Good design is structure for the work
It’s coming up to 10 years since I first published everything is hypothesis design, and 5 years since I shared hypotheses in user research and discovery. These are two of my most read and shared posts.
I’ve also written about the link between hypotheses and telling stories.
Over the years, I’ve taken and adapted this work as part of a range of projects with different organisations. This has also meant that I’ve built on the work of others – some notable early examples of what shaped my thinking include Clayton M. Christensen’s Jobs to be Done framework, and then more practical books like The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, followed by Jeff Gothelf’s Lean UX – first released in 2013.
Ideas that end with a question mark
A more recent definition of a hypothesis that I’ve been working with is as follows:
A hypothesis is a framing of a question, incorporating a testable assumption that indicates an expected answer. It helps us to do something and to learn something.
This is structure for the work.
Hypotheses are simply a framing of the question: what are we testing and why? Used effectively, they start with framing the problem and mean teams work hard to make assumptions explicit. They make what we need to learn about next clear to everyone involved.
The role of design and the role of designers
There are always ideas, opinions and options for what to do next. But introducing this type of structure means that we can make all these elements better understood. This is how meaningful delivery progress can be fixed to patterns of learning.
There are many elements to how I explain good design. But, perhaps, most importantly, good design can mean bringing the structure needed in a given situation.
This also recognises the role designers can play. So, a challenge to anyone reading this: if the structure needed to make progress is missing in your team or organisation, it’s your job to create and bring that to the work.
This is my blog where I’ve been writing for 20 years. You can follow all of my posts by subscribing to this RSS feed. You can also find me on Bluesky and LinkedIn.