UX Playbook for Start-ups by Jen Bullard

UX Playbook for
Start-ups
February 2024
© 2024 Yes Yes Know

UX Playbook for Startups
Introductions
Jen Bullard
Founder Yes Yes Know
Lecturer Northeastern Unviersity Dept. of Informatics

UX skills are in demand
3
LinkedIn reported that UX Design was
one of the most in-demand skills at the
end of 2023

What is UX?
4

UX
5
a user-centered
approach to
product design

Design Thinking

Or…

Terms often
conflated with UX
• UI
• Design
• Accessibility
• Front-end
8 Photo by cottonbro studio:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-s-hands-4631064/

Why incomplete?
• UI & Front-end
Too narrow - UX is user centered by
definition; the user experience can have
other touch-points
• Design
Too general/broad
• Accessibility
Refers specifically to compliance: 508
and WCAG
9 Photo by cottonbro studio:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-s-hands-4631064/

In other
words…
10 Design vs UX i Nydalen by Steffen Kalve
User Experience
Design

UX & Start-ups
A brief history: from OOBEs to Usability

Why is UX critical to
startup success
The user experience is integral to
product-market fit (PMF)
12

The user
experience
is integral
to PMF
13
Image Credit:
https://explodingtopics.com/blog/startup-failure-stats

Is UX a differentiator for
your business
You don’t have to outrun the
bear, you just have to run faster
than the other folks.
14

How much UX do you need?
● How crowded is your market?
● What type of users are going after for PMF?
○ How important are later
adopters?
○ Are your target users
technically
sophisticated?
Image Credit:
https://medium.com/@gk_/the-entrepreneurs-illusion-product-market-ﬁt-5ba60ab6e6eb

16
3. Growth and Moat
1. Product-Market Fit 2. Go-to-Market Fit
EARLY UX TASKS
User Research & Iterate
STAGE OF SCALING
Higher tolerance
for poor UX
Lower tolerance
for poor UX
User Adoption Behaviors

Pre-Seed
➔ User research is very important at
this phase.
➔ Many founders bring user
experiences to the startup.
Seed
Consider engaging a UX pro, if…
➔ product-market fit is elusive
➔ UX is an important differentiator:
your market is crowded or you
cater to less technically adept
users
Early VC
➔ UX pros can help refine your
go-to-market fit
➔ Iteration and validation are
important keys to refining the UX at
this stage; and conserving cash
Later VC
➔ Begin building an in-house team
for knowledge retention
➔ Outsource specialties for which
you can’t budget full head counts
➔ During this phase you should
expect rapid growth and your UX
team will need to keep up
FUNDING STAGE
USER ADOPTION BEHAVIORS
Higher tolerance for poor UX Lower tolerance for poor UX
Laggards
Innovators
Technical Sophisticated Users
Early Adopters
Less Technically Adept Users
Hire a UX Pro
PMF SWEET SPOT
Determining when to Hire a Pro

Hire a Pro
or
DIY?

Leave it to the Pros

FTE
• Long term commitment
• Need a unicorn or focus specialty
• Retain the learning in-house
20
Hiring UX Professional/s

Outsource it
• Short term commitment
• Agencies bring varied experiences and specialties
• Don’t get to keep the learning in-house
21

Combo FTE and Freelance
• Hire an FTE with key UX skills
• Fill in the gaps with Agency or Freelance
• Requires lots of cash
22

UX Sub-specialties
• User Research
• Experience Design
• Information Design
• Visual Design
• Front-End Development
23
Accessibility

Key Activities & Deliverables
24
Activities Deliverables
User Research Personas
Task Analysis Journey Maps
Information Architecture (IA) IA Diagrams
Information/Experience Design Workflows Diagrams
Visual Design Style System

Persona Sample

Journey Map Sample

IA Diagram Sample

Workflow Diagram Sample

Wireframe Sample

Style System Sample

Get User Centered
• Starts with USER research
• Based on human cognition
• UX design focuses on user goals (not product goals)
• Validation, validation, validation
Bootstrap UX.

User Research
• Define your target user
• Talk to them
• Observe them
• Identify user goals, motivations, and painpoints
Bootstrap it.

Human Cognition
• Cognitive Load
7 plus or minus 2
• Human Biases and Behavioral Economics
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
• Visual Perception
Gestalt Principles
Bootstrap it.
Image Credit:
https://www.verywellmind.com/gestalt-laws-of-perceptual-organization-2795835

User Goals
• “The user can learn to do it this way.”
• “That’s not possible.”
• “That approach is too complicated/time-consuming to
code.”
Bootstrap it.

Validation
• Watch users attempting to achieve their goals with your
product
• Even if you’ve followed a by-the-book design process,
users will surprise you.
Bootstrap it.

Conclusion
• If your startup is successful, you will need to staff a UX
function
• The timing of when you staff it depends on whether or
not UX is a differentiator
• In the early stages, startups should first look to DIY UX
solutions
• When you determine you need to outsource UX, you
have options
37

Thank you.
Let’s stay in touch!
www.yesyesknow.co
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbullard/

UX Playbook for Start-ups by Jen Bullard

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