Activity Centered Design

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Activity Theory Improves Build-Measure-Learn Feedback Loop

The Lean Startup movement has at its core the build-measure-learn feedback loop. The loop is started by having some ideas. Then a solution is built, which then becomes a product. The product is introduced to the market (or it may be released to users in a larger organization) and then data about how people use it, how it is received, etc. is being gathered. From the observations we learn and the learning leads to new or modified ideas and we enter the loop again by building something based on those new ideas. Minimizing the time it takes to run through the loop provides more opportunities for learning. The more opportunities you have for learning, the better.

But how do you begin? Somehow we must be able to figure out which of all the ideas we might have at the beginning is worth a try. It is helpful to employ the concept of a hypothesis and use the scientific method, as Eric Ries explains in his book.

Activity Theory can be used as a theoretical framework for applying the scientific method to such hypothesis.

We can use Activity Theory to analyze existing situations that we want to improve with our envisioned product. Or We can use Activity Theory to analyze fiction in the case of something completely new. We can discover who our potential customers may be so that we don’t launch to the wrong audience and then waste one run through the build-measure-learn loop.

Activity Theory and Activity-Centered Design can very well be used to eliminate waste a bit more without ignoring the benefits that come out of learning, which essentially is drawing conclusions, after running an experiment. After all Activity Theory was developed in the context of learning and child development and therefore is well suited to draw that type of conclusion we are interested in.