There is a common misconception that User Experience (UX) work will slow Agile down. In this session Carol Smith (@carologic) will dispel this theory by sharing her experiences, and the best practices that she has collected through her own work, as well as through attending training and workshops with advanced UX/Agile practitioners. This presentation will include discussions of how to successfully embed the UX team; the pros and cons of Agile projects; and the UX team’s responsibilities with regard to prioritization of work. Finally, Carol will discuss best practices and several successful ways to integrate usability testing methods across iterations.
Text of Integrating UX in Agile at WebSigCleveland.org
Presented by Carol Smith - @Carologic Cleveland Web SIG May 2014
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Supports people who research, design, and evaluate the user experience of products and services. www.uxpa.org
"The biggest waste of all is building something no one wants - Eric Ries @ericries Eric Ries @ericries via @MelBugai on Twitter at LeanStartupMI in 2011
Create a great, usable, accessible, and relevant experience
Not a specific set of tools Not a specific method: scrum, kanban, etc. Agile is a Process
http://agilemanifesto.org/
UX: Shared Values Shifted Interpretation Individuals and interactions Customer is not user in Agile Working software - speed Collaboration Responding to change Iterations Changes in technology
UX + Agile by Jim Laing, UX Pittsburgh, 6 May 2014
Constant Improvement Not the way its always been
UX & Agile in Practice
Backlog
Requirements: Multiple Sources UX team, users Business Analysts and stakeholders Epics Story Story Story VOC Marketing Stakeholders Interviews & Observations Web Analytics Usability Testing Customer Feedback
UX in Prioritization Meetings Discuss new issues and existing ones Kill bad ideas early Negotiate on behalf of the users Internal users (CMS, etc.) Customers Balance user needs with business needs Consider what is possible within the sprint
Preparation Not BUFD
Sprint 0 - Research Understand users to make a great design How much? What is being developed? What do you know? What questions are still open? Long Sprint 0 or many sprints?
Information Radiators Sharing of information Mental Models Inform Personas Walls, Confluence, JIRA, Hipchat, etc.
Paper, Clickable or Code? Start with paper Wireframes Clickable prototypes (Axure) Throwaway HTML Prototype
Wireframes & Comps Development for Sprint 1 and 2 if possible Wireframes for nearly all pages/interactions Comps (colors, fonts) when needed New pages/templates Complex interactions New graphics/design
Style Guides and Standards Speed up the work Less questions on implementation Allow dev to go with what they already know
Sprints
Integrating with Agile Sprint0 User Research Design for S1 Sprint1 UR for S3 D for S2 Sprint2 UR for S4 D for S3 Usability Test Sprint3 UR for S5 D for S4 U Test Sprint0 Sprint Planning Sprint1 Dev Sprint2 Dev Sprint3 Dev Increased understanding of Users DevUX
UX and Agile in Practice Increased Understanding of Users Persona Development User Observations SurveyInterviews Sprint0 Sprint1 Sprint2 Sprint3 Sprint4 Sprint5 Sprint6 BA Sprint0 Sprint1 Sprint2 Sprint3 Sprint4 Sprint5 Sprint6 UXDev Sprint0 Sprint1 Sprint2 Sprint3 Sprint4 Sprint5 Sprint6 Sprint Plan Epics & Stories
UX Tandem Team Team 1 Discovery for future sprints Prototype and validate Feasible? Desirable? Valuable? (Kill ideas that are not) Good ideas go into Dev Team 2 Work on good ideas they worked on in Discovery Complete: go into Discovery again or prepare and run usability test Sprint0 Team 1: Discovery Team 2: Discovery Sprint1 Team 1: Support Dev Team 2: Discovery Sprint2 Team 1: Support Dev Team 2: Usability Test
Testing Methods
Any Method Can be Adapted Quick Bare minimum of effort Get needed feedback Provide recommendations Repeatable
Materials to Test Paper Complex to test participants may misunderstand Guerilla / hallway test Wireframes Can easily change Clickable prototypes (PowerPoint, Visio, Axure) Easier to understand Throwaway HTML Prototype Real Code Great if its the right solution
Scope Effort Consider budget, resources Time Recruiting Facilitating Analyzing Adding participants increases budget & time
Traditional Usability Testing In-Person or remote Less users, shorter sessions Analyze at lunch 3 or more users Half hour to 1 hour each
RITE
Rapid Iterative Testing & Evaluation (RITE) Qualitative user feedback actions + comments Series of small usability tests 3 participants each day Minimum of 3 days of testing Iteration between testing days Total of 5 days
RITE Process Test Update Test 1 2 3 High Medium Low Priority & Level of Effort 32
Recap Sessions End of each day - after the last session Room with a whiteboard About 30 minutes Discuss: trends seen concerns recommendations prioritize changes for the next round list lower priority changes for future iterations 33
RITE Results Final prototype Vetted with users Base for recommendations Light Report: Caterpillar to Butterfly Screenshots show progressions What changes were made and why
What Works for RITE Best used early in project lifecycle Early concepts Need to be vetted with users Can assist in quickly shaping designs 35
Regular Testing Reduce waiting for recruitment Once per sprint or every few sprints Same day mid-week (not Monday or Friday)
Why Regular? Team becomes: accustomed to steady stream of qualitative insight insight ensures quick decisionsline up with business and user goals Adapted from Jeff Gothelf - http://blog.usabilla.com/5- effective-ways-for-usability-testing-to-play-nice-with-agile/
Teams should stretch to get work into that days test and use the cadence to drive productivity. - Jeff Gothelf Jeff Gothelf - http://blog.usabilla.com/5-effective-ways- for-usability-testing-to-play-nice-with-agile/
User Testing Day! Make team aware Invite everyone Watch remotely Recurring meeting invites for stakeholders
True Statements All interfaces have usability problems Limited resources to fix them More problems than resources Less serious problems distract Intense focus on fixing most serious problems first Adapted from: Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems. By Steve Krug
Make Useful & Usable Recommendations - Quickly
Goal Identify top 5 or 10 most serious issues Top 3 from each list Prioritize from lists Commit resources for next sprint Stop (no report!) Communicate what is needed How will it be used? Adapted from: Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems. By Steve Krug
Tweak, Dont Redesign Small iterative changes Make it better now Dont break something else Take something away Reduce distractions Dont add question it Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems. By Steve Krug
Discussion
What is post-Agile? Its not perfect Hard to implement 100% Some planning is always necessary Complex, critical interactions require waterfall style planning
