorm 7min
• Cluster, group, & build on excitement

104. Switch with your
partner
• Brainstorm 7min
• Cluster, group, & build on excitement

105. How do you
synthesize?

111. Plot Ideas
High
Impact
Low
Easy Hard
Execution

112. Prioritize & Vote
• Vote based on tech feasibility, business &
distribution viability

113. Prototyping

114. Let’s start with
sketching
• @karldotter, dojo.com
• http://www.slideshare.net/k4rl/sketching-leanux

115. Now let’s test your
prototypes

116. Setup a scenario
User: [Insert description of interviewee (add if they fit your persona or POV)]
List of
Tech/OS/Browser: [Insert tech savviness/usage level; OS; Browser] hypotheses:
When you go through
Scenario 1: the interview check off
New user experience. e.g. User discovers link on Facebook if you validated any
//Have interviewee login to Facebook and click on Fan page newsfeed assumptions
• Goal/task 1
• Goal/task 2
• Goal/task 3
The Designer Fund

117. Setup a Scenario
• Get your prototype ready
• Draft a scenario (5 min)

118. Interview & Test
• Find a partner
• Brief them on your scenario & show them
your prototype

119. Feedback Capture
Things people liked or Constructive criticism
found notable & changes
+
?
Questions that the Ideas the experienced
experienced raised spurred

120. Kanban Board
No bucket can contain more than projects at a time
Backlog In Progress Built Validated
A D F
B E
C
The Designer Fund

121. Prep for tomorrow
• http://www.slideshare.net/LauraKlein1/who-do-i-talk-to-
now-diy-user-research-for-startups?
• http://www.slideshare.net/rick/lean-ux-bootcamp-500-
startups-intro-to-usability
• Pick questions, scenarios tools & do
remote interview/test
• Pick questions, scenarios, & do in person
interview/test

122. Stories to wrap up
• @theozero, highscorehouse.com
• @helloxander, getpunchd.com
• @enriqueallen, designerfund.com

123. Feedback on the
bootcamp
• Like...
• Hands on activities
• Succinct concepts, handouts, & tories from other entrepreneurs
• Interviews and testing with real people
• Wish...
• More examples from each activity
• More facilitators available
• Improved email prep before bootcamp
• How to...
• Show qualitative & quantitative tradeoffs
• Show examples that are contextual to market/consumer audience
• Keep lists of resources and links maintained

124. Appendix