Lean UX: The user experience has priority.

User experience (UX) means: People who use your product should love it. This involves all aspects of use, including appearance, functionality, interaction and information design. The question is: how do you achieve a great UX? We have an idea.

Do I need this?

Of course you can say: "UX, yes, luxury. It's just as good." Or: "We can optimize it after the go-live." Just like you say: "We're buying a harp now. One of the kids will want to play the harp. And a bagpipe as well. Going to the music store with the bellows is a hassle. Or, an even better idea: a theremin. The theremin is the new flute."

It could just be that you have a theremin, a bagpipe and a harp at home that nobody needs.

Faster to better results

So you want a product that your users love. The bad news: UX is a pretty big box. The good news: we can unpack it together.

Lean UX fits perfectly with agile way of working. From there, we adopt the idea of proceeding in iterations. We break the big UX box down into smaller parts, which we evaluate on an ongoing basis. We collect data and make decisions based on it. The focus is not on the end result, but on the insights we gain during the process. We make decisions that we can implement now in order to make a difference.

Still sound a bit abstract?

It may become a little clearer if we compare Lean UX with the traditional approach. Traditionally, requirements are recorded first, followed by a comprehensive plan to ensure an optimal UX. Lean UX is different:

• We don't focus on the big picture, but on changes that we can make now. To do this, we collect data and prepare the decisions for the next sprint.
• Instead of requirements, the focus is on problem statements. Assumptions can be generated from this: "We believe that it is crucial for smartphone users to be able to save the status of the registration form at all times. This leads to more registrations."
• To test assumptions, we make hypotheses: "The assumption is confirmed if we achieve a 20% improvement in the rate of complete registrations." Hypotheses must be provable. Otherwise we're just churning out blue sky. A MVP is very suitable for testing hypotheses.
• If the hypothesis proves to be true, we iterate further. Otherwise, we discard the MVP (or the relevant part). Lean UX therefore encourages experimentation and continuous improvement. Agile, in other words. Instead of sacred cows standing and lying all over your product, in the end you have certainty: it works.