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  

  07/05/14 3

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

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  

07/05/14 4

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

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    

 07/05/14 5

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

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    

07/05/14 6

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

07/05/14 7

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

(from Færch & Dam 2013)

07/05/14 8

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  

07/05/14 9

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen

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    

07/05/14 10

Infinit Workshop - Lars Bo Larsen