SPdM Recap: Better product definition with Lean UX and Design Thinking

Last night, Agile &Lean UX guru Jeff Gothelf stopped by The Software Product Management Meetup Group to talk to us about better product definition with Lean UX and Design Thinking.

First, a couple of definitions:

1. Lean UX

Inspired by Lean and Agile development theories, Lean UX is the practice of coming to a shared understanding, in a collaborative, cross-functional way with less emphasis on deliverables and greater focus on the actual experience being designed.

Want to learn more? Check out his Smashing Magazine article and/or grab a copy of Lean UX (the book).

2. Design Thinking

The ability to combine empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality to analyze and fit solutions the the context.

3. Requirements = ASSUMPTIONS. Change the way you define your requirements by coming up with a series of hypothesis about how your product solves your customer needs and then testing these hypotheses.

Jeff walked us through many case studies from companies he has worked with in the past such as Plancast, PayPal, TheLadders, and Sesame Street. In each case, he walked through the situations where applying these principles early on in the product definition could have (or did) lead to product success.

This was a fantastic presentation and I strongly encourage you to hear it for yourself. Follow Jeff at jeffgothelf.com or @jboogie to find out where he’ll be speaking next!