Anders Ramsay - The UX of Minimum Viable Products

1. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
The UX of Minimum Viable Products
by Anders Ramsay

2. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
What is a Minimum Viable Product?

3. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
What is a Minimum Viable Product?
The shortest path from idea to
validated learning.

4. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
Source: sylvanlakelibrary.blogspot.com
“The Hudson Bay Start”

5. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
Source: sylvanlakelibrary.blogspot.com
“The Hudson Bay Start”

6. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
Formulate a Hypothesis:
This is my prediction of what I’ll need
to survive for 2 months in the middle
of nowhere.
MVP Design
Learn from the Results:
Did I use more/less food than I
expected in 3 days? Did I discover
gear I needed but didn’t have with
me? etc.
Test the Hypothesis (Experiment):
Trek into nearby woods and camp out for
a few days.

7. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
Formulate a Hypothesis:
This is my prediction of what I’ll need
to survive for 2 months in the middle
of nowhere.
UX: How do
we design
effective
experiments?
MVP Design
Learn from the Results:
Did I use more/less food than I
expected in 3 days? Did I discover
gear I needed but didn’t have with
me? etc.
Test the Hypothesis (Experiment):
Trek into nearby woods and camp out for
a few days.

8. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
What would be an MVP for the redesign of a big-ass ancient enterprise system?

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Pain points
- Entering data into wrong fields.
- Changes sometimes not saved.
- Data often needing to be re-entered.
- Often manually renaming/moving files.
- Some departments refusing to use the
system saying they’d never get any
actual work done.

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“Cool, let’s come up with the minimal
feature set needed to replace the whole
enterprise system…”

11. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
“Cool, let’s come up with the minimal
feature set needed to replace the whole
enterprise system…”
“No, let’s conduct an experiment:
Find a high-benefit/low-cost pain point, try
removing it, and see what we learn...”

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The MVP:

13. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
Offered riches both in user and tech learning.
Could be implemented quickly.
A success, even if it failed.
The MVP:

14. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
vi·a·ble
/ˈvīəbəl/
Adjective
1.Capable of working successfully; feasible: "the proposed
investment was economically viable".
2.(of a seed or spore) Able to germinate.

15. @andersramsay | #agileuxUX Singapore 2013
“A minimal viable product is...a rolling
series of releases that iterate and improve
based on a mix of data and vision/judgment.”
—Giff Constable, Interaction 2011

16. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
Focusing on learning, not features...

17. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
Focusing on learning, not features...
Lean Startup: Focused on validated learning
Success?
Failure?
MVP #1 MVP #2 Success?
Failure?
...etc.
Experiment
and learn
Experiment
and learn

18. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
Focusing on learning, not features...
Lean Startup: Focused on validated learning
Success?
Failure?
MVP #1 MVP #2 Success?
Failure?
...etc.
Experiment
and learn
Experiment
and learn
Success?
Failure?
Agile: Focused on working software
Ship features the customer asks for (early and often)

19. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
How does this impact UX design?

20. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
Changing how we collaborate
Adopt Agile UX methods to enable fast/high quality cycles of work.
Whole team ideation andvisioning
Effective workshops
Pairing across roles/
disciplines

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Changing what we measure
“Is this user-friendly?”

22. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
Changing what we measure
“Is this user-friendly?”
“How much would you pay for this”
“How much time would this save?”
vs

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Broadening our design focus
Designing and testing
product viability.
Designing and testing
user experiences.

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MVP Design Patterns

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Painkiller
Try removing a high-value, low-cost pain point.

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Fa$t Money
Try shipping only what you think people will pay for.

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Wizard of Oz
Try manually simulating system output.

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Go Ugly Early
Try shipping with the most bare-bones UX possible.

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Fake Storefront (Archetypal Lean Startup landing page)
Try marketing the product as if already completed.

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Be the software (aka “Concierge”)
Try manually simulating the user experience.

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Which pattern should I pick?
- What offers the most learning at the lowest cost?
- What best tests your riskiest assumptions?
- Expect to use a combination of patterns.

32. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
Bottom line
- Designing MVPs is a craft in its own right.
- Broadens the meaning of UX design.
- Requires melding virtually all aspects of Agile/Lean UX.
- A great measurement of your skill level as a modern UX’er.

33. #agileux | @andersramsayUX Singapore 2013
Thanks!
andersramsay.com
@andersramsay
#agileux
Presentation:
http://bit.ly/ux-of-mvps