ABC Radio: From UX Strategy to Agile Development

March 2015

ABC Radio From UX Strategy to Agile Development Cameron Grice, Agile Lead ABC Radio Multiplatform

abc.net.au/radio

3

Making Space for Agile Development • How we won the support of an organisation by sharing a product vision.

My Agile Conversion • My conversion from a skeptical designer to an Agile product lead.

Overcoming Complexity • Creating a product in a multi-faceted department with legacy digital systems.

Aligning Teams to Resolve Dependencies • Identifying needs and negotiating solutions across teams.

Outline

From UX Strategy to Agile Development

Making Space for Agile Development

5

Tested Strategy & Product Vision

Research & Strategy Project FE & ABC Radio Online Strategy

• Contextual inquiries • Audience surveys • Internal workshops • Real world insights

Product Vision Personal Radio

• Business goals & vision • Current state

Design & Development Continuous Delivery

VALIDATED STRATEGY

• Experience vision • Prototype testing

• Improved discoverability • Universal audio player • Mobile audio formats • Radio API

DISCOVER & DEFINE DELIVER

6

Audience experience vision

6

The easy to listen to companion in my daily activities

Photo: Source Unknown

7

Key Research Insights

Discoverability impacts online audio content reach

Online struggles to deliver the convenience that drives

radio consumption

Connectivity and cost issues are impacting our reach on-the-go

Smartphones are becoming people’s media hub

8

Audience Value Proposition

•  Only listen to what you want to hear

•  A variety of voices to keep you company, inform you or stimulate your mind

•  Curated music to match your mood

9

10


Create discomfort with the current situation.

11


Gather support by offering a future vision & exit plan.


My Agile Conversion

Radio Player Beta

Public Beta Only Live streams

‘Winning’ Chevron Chart

×

15

Stop your agency sucking at web development with this one weird old tip

Kynan Hughes Technical Director, The Monkeys

@k7n4n5t3w4rt

16

It’s not doing Agile, it's going Agile

Nicholas Muldoon Product and Engineering Coach at Twitter

@njm

17

Spotify Culture

– Henrik Kniberg Agile/Lean coach at Spotify

@henrikkniberg

http://labs.spotify.com/2014/03/27/spotify-engineering-culture-part-1

18

My Agile Conversion

Don’t follow a process blindly, understand the purpose to avoid stuffing it up.

19

My Agile Conversion

Persuade others by showing how competitors successfully work with Agile processes.


Overcoming Complexity

Legacy Audio Players

Divergent Technical Systems

Hundreds of Programs

24

Differentiation – Targeting New Listeners

•  Discover by categories •  Exposes current broadcast

and new listeners to radio content

•  Content marketing •  Catch-up listening •  Browsing ‘news & information’

Broadcast Listeners Happy with the status quo

New Online Listeners

PLAY Current Station

Websites New

ABC Radio Website

25

Differentiation – Planting a Seed

Current Station Websites

Awkward tree old features

New Radio Website

Immature, limited features but seed is planted

Old Websites Obsolete tree,

can be turned off

New Radio Website

Full-featured & mobile friendly

Now Future

Based on, Brad Frost, Planting the seed for a responsive future http://bradfrost.com/blog/mobile/planting-the-seed-for-a-responsive-future/

High Value & Targeting a Gap

26

Prioritisation – Finding High Value Features with a Formula

Customer Value

Cost of Delay

Risk or Opportunity + +

Effort & Complexity

= Score

Barry O’Reilly, Author, Lean Enterprise | Garry O’Brien, Principal Consultant, ThoughtWorks http://www.slideshare.net/ThoughtWorks/barry-oreillyandgaryobrienleanenterprise

27

Prioritisation – Scored Product Backlog Items

28

Working with Stakeholders

Delegated responsibility to protect the development team.

29

Working with Stakeholders

Avoided & defended the team from irrelevant meetings so that we could stay focused.

30


Prioritise high value items with a formula & adjust by following your instincts.

31


Find your cornerstones so you can develop in a meaningful sequence.


Aligning Teams to Resolve Dependencies

Radio Player Beta

Public Beta Only Live streams

Quick & Cheap Prototype

Internal Prototype

Gantt Chart

×

36


Agile Lead

Architect

Developer

Developer

Product Manager

Tester

Designer

Developer

Developer

Product Manager

Tester

Team 1: Front-end Team 2: Back-end API

Product Manager • What to build

• Return on Investment

Agile Lead • How to work together

• People & Process Team

• How to build it • Delivery

37


Negotiate the rules of engagement upfront & define standards together.

38


Use UX artifacts to demonstrate the vision.

39

• UX vision & artifacts were fundamental in kick-starting Agile development

•  It’s now strategic priority for the organisation

•  I’m more than a convert, now an advocate

Summary

40

• Have a good compass when prioritising as there is always more that can be done

• Always reflect on the intent of the process

Summary (continued)


Cameron Grice, Agile Lead ABC Radio Multiplatform @camerongrice Come and work at the ABC abc.net.au/careers