The Lean Startup
What is The Lean Startup?
The Lean Startup is a product development process focused on customers and
their needs, using lessons learned in iterations. It is used especially in
technology startups.
In classic case, if you start a company probably you have an idea. A great
idea in your opinion. You think that people will love your product. You create
a product based on your thoughts. After a year or so you finally made it.
Finally your product has been tested and ready to rule the market. The day of
product launch came and … nothing happened. Some people download it. Use it or not.
You don’t know why. After some time a very few people use your product.
Why? Probably, because you create a product relying only on your thoughts and
assumptions, not thinking and asking people what they really need.
And The Lean Startup comes here. It’s a development process model where you
start from an idea and verify it. Put your idea on Lean Canvas and go outside
the building to ask people about it.
Lean Canvas
Lean canvas is a simple business model on a single
paper sheet. It shows your hypothesis and assumptions very well.
The model is divided into 9 parts:
1. Problem - 3 main hypotheses of the problem which you
want to solve
2. Customer segments - 3 main customer segments
you will target with the product
3. Unique value proposition - what makes your product
valuable
4. Solution - 3 main features of your probable solution
5.
Channels - ways to
reach customers
6. Revenue channels - how you will make money
7.
Cost structure - all your
costs
8. Key metrics - measurable metrics to calculate growth
9. Unfair advantage – what you are better at
 |
| Lean Canvas - Fuldr.com |
MVP - Minimum Viable Product
MVP is a version of a product that gives customers a unique value and solves the main
problem they have.
There are some definitions of MVP:
"The minimum viable
product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the
maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least
effort." ~ Eric Ries
“A Minimum Viable Product is the smallest thing
you can build that delivers customer value (and as a bonus captures some of
that value back).” ~ Ash Maurya
You go from this version of
the product you test to the real environment, measure
your growth and make changes to create the best product.
Build -
Measure - Learn
After creating a MVP you have to improve
your product. Change it every day and look how the
changes work. Work in a loop “Build - Measure - Learn” to get best results.
The main goals at this stage are:
·
Minimize TOTAL
time through the loop
·
Learn as much as
you can in single iteration
·
Create tools for
fast deployment and measurement
·
Organize your team
around this process
 |
| Build-Measure-Learn Loop - Eric Ries |
Summary
As you can see The Lean Startup Model is focused on customers
and their needs. Start from hypotheses and test them before creating a product. You can save a lot of money and time
using this model. This method works on continuous development, so you provide
a better product every day.
Finally it is highly probable that your product will
fit the market and make customers happy.
Sources:
The Lean Startup, Eric Ries,
2011
Running Lean, Ash Maurya, 2012
I don't have any experience with such methods. I'm developer, so all that "market-knowing" work is done by Product Managers in my case. To be honest I'm not sure if I would use such methods in case of starting my own project. Have you used it?
ReplyDeleteI used only the early stages of the method. Especially Lean Canvas and interviews with potential customers. As you pointed it's for managers rather than developers. They can do a market research and verify hypotheses of a product. Where Lean Startup comes to product development stage, it requires to work in a build-measure-learn loop.
DeleteI had to check who was writing this article, because this term I have classes all about product development and I wanted to know, wheatear you are one of my classmates or not. To be specific, the topic in this article is a mix of two subjects - Human–computer interaction and Managing Classes.
ReplyDeleteWe covered this method, as well as Cooper’s Goal directed design, User Center Design (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LP9Ko_IruI), but IDEO way as well (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M66ZU2PCIcM).
I’m fully aware that the Lean Startup is more business concentrated way and those I’ve mentioned is more designer concentrated, but it’s a fact that if something is well designed – it will find it’s customers.
The last but not least – I really appreciate formatting! it’s not perfect, but it really nice that to you put some effort in it – readable and clean, just as it is supposed to be!
I am at the 3rd semester of Second degree Information Technology classes. I also have classes about management but not HCI.
DeleteThe Lean Startup is repeatable product/service development process.
In the video about designing shopping cart, they made it similar to the Lean Startup methods.
The had started from thoughts about the problems with current shopping carts. Then they went outside the office, talked with people and they observed what people do with shopping carts.It's is similar to Lean Canvas and customers interviews. Then they made some propotypes - like MVP in Lean Startup. FInally they launched final version of product. There was no word about any next versions of the product, but in Lean Startup is Build-Measure-Learn.
The Lean Canvas is a nicely constructed "mind map", for which I see wide applications in other product planning methodologies. Sometimes I wonder what would the products in my company would look like if someone in our business products managers would draw up something similar to the Lean Canvas and think through some of their awful products or ideas :)
ReplyDeleteThe Lean Canvas has its origins in Business model generation techniques. For more information look at: http://businessmodelgeneration.com/book
DeleteMaybe you could tell your managers about it :)
I have read the article, and as a developer I have to say is good to known that something I have everyday contact has a name. Although the fact, corporation always already have a product, which is being developed for the needs of the market, which is constantly changing through the competition. For novice Entrepreneurs benefit from this knowledge is promised land to start adventure with the company.
