Design Thinking vs Lean Startup - which to use, and when

Editor's Notes

• #3: what is the innovation guild?
• #4: Swiffer story of design thinking.
• #5: “d school” is Institute of Design at Stanford.
• #6: Empathy is very important, and "fundamental to good design.” Understanding the user is crucial - the problems you're solving probably aren't those you encounter in your own life. Go so far as to break the wall between observer and observed. Feel what they feel – don’t try to remain “objective”
• #8: Be diligent observers: people's body language and tone of voice reveal far more than their words (55% body language, 38% tone of voice, 7% verbal). Sometimes people's thoughts and values aren't obvious to them, thus the need to pay attention to everything (on top of their words).
• #9: - assume a beginner’s mindset / see the world as a child again / always ask WHY (I need you to build me a bridge, I need to cross the river / I need to deliver a message to someone on the other side…)
• #10: Unpack your observations. Develop a very good understanding of the user and the design space.Very important: STATE THE PROBLEM. This is key - a bad, vague, or off-base problem statement will derail the entire process. Should be a “guiding statement” that is inspiring and sets up a story. Like the founder of CISCO (videoconferencing): he didn’t ask, “How can we improve videoconferencing?” He asked, “How can we create an alternative for business air travel?”
• #11: Go wide. VARIETY AND VOLUME. Has the user already come up with a homegrown solution? What is it?
• #12: Create something we can EXPERIENCE and LEARN FROM. Build to think and to inspire others. Can’t decide on a design option? Prototype both/all, and test with users. Keep the test boiled down so the testable ideas are in clear competition with each other. Identify one variable at a time if possible.
• #13: Notice how you FEEL when experiencing the prototype. Test to learn. Like Lean Thinking: BUILD MEASURE LEARN. - show don't tell - when explaining, use visuals and/or experiences and/or good stories, be meaningful and impactful
• #14: Repeat where necessary. - bias toward action: more designing (and doing), less thinking, you'll learn much faster and in a richer way.
• #15: Why now? Moreover, as economies in the developed world shift from industrial manufacturing to knowledge work and service delivery, innovation’s terrain is expanding. Its objectives are no longer just physical products; they are new sorts of processes, services, IT-powered interactions, entertainments, and ways of communicating and collaborating—exactly the kinds of human-centered activities in which design thinking can make a decisive difference (Tim Brown, 2008, p. 85).
• #16: Why now? Moreover, as economies in the developed world shift from industrial manufacturing to knowledge work and service delivery, innovation’s terrain is expanding. Its objectives are no longer just physical products; they are new sorts of processes, services, IT-powered interactions, entertainments, and ways of communicating and collaborating—exactly the kinds of human-centered activities in which design thinking can make a decisive difference (Tim Brown, 2008, p. 85).
• #17: An entrepreneur had a vision for an online store with a great selection of shoes. He could see the final product in his head – and could have insisted on testing his complete vision with warehouses and distribution partners, like companies of the internet bubble did. Instead he ran an experiment: he asked local shoe stores if he could take pictures of their products and “Sell” them online, for which he’d pay full price to the store for each sale. The question was, “is there demand for a superior online shoe shopping experience? The experiment was able to test many aspects of the future business: customer interactions like taking payment, handling returns, and providing customer support. By building a product instead of market research / asking hypothetical questions, Zappos was able to immediately learn things like customer demand, customer reaction to discounts/sales, and was surprised by things like customer expectations in the return process (questions which he never would have even thought to ask).
• #19: Principles can work anywhere: any size company, new or established, in any sector or industry.
• #20: A startup is not like a typical business, so it requires different goals for its unique situations of extreme uncertainty. You’re driving a car, not launching a rocket ship. Lots of little adjustments, vs planning everything before launch.
• #21: Startups don’t exist to make stuff, or money, or even to serve customers. They first exist to LEARN HOW to build a sustainable business. This learning is validated by running frequent experiments that allow entrepreneurs to test elements of their vision. Validated learning – demonstrating that a team has discovered valuable truths about the startup’s business prospects – is more concrete, faster, and more accurate than market forecasting or classical business planning.
• #22: The fundamental activity is turning ideas into products, measure how customers respond, then learn whether to pivot or persevere. Gear toward accelerating that feedback loop. MEASURE: “one of the most dangerous outcomes for a startup is to bumble along in the land of the living dead.” Founders and employees want to believe. That’s why the myth of perseverance is dangerous. LEAN STARTUP is like the Scientific Method. Scientific experimentation begins with a theory based on observations, and a startup is meant to test the founder’s vision.
• #23: Focus on the boring stuff: how to measure progress, how to set up milestones, how to prioritize work. Startups are too unpredictable for forecasts and milestones to be accurate. 1. Start w/MVP – establish a baseline. 2. Tune the engine from baseline to ideal. 3. Pivot or persevere. Persevere if you’re on the right track. If not, change the baseline and start over.
• #25: founder’s vision should be to create a thriving and world-changing business