methods for explorative user research in an agile context

Methods for explora/ve user research in an agile context

Lars Bo Larsen, Aalborg University/Infinit Designpeople, Tuesday May 6 2014

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

Overview

1.  What are the special requirements for UX methods to fit into the agile process (if any)?

2.  Why should soQware developers be involved in UX/usability work?

3.  Which methods are we talking about?

•  Jan will speak about usability methods, I will concentrate on user requirements gathering early in the design process

•  Tina will speak about the different ways UX and Agile can be integrated •  I will only address Scrum as the most widely adopted agile method

07/05/14 p. 2 Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

Requirements:

The philosophy of Agile soQware development: •  “Individuals and interac/ons over processes and

tools” (Agile Manifesto 2001) •  “Agile is itera/ve, values face-‐to-‐face communica/on

and emphasizes collabora/on, also with the customer” (Kollman 2008)

-‐ fits well with UX design ideas, which are also itera/ve, involves the user/customer, etc

•  Methods must be “light weight” and quick •  Scrum sprints are typically two or three weeks, so we’ll

look at methods which will fit into this /meframe

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Why should developers be involved in UX work?

One way to achieve an integra/on with Scrum is to directly have the developers carry out (or par/cipate in) UX work: Key benefits:

•  Developers could be the only resource available (no dedicated UX specialists in the company). Or: Will reduce UX bo`leneck

•  Developers will gain a greater insight into the user’s point of view, which could lead to be`er UX in itself

Key Drawbacks: •  Developers have other tasks, UX work will take /me from these •  Not trained •  Might not be mo/vated

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Example of Study (Latzina & Rummel):

Findings from Personas case study from SAP: •  User perspec/ve had improved •  Able to develop own ideas for poten/al solu/ons, •  Mo/vated to engage in more usability training. •  Key observa/ons on organiza/onal demands:

•  experienced a need for good communica/on both between team members and collabora/ng teams in order to succeed with their user driven approach, and the use of usability standards and user/task informa/on required /me and solid project management

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Requirements revisited

Suitable methods must be applied by developers, who are non-‐specialists Therefore:

•  Methods must be easy to learn, use and analyse •  Methods must be fast and “Light-‐weight” – fit into sprints •  Results must be easy to understand and communicate

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(from Færch & Dam 2013)

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Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen (from Færch & Dam 2013)

To Sum up:

•  A number of studies have shown that: •  Enabling developers to carry out certain UX tasks is a

feasible way to achieve an integrated Scrum/UX environment

•  But important to be aware of limita/ons and compe/ng tasks to avoid conflicts

•  UX processes are poorly described and to a large extent missing (especially compared to Scrum)

•  There are some low-‐hanging fruits •  Techniques such as observa/on studies, interview

techniques, card sorts can rela/vely easily be learnt

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References.

Agile Manifesto: h`p://www.agilemanifesto.org/ 2001 Kollmann, J. Designing the User Experience in an Agile Context. Faculty of Life Science, University College, London, London. 2008 Latzina, M. and Rummel, B. Collabora/on-‐Based Usability Training for Developers. In Mensch & Computer 2002 (pp. 285-‐291). Vieweg+ Teubner Verlag. 2002 Søren V. Færch, Jesper Dam Mortensen, “An Easy and Cost-‐.effec/ve user research method for suppor/ng idea/on in the ini/al phase of product development”. Engineering Psychology, Msc Thesis, June 2013, Aalborg University Hackos & Redish: “User and Task analysis for Interface Design” Wiley, 1998

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methods for explorative user research in an agile context

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