The first rev of what eventually became Applied Lean™, an interactive workbook and consult package available at www.theleanexperience.com.

1. Ms. Kelley Boyd @msksboyd
Applied Lean™
The MVP Edition
@LeanExp

2. Applied Lean™
What is this?
A slide deck targeted at people or companies that know something about lean and would
like to apply it to a business challenge they are facing.
In this deck are slides that you can print or replicate and customize Applied Lean™ for
your purpose. You are meant to do the thing or answer the question in light gray type.
What it is not: All Original material. Please see “ThoughtLeaders and Resources”
What are you doing?
Applying a process (“LEAN”) that allows you to identify and define a “high value” business
(i.e. BUILD - MEASURE - LEARN) by asking questions.
Why are you doing this?
The goal is to move you and your team / target through these “experiments” to get to a
place where you have reliable and valid data upon which to build a business model for your
business.

3. Applied Lean™
The Eight Y’s* of Applied Lean™
Customer Validation -
! Have you interviewed potential or target customers?
! Have you integrated feedback into your solution?
! Built a base of fans or would be customers?
Business Model -
! ! Differentiated yourself from competitors?
! ! Defined customer acquisition or rollout strategy?
! ! Clearly and realistically articulated your revenue model?
! Execution -
! ! Developed a functional prototype?
! ! Executed well as a team?
*(Y = Yes ;>)

4. To get there ask these ?’s
Problem Statement: So, what is the problem? Who has that problem?
Solution Hypothesis: How are you going to fix that problem?
Market Discovery: Has the problem been “fixed” before and of so what happened to
that solution? What is wrong with how they did it?
Build = Customer Discovery - for the purposes of this document, we consider the
“Build” a crafted “survey” that will allow measure of interest in the proposed actual
product.
Measure = Customer Validation - How many people did you talk to about that? What
did you ask them? What did they say?
Learn = Product/Market fit - Based on what you learned - Is this a feature or a
product? How big is that market? How would you approach capturing that market?
Can you make money - and if so, how?
MVP = A framework or actual product for “sale” to the target market and an associated
effort to find and engage target customers

5. Now write it down
Keep your iterations - meaning make copies each you time you refine your hypothesis
PROBLEM STATEMENT: We think that _______ people have trouble doing ____?
SOLUTION HYPOTHESIS: Describe In Words
MARKET DISCOVERY: What products currently exist in the space you are looking to build in and
how will your product will differ?
Have there been other products built for this market segment and failed - if so - why? Why won’t
yours?

6. Next, do this a bunch of times
Keep your iterations - meaning make copies each you time you refine your hypothesis
Build B# _____ (Question)
Describe : We did surveys with people one on one
Sample Size: Total # of surveys
Describe : We put out listings on Craigslist to get people to answer survey
Sample Size: Total # of ads or ads responded to
Measure M# _____ (Results)
Describe : Of the response - we had 10 reliable responses
Assess : Results of Build Numerically i.e. 6/10
Learn L# _____ (Iterate / Pivot)
Describe : Based on what we learned we need to tighten up hypothesis and amend our problem statement
Cycles marked with #1 / #2 / #3 / #4 etc. For best practices on surveys see www.cindyalvarez.com

7. Then do this
Keep your iterations - meaning make copies each you time you refine your hypothesis
PROBLEM STATEMENT: We think that _______ people have trouble doing ____?
SOLUTION HYPOTHESIS: Describe In Words
BUSINESS MODEL DISCOVERY: Using the Business Model Canvas answer key questions about
value, customers, markets and relationships for this product in a target market.

8. Using this

9. And Now like This
MVP PLAN
PROBLEM STATEMENT: We know that _______ people have trouble doing ____?
WE DID THE WORK AND HAVE VALIDATED THAT PEOPLE WANT TO BUY THIS:
MVP: Describe and Demonstrate your Minimally Viable Product
Test Sell: What method did you use to Test Sell? Landing page, Ads, Prospecting
Results: We sold some stuff or got Letters of Intent
PEOPLE WANT TO BUY THIS FROM THIS PLACE FOR THIS MUCH:
Validate BMC:
How many ways could you find to make money?
What market has the lowest barrier to entry?
Is there enough money in the selling price to be profitable?
Is that a business you want to be in?

10. Applied Lean™
The Eight Y’s* of Applied Lean™
Customer Validation -
! Have you interviewed potential or target customers?
! Have you integrated feedback into your solution?
! Built a base of fans or would be customers?
Business Model -
! ! Differentiated yourself from competitors?
! ! Defined customer acquisition or rollout strategy?
! ! Clearly and realistically articulated your revenue model?
! Execution -
! !
! ! Developed a functional prototype?
! ! Executed well as a team?
*(Y = Yes ;>)

11. Applied Lean™
Do you have Eight Y’s*?
Customer Validation -
! Have you interviewed potential or target customers?
! Have you integrated feedback into your solution?
! Built a base of fans or would be customers?
Business Model -
! ! Differentiated yourself from competitors?
! ! Defined customer acquisition or rollout strategy?
! ! Clearly and realistically articulated your revenue model?
! Execution -
! !
! ! Developed a functional prototype?
! ! Executed well as a team?
*(Y = Yes ;>)

12. Resources
Thought Leaders and Best Practices in Lean
Customer Validation -
! Cindy Alvarez: www.cindyalvarez.com
! Hiten Shah: www.hitenshah.com
! Brant Cooper: www.custdev.com
Business Model -
! ! Alexander Osterwalder: www.businessmodelgeneration.com
! ! Salim Varini: Leancamp: www.leanca.mp
! ! Rob Fitzpatrick: www.startuptoolkitblog.com
! Execution -
! ! Steve Blank: www.steveblank.com
! ! Ask Maurya: www.runninglean.com
! ! Eric Ries: www.lessonslearned.com

13. Kelley Boyd
@msksboyd
9172910004