The document discusses hypothesis-driven design in user experience (UX) work. It explains that UX people form hypotheses about customer problems, behaviors, and how proposed solutions might lead to improvements. They then take actions like testing the hypotheses to try and invalidate them, and share what they learn. An example is given where making search more noticeable on a collaboration tool did not change user behavior as expected, leading to forming a new hypothesis about why people do not want to search. The overall process of forming hypotheses, testing them, learning from results, and using lessons to guide further work and hypotheses is hypothesis-driven design.

1. Embracing
Hypothesis-Driven
Design
@cindyalvarez

2. We have gotten faster.
Have we gotten better?

3. Being right is
a temporary condition.

4. So how does
hypothesis-driven design
work?

5. Form a hypothesis
(a guess)

6. UX people form UX hypotheses

7. We believe that customers have problem/
lack knowledge/behave in this way
which leads to consequence
and that if we tried solution
it would lead to improvement/results

8. Take actions
(try to invalidate)

9. Hypotheses require action
• Write it down
• Share it
• Test it (Identify how to measure)
• Revisit and update (write it down again)
• Build off it

10. Share the knowledge
(tell stories)

11. I’ll give you an example
(it’s working)

12. People weren’t searching

13. We believe that customers don’t realize they can
search in Yammer
which leads to customers not finding info they
need (so they’ll use Yammer less)
and that if we tried making search more
noticeable
it would lead to customers searching and finding
the info they need (so they’ll use Yammer more)

14. More visible search
Search

15. So what happened?
• Customers searched more. But only a tiny
bit more.
• Customers who searched more, didn’t
use the product more.

16. So what did we learn?
• People aren't searching because they don't
notice search: false
• If people searched more, they'd find our
product more valuable: false
• We should invest more effort in improving
the search experience: false
• We don’t know why people don't want to
search: true

17. Why don’t people want to search?

18. Research formed a new hypothesis
We believe that customers don’t feel comfortable
working openly beyond their trusted team
which leads to choosing collaboration tools that feel
more “private”
and that if we tried focusing on small teams vs. entire
companies
it would lead to customers feeling comfortable enough
to post and share actively (and use Yammer more)

19. Guiding the overall product direction…

20. I hope that you’ll find a
hypothesis to form today.
I’m always happy to answer questions! @cindyalvarez or cindy@cindyalvarez.com