BREAKING THROUGH LESSONS LEARNED INTEGRATING DESIGN INTO AN AGILE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Ariel van Spronsen Product Management Consortium August 15, 2013
ABOUT SUBSTANTIAL A digital design and development firm that creates innovative technology experiences with uncommon speed and craftsmanship. Founded in 2006 50+ people and growing Long-term client relationships Platform-agnostic Collaborative and interdisciplinary
AGILE MANIFESTO "We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more." http://agilemanifesto.org
LEAN UX http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2011/03/07/lean-ux-getting-out-of-the-deliverables-business/
OUR LEAN APPROACH DISCOVER SHAPE & FORM ITERATE/ RELEASE Our approach takes into consideration user and business needs as well as the context of the environment. We use "just enough" data and research to form insights and begin the process of shaping an outcome. As a project team we collaboratively synthesize our discoveries into core insights that create the initial shape or from a product takes, while leaving room to add detailed refinement as we evaluate and iterate on our assumptions. The iteration and release cycle is the engine behind our process. Details are added and refined as the project progresses. Working together, we continue to evolve the product as your business grows and needs change.
OUR LEAN APPROACH EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
AGILE DEVELOPMENT SPEC
TRADITIONAL DESIGN SPEC
CHALLENGE: ALIGNMENT NEEDS The team starts work without understanding the ultimate form and shape of the product, causing "franken-design" Client business needs and product ideas can change all the time
CHALLENGE: ALIGNMENT SOLUTIONS Workshops Agreeing on mission, vision, and goals with client
CHALLENGE: ALIGNMENT SOLUTIONS Personas These seem like a user-oriented tool, but have a powerful ability to align business teams too http://uxmag.com/uploads/oconnorpersonas/samplepersona.png
CHALLENGE: COHESIVE VISION NEEDS It's difficult to see how everything fits together from stories No way to document patterns and conventions Labeling and structural decisions made on the fly cause inconsistencies
CHALLENGE: COHESIVE VISION SOLUTIONS Establish design patterns early Living user paths document Set design vision, not full-blown comps
USER PATHS
STYLE TILES http://styletil.es/
CHALLENGE: DISCOMFORT NEEDS For clients, it's difficult to feel comfortable signing off on incomplete concepts For designers, it's nearly impossible to think about the part without thinking about the whole "When you work the way we do, there is a lot that is unknown, and it s a little uncomfortable. But this brings us closer as a team and enables us to design and build together. - Ryan Harasyn, Design Director
CHALLENGE: DISCOMFORT SOLUTIONS Let people use the tools they think best with, but be judicious about what you show your clients Go ahead and prototype! Don't be afraid to do sketchy, lightweight design communication deliverables for clients
SKETCHY WIREFRAMES
CHALLENGE: BUILD PROCESS NEEDS Design activities often want to take a long time, but we are an agile shop that wants to innovate Development gets hit with UX requests late in the game when people finally see the built thing It can feel like we are pinch-hitting on design, adding new elements on the fly
CHALLENGE: BUILD PROCESS SOLUTIONS Keep it sketchy Pairing and communication/collaboration Setting design patterns and design vision Design is part of lead team, sees themselves as owner, participates in stand-ups, reviews build daily
CHALLENGE: VALIDATION NEEDS How do we know we're building the right thing? UX people can think things through, but they aren't able to see everything Up-front user research is time-consuming and expensive
CHALLENGE: VALIDATION SOLUTIONS Do just enough user discovery at the beginning Evoke RITE methods throughout the project Get out of the office "We should apply the Pareto principle to research and discovery: 20 percent of our effort will yield 80 percent of the results. Do just enough and do it continuously. Just enough means doing only what is required to move on to the next step of the process. It means thinking in terms of days rather than months. The key is to effectively prioritise your time. Focus on the areas of greatest uncertainty that need the earliest answers." Ratcliffe, Lindsay; McNeill, Marc (2011-11-22). Agile Experience Design: A Digital Designer's Guide to Agile, Lean, and Continuous. Pearson Education (US). Kindle Edition.
ON PAIRING One issue we had when not working closely was the tendency for developers to work too long on achieving polished results for somewhat tricky style/ux requirements before touching base with design. If it's not possible to work together physically, it would be good to introduce some rigor around a process of checking in whenever an implementation task takes more than, say, an hour. - Peter Held, software developer
ON COMMUNICATION One of the most valuable things we do at Substantial is talk. With each other, with our clients, and with users. Sometimes it can be challenging to balance the need to get work done and the need to talk about it. Many organizations handle this by waiting to talk until meeting times, which means a day or more can go by before decisions are made, thus slowing progress. At Substantial we put a priority on frequent but brief communication, and sharing reality openly and honestly. This allows us to get aligned on solutions much more quickly than if we'd waited for meetings, and to turn our challenges into manageable actions." - Ariel van Spronsen, Senior Strategist
THANK YOU Ratcliffe, Lindsay; McNeill, Marc (2011-11-22). Agile Experience Design: A Digital Designer's Guide to Agile, Lean, and Continuous. Pearson Education. Gothelf, Jeff (2013-3-8). Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience. O'Reilly.