The Lean UX Agency—What "running lean" means for a user experience and design agency CHEAP is about playing it safe, keeping a singular focus, remaining unresponsive to signifiers of change, and spending as little as possible to bring in money quickly. LEAN is about spending money to reach some fun, ambitious goals; and utilizing smarter processes to find the most effective and efficient way to reach those goals, while maintaining the ability to adapt and react to changes in the marketplace.

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M O N A PAT E L
C E O, M OT I VAT E D E S I G N A N D U X H I R E S

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U X AG E N C Y

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FOR INTERNAL SOFTWARE/DESIGN ORGANIZATIONS, THE TRANSITION TO LEAN UX IS WELL WITHIN REACH. YOU
ARE IN THE PROBLEM-SOLVING BUSINESS, AND YOU DON’T SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH DESIGN DOCUMENTATION. YOU
SOLVE THEM WITH ELEGANT, EFFICIENT, AND SOPHISTICATED SOFTWARE.
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INTERACTIVE AGENCIES HAVE IT A BIT TOUGHER BECAUSE THEY ARE IN THE DELIVERABLES BUSINESS. THEY GET
PAID FOR THEIR DOCUMENTATION AND SPEND A LOT OF TIME CREATING IT. A SPECIALIST CREATES EACH
DOCUMENT, AND THEY CHARGE FOR THAT TIME. REDUCING THOSE EFFORTS MEANS REDUCING REVENUE.
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T O Q U O T E J E F F

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TO MAKE LEAN UX WORK IN AN AGENCY, EVERYONE INVOLVED IN AN ENGAGEMENT MUST FOCUS ON MAXIMIZING
TWO FACTORS: INCREASING COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIENT AND AGENCY, AND WORKING TO CHANGE THE
FOCUS FROM OUTPUTS TO OUTCOMES.
!
SOME AGENCIES ATTEMPT TO FOCUS ON OUTCOMES BY EXPERIMENTING WITH A MOVE AWAY FROM FIXED-SCOPE
AND DELIVERABLE-BASED CONTRACTS. INSTEAD, THEIR ENGAGEMENTS ARE BASED ON SIMPLE TIME-AND-
MATERIALS AGREEMENTS, OR MORE RADICALLY, ON OUTCOME-BASED CONTRACTS. IN EITHER CASE, THE TEAM IS
FREED TO SPEND THEIR TIME ITERATING TOWARD A SPECIFIC GOAL, NOT JUST A DELIVERABLE.
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T O Q U O T E J E F F

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W H Y C H A R G E L E S S ?
L E A NC H E A P
$3.99
$3.99

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I S A B O U T P L AY I N G I T S A F E , K E E P I N G A
S I N G U L A R F O C U S , R E M A I N I N G
U N R E S P O N S I V E T O S I G N I F I E R S O F
C H A N G E , A N D S P E N D I N G A S L I T T L E A S
P O S S I B L E T O B R I N G I N M O N E Y Q U I C K LY.
I S A B O U T S P E N D I N G M O N E Y T O R E A C H
S O M E F U N , A M B I T I O U S G O A L S ; A N D
U T I L I Z I N G S M A R T E R P R O C E S S E S T O
F I N D T H E M O S T E F F E C T I V E A N D
E F F I C I E N T W A Y T O R E A C H T H O S E
G O A L S , W H I L E M A I N T A I N I N G T H E
A B I L I T Y T O A D A P T A N D R E A C T T O
C H A N G E S I N T H E M A R K E T P L A C E .
L E A NC H E A P

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C H E A P
B U D G E T C O M E S F I R S T
J U M P T O TA C T I C A L F I X E S I N D E S I G N
S K I P O R S K I M P O N I M P O R TA N T P A R T S O F T H E U X
P R O C E S S T O AV O I D S P E N D I N G M O N E Y
D O N ’ T S P E N D M O N E Y
M O R E L I K E LY T O T H I N K A B O U T C U T T I N G C O S T S I N
R E Q U I R E M E N T S G AT H E R I N G A N D D E V E L O P M E N T P H A S E S
M I N I M A L V I A B L E P R O D U C T
F O C U S O N H O W M U C H M O N E Y I S S P E N T
P L AY I T S A F E , N O FA I L I N G
!
D I S C O V E R Y A N D L E A R N I N G C O M E F I R S T
I N V E S T I N S T R AT E G I C C H A N G E S I N D E S I G N
T H I N K S M A R T E R A B O U T H O W T O D O T H E U X P R O C E S S
FA S T E R Y E T S P E N D M O N E Y M O R E E F F E C T I V E LY
D O N ’ T WA S T E M O N E Y
M O R E L I K E LY T O T H I N K A B O U T H O W T O M A K E M O R E M O N E Y
W I T H A B E A U T I F U L , E N G A G I N G , A N D U S A B L E D E S I G N
M I N I M A L V I A B L E P R O D U C T
F O C U S O N W H E N A N D H O W M O N E Y I S S P E N T
FA I L FA S T E R A N D L E A R N F R O M FA I L U R E S , A D A P T
L E A N

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T H A N K S !
T W E E T U S A N D T E L L U S W H AT YO U T H I N K !
@ M o t i v a t e _ D e s i g n o r @ m o n a p a t e l