1. 10 Things I Learned at
Lean UX NYC 2013
Tom Callaghan
May 6, 2013

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1. There are parallels between humor and design.
2. A simpler approach to UX helps establish a good foundation, and creates
accessible design where all can contribute and commit.
3. There are some techniques for selling user research to stakeholders.
4. The lean approach has some very appealing benefits.
5. The lean approach has some challenges.
6. UX should demand a sustainable pace with something similar to the Agile
Manifesto.
7. There is some useful terminology to be learned
8. People are passionate about Lean UX, it appeals to a wide audience, but they
also have unique needs based on their industry, size, politics, locale, etc.
9. You can always pick up tips for more effective interviewing
10. You can always pick up tips for better personas
Table
of
Contents

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1.
There
are
parallels
between
humor
and
design.
o Rule of 3’s –it takes 3 things to see a trend or difference, and provide
perspective
o Symmetry – start and end at the same place--closure
o Sometimes it is better to go with the flow of improv, to explore areas
without fear of failure
o Good design, like humor, is truth. UX is truth. Seek it, and invite
others along.
o Truth is revealed through conflict.
o Like humor, UX can be really fun, but really hard.

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2.
A
simpler
approach
to
UX
helps
establish
a
good
founda=on,
and
creates
accessible
design
where
all
can
contribute
and
commit.
o Paper prototypes and sketching.
o Whiteboards and post-it notes.
o “Accessible design” (easy to contribute).
o Don’t listen to users, watch them use your product.
o Get out in the field and talk to people.
o We need to work on the ux of UX (usability of Usability).

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3.
There
are
some
techniques
for
selling
user
research
to
stakeholders.
o Empathy—Shop the stakeholder you understand their perspective
o Maturity—Fight or flee based on context
o Participation—Invite the skeptical to watch
o Lean—Leverage lean techniques
o Get them to listen--Use their language, appeal to their motivations,
and sell through story telling
o Collaborate – Invite discussion and facilitate it
o Failure: Only by proving false assumptions do you really convince
some people to do user research (chicken and the egg)

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4.
The
lean
approach
has
some
very
appealing
benefits.
o It has a good basis in things like Deming, KJ, Agile, discount usability,
guerilla UCD
o Do more with less
o Get more immediate results, which develops momentum
o Provides focus on the problem (people), not the solution (tech)
o It teaches us to think “disruptively” (How can we mix things up?)

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5.
The
lean
approach
has
some
challenges.
o Co-location—have to do some things remote
o The Large Enterprise Corporation
o Silos—“departments are the enemy of innovation”
o Job distinctions, fixed roles and responsibilities (entrepreneurial view)
o How is this different from UX turned on itself? (Make UX usable for X”)

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6.
UX
should
demand
a
sustainable
pace
with
something
similar
to
the
Agile
Manifesto.
o Why do we need to struggle to keep step to the cadence of
development?
o Why don’t people ask us the same questions we ask others? (How
can we help…?)
o How can we push the focus pendulum back from developers to users?

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7.
There
is
some
useful
terminology
to
be
learned
.
o An MVP is a minimally viable product, and presents a notion of how to
prioritize features and work on other levels.
o You don’t throw out an idea, you just “pivot” direction after a proven
failure.
o “Intra-preneur”: Someone who behaves like an entrepreneur within a
larger company.
o People in Lean UX curse, a lot!

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8.
People
are
passionate
about
Lean
UX,
it
appeals
to
a
wide
audience,
but
they
also
have
unique
needs
based
on
their
industry,
size,
poli=cs,
locale,
etc.
o Education Technology
o Startups and Large corporations (IBM, etc.)
o Journalists
o Recruiters
o “Social nodes” (digital socialites, esp. NYC)
o Iconoclasts (makelovenotporn.com)
o Sales people
o Advertisers
o Designers
o Developers/coders, Strategists

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9.
You
can
always
pick
up
=ps
for
more
effec=ve
interviewing
o Start with asking the user to relate a positive experience
o Interview someone with their eyes closed
o What you are looking for from an interview is rapport, not answers
o Interview in context, work hard to simulate that context, and know the
difference
o Talk, before you stalk, before you sell
o Use sales, marketing, customer support, and other groups to find interviewees
o Ethnio.net is a recruitment tool
o Need a note taker or recording device to do an interview—cannot do it alone
o Distinguish between insights & observations (ideas you got v. what you saw)
o Ask for a story

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10.
You
can
always
pick
up
=ps
for
beRer
personas
o Draw a picture of the persona to start—it helps you connect better by focusing
on details (even more so if you are a bad drawer)
o Personas provide alignment, empathy, and communication
o Incremental personas call for iterative update, improvement, and editing of
personas as the context changes. The biggest danger is that personas
become stagnant and a “one-off”.
o Use empathy maps to understand users (think & feel, hear, see, say & do,
pains, gains)
o Distinguish between known and unknown user characteristics, then do user
research to make them all known. When all are known, move forward.
o User stories help define personas but also indicate when they need updating.
o Use “just-enough”/”just-in-time” information to keep personas fresh