Yesterday Afternoon, Longnook Beach

Yesterday Afternoon, Longnook Beach from Joshua Seiden on Vimeo.

Team Problem Solving

Joshua Porter, writing recently on his blog, observed that “not all design problems are two weeks long.”

Porter makes a distinction in the post between design as production (“we need an interface for this”) and design as problem solving. He argues that production activities make sense in the sprint, but that problem solving, because it’s unpredictable and difficult to schedule, should be done ahead of time, before development sprints begin.

The assumption here is that all activities within a sprint are production activities. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome UXPA

I welcome the recent announcement from the Usability Professionals Association that they have changed their name to User Experience Professionals Association. As one of the founders of IxDA, I thought I would share with you my perspective on this change and why I think it’s good for the industry.

Read the rest of this entry »

9 Deadliest Startup Sins

Steve Blank’s nice summary of the problems his Customer Development process aims to correct.

1. Assuming you know what the customer wants
2. The “I know what features to build” flaw
3. Focusing on the launch date
4. Emphasizing execution instead of testing, learning, and iteration
5. Writing a business plan that doesn’t allow for trial and error
6. Confusing traditional job titles with a startup’s needs
7. Executing on a sales and marketing plan
8. Prematurely scaling your company based on a presumption of success
9. Management by crisis, which leads to a death spiral

9 Deadliest Startup Sins, by Steve Blank

Hat-tip to swissmiss.

I’m talking Lean UX in NYC & Boston in March & April

If you’re interested to hear me discuss what I’ve been thinking about these days, here are some opportunities:

• March 24: “Interviewing for User Experience” at General Assembly. Part of their full-day Startup Product Development Conference.
• March 29: “Replacing Requirements with Hypotheses” at Lean Startup Circle Boston.
• April 11: “NYCCHI Presents: Lean UX Roundtable” here in NYC.
• April 21: ”Replacing Requirements with Hypotheses” at Interaction12 Redux NYC.

Replacing Requirements with Hypotheses at Agile UX NYC

Here are my slides from my talk today at Agile UX NYC 2012.

UPDATE: The organizers were kind enough to post the video of this talk on vimeo.

Replacing Requirements with Hypotheses from William Evans on Vimeo.

Goodbye old friend

Today was our last day working on Earle’s house–we moved out the last paintings, filled the last garbage bags, put on masks and swept out the rooms. I took this picture moments before driving away. 

Announcing Proof

I’m thrilled today to announce the start of my new venture: Proof.

Proof is a product innovation studio that combines lean processes with strategy, design and technology. With my fantastic partners Giff Constable and Jeff Gothelf, Proof will work with startups and large companies that want to create new products, enter new markets, and launch new businesses.

I believe that this is the right moment for a studio like Proof. Read the rest of this entry »

My Talk From Ignite Lean Startup: Replacing Requirements with Hypotheses

Here is a video of my 5-minute Ignite talk, delivered last month at Ignite: Lean Startup II.

Thanks to the event organizers, especially Ryan MacCarrigan and the NYC Lean Startup Meetup for having me and for hosting such a great event.

And by the way,  if you’ve never been to an Ignite event, you should go. The format is a blast–5 minutes, 20 slides, slides advance automatically every 15 seconds. Lots of nerve-wracking fun. And at Ryan’s events anyway, lots of booze to lubricate the crowd.

Check out the other talks here…

Replacing Requirements with Hypotheses

On Monday night, John Halloran and I presented “Replacing Requirements with Hypotheses” at the Agile Experience Design Meetup in NYC. Here are our slides from the talk.

There was some feedback after the event that folks wanted more detail, both from the SnappSchool case study and in terms of connecting these ideas to the tactical concerns of UX practitioners. I think those are fair points. Stay tuned for the next version of the talk in which we’ll push into more detail.

Thanks to all who came out, and for all your feedback.