It’s safe to say that a bunch of stuff has changed both in and out of the world of product since 2017. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is the ongoing conversation behind the optimal mindsets of product development. In this Sunday Rewind, we look back to when Product Leader, Jonny Schneider helped us understand how Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile can all work together in harmony.
Breaking down the three concepts, Jonny explains how “Design Thinking is how we explore and solve problems; Lean is our framework for testing our beliefs and learning our way to the right outcomes, and Agile is how we adapt to changing conditions with software.”
The real benefit comes when we bring all three mindsets together. Too often, the question is “lean or agile?”. The answer is “and”, not “or”: it’s Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile. That’s easy to say, but what does it look like in practice? Jonny offers some key lessons that he’s learned from applying Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile in the wild.
Purpose, alignment, and autonomy
Building a product is a lot like a combat mission. A team of skilled people operate in conditions of high uncertainty; a commander sets clear outcomes with some guiding principles; but we expect the unexpected; and, we’re trained to take best action, responding to new information as the situation unfolds. All of that takes discipline. And practice.
Measure things that matter
How will you measure outcomes? When will you know you’ve achieved it? Will your metrics help you make a decision?
We all know that vanity metrics – like total page views, or total new customers – are pointless. But knowing what not to measure doesn’t make measuring the right things any easier.
Make decisions based on learning
Why do we learn? To make better decisions. Many solutions fail because they solve no meaningful problem, and we tend to fall in love with our ideas and let our biases get the better of us. We don’t need to be scientists to learn the right things, and, insight doesn’t have to belong only to the research team. If we think through our approach, it can help us make better decisions.
Many mindsets, one team
Most important of all, it’s about working together and achieving together. Learning is a team sport, and collaboration is key if we’re going to find our way to the place we want to be. There is no one correct way, nor is one single mindset enough. But all together, elements of each mindset help us to find our way forward.
Read this amazing in-depth guide by Jonny Schneider in full, or delve into other pieces in our Sunday Rewind series.
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