Many work teams are adopting an Agile approach to web and software development. As a user experience professional, I have had the opportunity to work directly with teams as they put this approach in place and determine where user experience best fits in.
It is important to note, that Agile began in environments where a strong user experience practice was not present. Typically, the applications were for internal use and the end users were compelled to use them. As a result, the perceived need for it was not baked in at the beginning.
Thankfully, the teams that I have worked with have been very open to providing user experience a seat at the table. Rather than being seen as an after thought, user experience was seen as critical to the overall success of the project. What follows are some of the best practices we have identified:
Activities before Day Zero: Ideally, the user experience team needs to be engaged early and complete as much early user research and initial interaction design work as possible before the Agile team is co-located and officially kicks-off. This is known as Day Zero in many Agile circles.
The type of work that could be completed before Day Zero could include conducting user or stakeholder interviews, creating personas, etc. In addition, co-design workshops can be held to kick off initial design work and wireframing. Artifacts from this work can be brought into the Agile team room.
Emphasis on Conversation, Less on Documentation: Over the years, user experience professionals have placed a high premium on deliverables from their work. This ranges from user research reports, visual design comps, etc. These types of documents are reviewed during the job interview process, agencies hand them off as final deliverables, and individuals are often rewarded for the quality of these documents.
In a co-located environment, the need for this type of polished documentation is greatly reduced. The true value that the user experience professional brings is in their ability to persuade others of the validity of their argument, and to point to the user research that helped inform the design work. Persona posters can be used to help highlight priorities for the target users that the software or application is being designed for.
Staying Ahead: As much as user experience has been embraced by many organizations over the past few years, project managers and sponsors still often look at it with suspicion. Key to their suspicion is that user experience will “slow down” the overall effort.
In order to avoid this, we need to ensure that our design work is at least two sprints ahead of the rest of the development team. Keeping ahead can also allow time for usability testing as well.
Being Prepared: Part of keeping ahead is also being prepared. For example needs will often arise, without warning, for user research and getting actionable results back quickly to the project team. As a result, it is best to have a set of “go-to” users identified that you can reach out to quickly for rapid feedback, conduct a survey with, etc. If approvals are needed first from legal or sales before contacting users, it is best to get this done before the research request comes.
Being Present: It is important for user experience team members to work in the Agile team room as much as their schedule permits. A key aspect of being present is being seen as “part of the team” and down in the trenches with the others as part of the overall work effort. This includes daily stand-ups, brown bag lunches, after work gatherings, etc. In the end, the relationships built with the project team are crucial to having our findings and our work being seriously considered.
While user experience can be new to many Agile team members, it can be successfully introduced and seen as valuable when taking into consideration how best to position our work. Well-run Agile projects often provide the best environment for user experience to have an impact on the overall success of the final product.