ReplyDeleteSome companies get best practices from The Lean Startup and adjust it for their environment. The Lean Startup bases on previous and other methods like Customer Development, Agile, Business model generation.
DeleteThis was very interesting. Is this one of the type of Agile methods like SCRUM ? I see simillar principels. I think this is very good idea for startups cause they can't just be planned from A to Z. You`ll never know how people will react, what will the competition do, startups need to adapt to every situation from the start, this is their only chance to have a chance.
ReplyDeleteI have read that article and I have similar conclusion as you Dawid. It was pretty interesting topic which was sounded like Agile style. Customer first! Of course we can’t predicted every reaction for our product but definitely we should try to do it. Because if you know how to make your client happy, probably you will be happy too ;)
DeleteAgile is very popular and most people know something about it. The Lean Startup derives few assumptions and techniques from Agile, because they work well
DeleteI read the article and I agree with it completely. So you can improve your product and save time and money. This is especially important for young and inexperienced. It is easier to enter the product after testing, knowing what other people thinking
ReplyDeleteNowadays the reality of all markets force a customer needs approach. We can not reach the goals without the really good and exhaustive research of customer needs. When we want to launch the new product we need to know what people want and our task is to deliver this values. The moment when we sold something is not the end of the process because we must going to create strong relationship with clients. I agree with lean strategy because is the right way to recognize customer`s needs and experiences. Without a wide spectrum of methodology about startup products , management and customer retention we will be like a child in a fog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this article. It looks like a really solid methodology to create something that works and is desireable on market. In many situations teams forgot about the purpose of the product. After few developement cycles it looks like a christmas tree, with many additional features while the basic ones suck. Sticking to this method would help company develop something that customers really want.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how marketing methodlogy changes in parallel with the development of technology and technology-based products. Especially, that interesting ideas often go to waste, because people who come up with ideas and bring them to life by developing them, often do not know enough about marketing to sell the product.
ReplyDeleteWe are using MVP's in most of our projects. It really helps to deliver system to our business client as fast as possible. Client is happy and we have more time to breath. Of course we have a lot of problems with delivering systems with high quality in small amount of time, so it's hard to use this methodology in unexperienced teams, because you will lose more time on technology debt you have created later on. In m opinion, if you have time, it's sometimes better to use XP or waterfall to avoid creating leaky architecture.
ReplyDeleteThe Lean Canvas is typical analytical model, which in my opinion can be used to every single product appearing on the market. The method can help to describe main problems occurring during the product development and improving it. This knowledge allows to create better product matched to customers needs and helps to get to the market and beat competitors. Analysis of the whole creating process should be used and Lean Canvas can be very helpful method.
ReplyDeleteWe often use The Lean Canvas as a model which describes our products and services. It's simple and clean, so if we have a new person i.ex. in sales team, we present our products using Lean Canvases and they works very well.
DeleteI see almost everyone here had some experience with this stuff except me so I'll just state my general opinion on startups as a layman.
ReplyDeleteEven before reading this article I always thought that it is important to do proper research before starting...anything, really. People come up with brilliant (in their opinion) ideas all the time but almost every time you can assume that somebody came up with that idea earlier and failed, because there is nothing like it on the market. Maybe it's a pessimistic approach, but it's really hard to come up with something new nowadays. And if you really come up with something new it's even more important to spread the word and get people interested in it that to finish the product itself.
Thank you for all your comments. Nice to see, that many of you have an exerience with the Lean Startup or single methods derived from it.
ReplyDeleteThis is rather nice presentation of this interesting methodology! I agree wholeheartedly that interaction with end user is a must in today high technology market. Thank you for this presentation.
ReplyDeleteThe Lean Startup can be a good idea. I think there are a lot of important things to keep in mind in business startup. Based on Steve Jobs experience we know that really important in business is solving problems of people. This is a good example of a person who was watching competition and looking what they are doing not so well that they are able to. It was taking him much more time to make something more sophisticated but was also much more effective, gives more money and satisfies customers.
ReplyDeleteApple Music Event 2001-The First Ever iPod Introd
http://youtu.be/kN0SVBCJqLs
The first thing I have to say is that I'm really interested in this topic. I think the method is very interesting and I will probably use it in my graduation work. I'm curious if I will introduce any new solutions thanks to it. Maybe factually this method will help me to create something more interesting for a consumer.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't read it on time but this time I read it and I really liked it! It's a great topic and always cool to learn something new. As we are still all "young" enough we are all startupers, especially in IT. Every IT guy I know tries to create something new or usable and make a startup. This is a very beautiful phenomenon to watch as they grow in strength, the startups of my friends who recently just launched it. I even have a few of favourite startupers whose actions I really like to watch because I know if they do something they do it right and always turns in into gold and something cool. It's a great pleasure to know such people. LOL
ReplyDelete