So for a number of years now I have been recommending Lean Startup to ICT4D and development practitioners as a source of inspiration for a better way to work…
But I have to confess, until recently, I had never actually read the original book (oops!) – I’d been to a couple of seminars, read blogs ABOUT it, seen presentations, discussed it… Loved the ideas behind it, the general approach… But I wasn’t overly familiar with the detail.
So I finally started reading it recently – about time really!
And it has surpassed my expectations… Sure the generalities are what I expected – learn from real customers/users, iterate, have a Minimum Viable Product that answers a key question or asumption etc.), but it turns out a lot of the detail, the methods, the real-world examples and so on are also extremely applicable and relevant to the development sector (and ICT4D / digital development in particular).
So I am working on a more thorough piece (probably another semi-rigourous ‘blarticle’ like my Agile piece) which I will post . . . soon . . . ish . . .
In the meantime:
- Read it! Seriously, it’s an easy read and I can’t think of a single person I know in the sector who wouldn’t find it useful and interesting.
- If anyone knows of any existing research (anything – not just thorough academic work, even blogs, whitepapers, company reports etc.) about applying Lean Startup principles in the aid/development sector – please post below or email me
Happy reading!
Matt Haikin 