Lean Canvas  – solving a problem?

Before you decide to undertake the creation of a new product, feature, start-up, business or idea, try asking yourself this question: What Problem am I solving? Most new start-ups are unable to be successful as they waste time, effort and money developing the wrong product.  A significant factor in this failure is that they are unable to fully articulate the problem they are solving. 

Once you understand the problem you will be able to clearly articulate and then define possible solutions. One method of helping start-ups or enterprise organisations with product development (or any other problem) could be through the use of a Lean Canvas Model.

What is the Lean Canvas Model?

The Lean Canvas model, created by Ash Maurya, is a popular adaptation of the Business Model Canvas designed specifically for startups and entrepreneurs who need a quick, focused way to test and validate their business ideas. Here’s why people often choose the Lean Canvas model:

1. Simplicity and Focus: The Lean Canvas is easy to understand and fills out on a single page, making it a quick tool to use in ideation stages. Unlike traditional business plans, it focuses on core elements, including the problem, customer segments, and key metrics.
2. Problem-Solution Fit: The Lean Canvas starts with identifying the problem, which is central to the success of a new venture. It encourages founders to clarify what specific customer pain points they’re addressing and to define a compelling solution, promoting a product-market fit early on.
3. Emphasis on Risks and Key Metrics: Lean Canvas includes sections for “unfair advantage” (competitive edge) and “key metrics,” which help entrepreneurs identify essential factors for growth and risks. This allows teams to prioritize learning and adjust quickly.
4. Customer-Centric Approach: With a specific focus on “customer segments” and “unique value proposition,” the Lean Canvas helps ensure that the business idea is aligned with the customer’s needs and differentiates from competitors, increasing chances of traction in the market.
5. Iterative and Agile: Because the Lean Canvas is easy to update, it’s useful for iterating based on customer feedback or testing new assumptions. Startups can use it as a living document, refining and adjusting it as they learn and evolve their business model.
6. Investor-Friendly: Lean Canvas provides a straightforward overview that is often appealing to investors and stakeholders, enabling quick assessments of the business idea’s potential, risks, and market fit.

The Lean Canvas model is particularly effective for startups who want to build a validated business model while staying nimble and customer-focused.

 Lean Canvas model example

The Lean Canvas Model (below) is a strategic management tool that helps entrepreneurs, product managers and developers quickly and effectively plan, visualize, and validate their business ideas. It is a one-page business plan template that focuses on key elements essential for developing a successful product, emphasizing customer problems and solutions rather than detailed business plans. The first box on the left is for defining the specific problem and next to it is the solution(s).

You may choose Agile as Delivery Methodologies: Kanban: Adopting and Adapting Agile for IT Teams and Beyond

CX and UX

Whether you’re creating a startup or a new product, it’s a good idea to think about the Customer Experience (CX) and the User Experience (UX), where developing the solution might start at the beginning of the customer journey i.e. what is the customer problem I’m trying to solve? In essence, the approach is to work backwards from the customer/user experience rather than approaching the idea of, say, a new product development to solve a technology problem.   UX is usually product-specific whereas CX is the broader experience a user/customer has with a company or brand.

 An Amazon Web Services (AWS) example

Amazon has a great approach to ideation where they always work backwards from the customer and even go as far as writing a mock-up of a press release that allows them to capture the customer perspective of the problem they are trying to solve.

Take a look at Werner Vogel’s weblog on building scalable and robust distributed systems: click here to read the full article. 

A great example of this thinking in action is with Amazon’s new “Dash Button”. A copy of the press release is below:

“Dash Button comes with a reusable adhesive and a hook so you can hang, stick, or place it right where you need it. Keep Dash Button handy in the kitchen, bath, laundry, or anywhere you store your favorite products. When you’re running low, simply press Dash Button, and Amazon quickly delivers household favorites so you can skip the last-minute trip to the store.”

Excerpt from Midvision Blog: Amazon’s Secret to Customer-Focused Features: Write The Press Release First.

By using the Lean Canvas approach it forces you to answer some difficult questions as to the viability of your idea, new product or business and is a worthwhile exercise to undertake before actually forging ahead in your new venture. I use this approach constantly in my role as a Technology Leader, as it’s a very powerful question to ask ” What Problem is it Solving”?