13 Highlights
We got in to build valuable products and services, not to write specs.
As I've learned to practice Lean UX, I've had to overcome the feeling that I was showing work that was "ugly", "unfinished," or "not ready."
Ultimately, the success or failure of your product isn't the team's decision - it's the customers.
Every project starts with assumptions, but usually we don't explicitly acknowledge this fact.
There is no need to prototype the entire product experience. Instead, simulate the most important part of the experience for your customer and your business.
Design only what you need. Deliver it quickly. Create enough customer contact to get meaningful feedback fast.
If the team needs more than two pizzas to make a meal, it's too big.
Jeff Bezos
In an environment in which designers create beautiful deliverables, they can attain a heroic aura. Requirements go in one end of the design machine and gorgeous artwork makes its way out. People "ooh" and "ash" when the design is unveiled. Designers have thrived on these reactions for many years. ~ However, those glossy deliverables can drive bad corporate decisions. They can bias judgement specifically because their beauty is so persuasive.
Can a single design hero be responsible for the success of the user experience, the business, and the team? Should one person be heralded as the sole reason for an initiative's success? In short, no!
This change can be hard for some, especially for visual designers with a background in interactive agencies. In those contexts, the Creative Director is untouchable. In Lean UX, the only thing that's untouchable is customer insight.
Speed first, aesthetics second.
Jason Fried
For some designers, Lean UX threatens what they see as their collective body of work, their portfolio, and perhaps even their future employability. These emotions are based on what many hiring managers have valued to date - sexy deliverables. ~ but all of that is now changing.
Although your organisation must continue to value aesthetics, polish, and attention to detail, the ability to think fast and build shared understanding must get a promotion.
