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Can someone please summarise the main methods of the Lean Startup Methodology? I keep reading a lot of high level posts like these, which sound like common sens

by revorad 15y ago

Can someone please summarise the main methods of the Lean Startup Methodology? I keep reading a lot of high level posts like these, which sound like common sense to me, but I guess it's not, otherwise Eric wouldn't be writing a book. I have pre-ordered his book, but if someone can explain the nuts and bolts of a few methods, that would help me appreciate the whole movement a lot more. It's probably my ignorance, but right now, my personal Lean philosophy is simply "you make what you measure". For example, this month I really need to get a specific amount of recurring revenue coming in. So I have a nice big chart of revenue on my wall.

angryasian 15y ago
it is intentionally left vague, for the main reason, there is nothing that will work 100% of the time or a one size fits all. What you need to take away is more of make sure you understand your market/product/customers so you know what they want. Through experimentation ( building a product or feature based off of your expertise along with metrics of what your customers demand), you'll need to test, understand, and iterate, to determine what to do next. I don't even know if Eric Ries is/was a successful entrepreneur but he is considered a thought leader in practices made popular by himself and Steve Blank
kanamekun 15y ago
Eric has a slide presentation on Lean here... the slides you want start around page 26: http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/2010-02-19-the-lean-startup-webstock-2010 http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/2010-02-19-t... It's hard to summarize all this in just a few bullet points, but I've found that it's helpful to understand the history of Lean when digging into lean startups. The Lean Startup methodology has its roots in Lean Manufacturing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing#Overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing#Overview Basically, both lean startups and lean manufacturing focus on eliminating waste. For lean manufacturing, it's usually assumed that you're making something that people want... so the focus is on making that product with a minimum of waste. For lean startups, it's often much less clear what you're supposed to make. So the lean startup methodology focuses on helping you make software that people actually want. Making software that people don't want = "waste" in the Lean verbiage. "You make what you measure" is a useful first step towards embracing Lean. But as Eric points out, sometimes metrics go up regardless of what you do. How do you know if you're measuring the right metrics, and making software that people want? That's a core focus of the Lean Startup methodology.
- revorad 15y ago
  Thanks for the slides, they are a bit more specific. I'm aware of the background philosophy. I'm just looking for specific answers to "How do you know if you're measuring the right metrics, and making software that people want?" spelled out, instead of the same underlying rhetoric again and again. I know it's not as simple as just listing bullet points, but if we are talking Science, then it would be nice to see for example, how Bayes Theorem is applied, rather than repeating how important statistics are. To be crude, because of all the constant theoretical chatter, I am skeptical of the Lean methodology, which is irnoic given it's supposed emphasis on experimentation. I also feel it subtly instills more fear into developers by not letting you try crazy things which have a high risk of breaking stuff but also the biggest payoff. In short, my hunch is that you can get an IMVU from lean, but you will never get a Facebook.
jorisw 15y ago
Make the right decisions based on measuring and talking to people before you start building and waste time. Code is not progress. Decisions (based on facts) are progress.
- aaronblohowiak 15y ago
  Progress is: a greater conversion of people who hear about your product to people paying you money for your product. Note the present tense in "paying": retention is the root of success. So, measure your sales funnels and measure your retention. Why are you adding features if they aren't increasing sales? Why are you adding features if they aren't increasing retention? How do you establish causality?

by revorad 15y ago

angryasian 15y ago

it is intentionally left vague, for the main reason, there is nothing that will work 100% of the time or a one size fits all. What you need to take away is more of make sure you understand your market/product/customers so you know what they want. Through experimentation ( building a product or feature based off of your expertise along with metrics of what your customers demand), you'll need to test, understand, and iterate, to determine what to do next. I don't even know if Eric Ries is/was a successful entrepreneur but he is considered a thought leader in practices made popular by himself and Steve Blank

kanamekun 15y ago

Eric has a slide presentation on Lean here... the slides you want start around page 26: http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/2010-02-19-the-lean-startup-webstock-2010 http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/2010-02-19-t... It's hard to summarize all this in just a few bullet points, but I've found that it's helpful to understand the history of Lean when digging into lean startups. The Lean Startup methodology has its roots in Lean Manufacturing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing#Overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing#Overview Basically, both lean startups and lean manufacturing focus on eliminating waste. For lean manufacturing, it's usually assumed that you're making something that people want... so the focus is on making that product with a minimum of waste. For lean startups, it's often much less clear what you're supposed to make. So the lean startup methodology focuses on helping you make software that people actually want. Making software that people don't want = "waste" in the Lean verbiage. "You make what you measure" is a useful first step towards embracing Lean. But as Eric points out, sometimes metrics go up regardless of what you do. How do you know if you're measuring the right metrics, and making software that people want? That's a core focus of the Lean Startup methodology.

revorad 15y ago
Thanks for the slides, they are a bit more specific. I'm aware of the background philosophy. I'm just looking for specific answers to "How do you know if you're measuring the right metrics, and making software that people want?" spelled out, instead of the same underlying rhetoric again and again. I know it's not as simple as just listing bullet points, but if we are talking Science, then it would be nice to see for example, how Bayes Theorem is applied, rather than repeating how important statistics are. To be crude, because of all the constant theoretical chatter, I am skeptical of the Lean methodology, which is irnoic given it's supposed emphasis on experimentation. I also feel it subtly instills more fear into developers by not letting you try crazy things which have a high risk of breaking stuff but also the biggest payoff. In short, my hunch is that you can get an IMVU from lean, but you will never get a Facebook.

jorisw 15y ago

Make the right decisions based on measuring and talking to people before you start building and waste time. Code is not progress. Decisions (based on facts) are progress.

aaronblohowiak 15y ago
Progress is: a greater conversion of people who hear about your product to people paying you money for your product. Note the present tense in "paying": retention is the root of success. So, measure your sales funnels and measure your retention. Why are you adding features if they aren't increasing sales? Why are you adding features if they aren't increasing retention? How do you establish causality?