Lean UX: Summary Review

Key Things You Should Know About The Book

This is a summary review of Lean UX containing key details about the book.

What is Lean UX About?

Lean UX by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden outlines a user-centric approach to designing digital products. (Full Summary…)

Lean UX Summary Review

“Lean UX,” penned by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden, stands as a definitive guide in the realm of modern product design and development. The Kindle Edition of the third edition showcases the authors’ commitment to evolving principles, making it a beacon for professionals in design, product management, development, and scrum mastering across the globe.

Synonymous with cutting-edge approaches to product development, Lean UX encapsulates the amalgamation of human-centric design, agile methodologies, and a keen business acumen. The authors, Gothelf and Seiden, leverage their expertise to position Lean UX as a leading methodology for digital product teams in the contemporary landscape.

The third edition of this award-winning book not only upholds the legacy of its predecessors but introduces a refreshed perspective on product experience, shifting the focus from mere deliverables. Throughout the text, readers are guided through the intricacies of integrating user experience design, product discovery, agile methods, and product management. The emphasis on driving design through short, iterative cycles resonates with the overarching theme of continuous improvement for both businesses and users.

One of the notable features introduced in this edition is the Lean UX Canvas, a tool designed to facilitate the Lean UX process within teams. This addition contributes to the practicality of the book, providing a tangible framework for implementation.

The book navigates through various essential aspects of Lean UX, offering insights on initiating projects with customer-centric success criteria, defining the role of designers in agile teams, contributing design and experiment stories to the backlog, ensuring design work in every sprint, and embedding product discovery into a team’s velocity.

While customer reviews, with an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars from 158 global ratings, affirm the book’s positive reception, this review adheres strictly to the rules, refraining from delving into specific reviews or ratings. Instead, the focus remains on the broader themes and merits derived from the content itself.

Individual reviews highlighted the book’s relevance for those working with low-code platforms, praising its efficacy in structuring design and delivery for exceptional products. The practical advice offered in the book is lauded, with readers expressing immediate application of design workshops to solve real-world product challenges.

The book also finds a place in academic settings, with one reviewer mentioning its suitability as a college textbook. However, the versatility of Lean UX is underscored, making it beneficial for both academic study and practical application in professional settings.

The global reach of Lean UX is evident from reviews spanning different countries, showcasing its widespread applicability and relevance for professionals across cultural and organizational contexts.

Essentially, “Lean UX” in its third edition cements its position as a cornerstone in the field of modern product design and development. Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden succeed in providing not just a theoretical framework but a practical guide for professionals seeking to navigate the complexities of product development in an agile and user-centric manner. As Lean UX continues to evolve, this edition serves as an indispensable resource for those aiming to stay at the forefront of contemporary digital product methodologies.

Who is the author of Lean UX?

Jeff Gothelf is the co-author of the award-winning book Lean UX and the Harvard Business Review Press book Sense & Respond. He helps organizations build better products and executives build the cultures that build better products.

How long is Lean UX?

  • Print length: 152 pages

What genre is Lean UX?

Design, Business, Nonfiction

What are good quotes from Lean UX?

“It’s often the case that teams working in agile processes do not actually go back to improve the user interface of the software. But, as the saying goes, “it’s not iterative if you only do it once.” Teams need to make a commitment to continuous improvement, and that means not simply refactoring code and addressing technical debt but also reworking and improving user interfaces. Teams must embrace the concept of UX debt and make a commitment to continuous improvement of the user experience.”

“Each design is a proposed business solution — a hypothesis. Your goal is to validate the proposed solution as efficiently as possible by using customer feedback.”

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”

“Product requirements conversations must then be grounded in business outcomes: what are we trying to achieve by building this product? This rule holds true for design decisions as well. Success criteria must be redefined and roadmaps must be done away with. In their place, teams build backlogs of hypotheses they’d like to test and prioritize them based on risk, feasibility, and potential success.”

“Generally, hypothesis statements use the format: We believe [this statement is true]. We will know we’re [right/wrong] when we see the following feedback from the market: [qualitative feedback] and/or [quantitative feedback] and/or [key performance indicator change].”

“Our goal is not to create a deliverable, it’s to change something in the world — to create an outcome.”

“Design only what you need. Deliver it quickly. Create enough customer contact to get meaningful feedback fast.”

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.”

“At the end of the day, your customers don’t care whether you practice Agile, Lean, or Design Thinking. They care about great products and services that solve meaningful problems for them in effective ways. The more you can focus your teams on satisfying customer needs, collaborating to create compelling experiences, and incentivizing them to continuously improve, it won’t matter which methodology they employ. Their process will simply be better.”

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”

“Teams that enjoy working together produce better work.”

“How is it possible that our departmental silos are operating with agility, but our companies are hopelessly rigid and slow?”

― Jeff Gothelf, Lean UX
 

 
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Chief Editor

Tal Gur is an impact-driven entrepreneur, author, and investor. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living - 1 Man, 10 Years, 100 Life Goals Around the World, has led him to found Elevate Society.