Lean UX , fast efficient and collaborative process for Startups that captivates the UX design world.
When I was doing Google UX design course then I first heard about the design framework/ Design process. There are frameworks like Five elements of UX design, Design Thinking, Lean UX and Double Dimond.

In the google course, they are just focusing on design thinking and when I start working for a startup I understand that this design framework is suitable for big organizations and smaller companies don’t have the time or resources to spend months building something. Then I start exploring other frameworks and Lean UX was really interesting. The lean startup by Eric Ries, Lean Ux by Jeff Gothelf, and The Lean product playbook by Dan Olsen those books are helpful and have a complete package of resources. Then I applied this design framework in my work and believe me, it just changes the game. In this article, I will go over what Lean UX is, its benefit, and its process.

What is Lean UX?
Lean UX was inspired by Toyotas manufacturing model and is compatible with Agile techniques. It aims to eliminate waste and maximize value and focuses instead on generating immediate feedback to make small and continuous changes to the product. Also, Making a product that users genuinely need and utilize.
The Benefit of Lean UX
- Lean UX pushes the team to work more quickly and effectively over time, that’s why this framework is preferred by many design teams over the traditional UX method.
- Lean UX is a collaborative method that brings together designers and non-designers (engineers, developers, product owners, and marketers) to find a better solution.
- It demonstrates how crucial early testing is to a company’s success and product success. It saves a ton of time and is economical. The solution is repeatedly validated to establish a strong foundation for developing a product or feature.
- It’s a data-driven solution and all those assumptions created by the team will go through different tests. If there is no supporting evidence or data, it is time to move on to a new idea or hypothesis.
The Lean UX Process
The secret to a successful product is the process. Think, Make, and Check /Test are the three fundamental principles behind Lean UX. The product keeps getting better as the cycle continues.

Based on a particular project, I have made a few modifications to the approach outlined in Dan Olson’s The lean product playbook.

Lean process Begin with identifying your target customer or end users. By collecting all of the relevant user attributes, you may identify your target user group (Demographics, Psychographics, behavioral or based on needs). Personas are a helpful tool for outlining your target audience, and they help to ensure that everyone in your team or in your organization who is working on the product is focused on the same users.

1. Collect and Analyze Data
Gather as much primary and secondary data as you can. To identify the user issues or pain points (Underserved customer needs), you can interview users, conduct surveys, competitor analysis, etc.

2. Develop Hypotheses
After you write a problem statement or assumption, just simply transform it into a hypothesis. A hypothesis statement looks like this:
We believe that conversions will increase by 25% (business outcome) if new customers (your target audience) successfully identify a larger call to action button (feature).
Once you’ve created a hypothesis statement, it’s time to put it to the test.
3. Prioritize features and define your value proposition
For choosing which would go into development it’s very important to prioritize features. You can group your feature based on three categories.
- Must Have
- Performance Benefits
- Delighters
All team members then give an agreed number of points to features they consider most important. Also if you want then you can use Kano Model.
4. Ideation and build the product
Sketches are the most effective approach to exploring thoughts quickly and eliminating bad ideas. Just draw the wireframe with a pen and paper. Conduct both low-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframes if you have the time.

Then complete the UI design and prototype of the product. The prototype requires little work to adjust, and it helps to communicate your design to developers and stakeholders.
5. User testing and research
This is the final stage of Lean UX. Here, you check the product with users and validate or invalidate your hypotheses. Analyze the data after testing your designs and hypotheses with users. (Maze is good software for usability testing)
As a UX Designer, our primary goal is to provide products to users that they want to use and that are simple to use. Lean UX shows us how to get there quickly, collaboratively, and efficiently. I applied this framework in
my previous company (Startup) and the outcome was good. End users are really enjoying the App for mental health.

Related Article
- https://uxplanet.org/lean-ux-how-to-get-started-bb3771697e2
- https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/a-simple-introduction-to-lean-ux
- https://www.toptal.com/designers/product-design/lean-ux
Feel free to reach out if you got any questions or feedback. Also, if my work has benefited you in any way, you can show your support by Buying me a coffee.