Lean UX, 3rd Edition

Authors’ Note

As we set out to write the third edition of this book, we realized that the influence of an ever-diverse group of practitioners, writers, coaches, and consultants has helped Lean UX grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of software design and development. We wanted to take a moment to thank them.

We continue to learn from the core group of colleagues and fellow road warriors who share their wisdom and feedback with us, including Tendayi Viki, Teresa Torres, Melissa Perri, Hope Gurion, Barry O’Reilly, Sam McAfee, Andy Polaine, David Bland, Andi Plantenberg, Jonathan Bertfield, Kate Leto, Daniel Stillman, Beth Temple, Jocelyn Miller, Bob Gower, Douglas Ferguson, Martina Hodges-Schell, Erin Stadler, Jeff Patton, Petra Wille, Janet Bumpas, Jonathan Berger, and Adrian Howard. We build our ideas on top of theirs and those of our clients.

As always, we would like to thank the many folks who have contributed material, stories, research leads, Twitter help, technical wisdom, and emotional support to the book. In particular, we’d like to thank Andrew Bourne, Ike Breed, Steven Cohn, Regine Gilbert, Victor M. Gonzalez, Zach Gottlieb, Jamila Isoke, Liz Laub, Jon Loyens, Dan Maccarone, Jono Mallanyk, Lin Nie, Greg Petroff, Steve Portigal, Leisa Reichelt, Delphine Sassi, Alexander Schardt, Kristin Skinner, Erik Skogsberg, Jessica Tiao, Kate Towsey, Ben Walker, Rosie Webster, and Lee Weiss.

We’re grateful to the team at Scrum.org, including Dave West, Steve Porter, Erik Weber, and Gary Pedretti, and all of the professional Scrum trainers we met there who helped bring our work to the Scrum community and who helped us sharpen our understanding of the needs of that community.

Thanks to Eric Ries for continuing to support the work of Lean UX and the other authors and titles in the Lean Series, and to Melissa Duffield, Angela Rufino, Mary Treseler, and Jennifer Pollock at O’Reilly, who continue to make it possible for this book to succeed.

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t thank the members of the Balanced Team working group, where we first started workshopping these ideas all those years ago. We’re grateful to Lane Goldstone for being the catalyst and driving force in bringing that group together and bringing so many wonderful people together. In particular, we owe a debt of gratitude to Janice Fraser, who first introduced us to the ideas of Lean Startup and who coined the phrase “Lean UX.”

Note: From Jeff

As our partnership enters its second decade, I continue to see Josh as a friend, collaborator, and logical sounding board. The way we practice these ideas is different from the days we first started doing it, but as the needs of the market and the realities of the world change, we continue to work together to find new ways to bring better ways of working to the corporate world. I’m grateful for that and for his relentless pursuit of the perfect homemade sourdough and corned beef.

As always, none of this happens without family support and love. Carrie, Grace, and Sophie continue to indulge my work, my writing, and my dad jokes. I couldn’t ask for more. I love you all. Thank you.

Note: From Josh

In this book, Jeff and I describe a working style that is deeply collaborative. That’s my preferred style of working—I always feel that I learn more and am more effective when I’m collaborating. Whatever I’ve been able to contribute to this book is a result of the amazing collaborations I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy in my career. You all know who you are. I’m very grateful to all of you.

There is one working collaboration that I do need to call out, though: it’s been a real pleasure to continue to collaborate with Jeff. Jeff supplies many of the things in this partnership that I can’t, including optimism about deadlines, audacity in setting goals, and tirelessness in evangelizing. He’s a smart, hardworking, and egoless partner. He is not, however, funny. If that’s needed, I usually have to provide it.

Thanks, finally, to Vicky, Naomi, and Amanda. I love you.

From Jeff and Josh

Another five years have passed since we last updated this book. We continue to be in awe of the community and the work that the ideas in this book have spawned. So much has changed, and yet so many of the problems that software design and development teams face remain the same. The challenge has always been to build not only broader cross-functional collaboration but a continuous conversation with the customer that influences what work we choose to do. The good news is that, with the deeper assimilation of Agile and Scrum, along with the goal-setting framework of objectives and key results (OKRs), organizations are taking an even closer look at how to become nimbler and more customer-centric. We, too, have learned how the techniques in Lean UX can be applied even more effectively. We’re excited to share that with you.

Every time we teach Lean UX or use it in our daily work, we learn a better way to apply it. We try something new, inspect it, adapt from the learning, and update our thinking. We suspect you’re doing the same thing, and we’d love to hear about it.

Please keep in touch with us and share your thoughts. You can reach us at [e-mail] and [e-mail]. We always look forward to hearing from you.