Thanks, Cosmo. And now I’d like to challenge you to rethink the value of the Lean UX canvas. You ASSUME you are starting with user problems and jobs to be done, but that’s not a guarantee. I’m sure we’ve all been in meetings where we’re pushing forward with an idea based on what we think people need or the problems we imagine them to have.

Models need to be much clearer about this. Lean UX is 100% garbage, and I challenge you to critically think about it. I have a longer video about why Lean UX and the canvas are 100% garbage. If you have time… :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w_Qy-8cczE

I’ve also heard the argument that if we don’t focus on business goals/needs, then we might do things that work against the biz. I keep asking people for examples of this, and nobody has one. So it seems to be this ghost we’re all afraid of that doesn’t exist. Can you name a product that was fantastically built for customers based on their real tasks and needs, but it was WRONG for the business to build this great thing, and it hurt the biz or put them out of biz? I keep hearing these exist and nobody has examples.

The last person I asked for examples told me to Google for them, as if that’s easy to Google for.

So before we assume that customer-centricity will somehow be bad for the business, we have to take a look at assumptions we might be operating on. For example, online dating companies make money when people engage, message people, etc. Then people want to pay for memberships. Online dating sites might think that the best way to make that biz goal happen is to push lots of people towards you thinking that more is more, and will create the action they want. But ultimately, people want QUALITY matches, not just quantity of matches. You will pay a dating site if you are finding GOOD people, not (just) LOTS of people.

But some businesses think that it’s about quantity. Show them more people! Push them to contact these people! You should message this guy! You can try that, but if people have poor outcomes with poor matches, they might disconnect from your site and go to one of many competitors.

Which means that the business’ idea or goal that we have to throw more ppl at your regardless of quality because maybe that’ll create the engagement the BIZ wants… is flawed and needs to be rethought.

Things like that! :) Thanks for the comment.