WIAD2012 A2 - Letting go of perfection: Developing IA agility

Letting go of perfection: Developing IA agility World Information Architecture Day 2012 Ann Arbor, MI Chris Farnum, Serena Rosenhan @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Background – UXD/IA at ProQuest  Build search applications for academic and corporate users  Translate business requirements into user experiences that can be implemented by development  Sit within development group  Have shifted from traditional (waterfall) to agile development processes  Work on large scale agile projects  Global  Multi-year @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

IA - Traditional development cycleBusinessCase Functional DesignBusiness (prototyping, JADsrequirements usability testing ) Functional Technical requirements Design Design Implementation IA documents processes Test Release @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

What’s agile development, eh? Wikipedia’s definition: ….a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery, a time-boxed iterative approach, and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. It is a conceptual framework that promotes foreseen interactions throughout the development cycle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development For more see: The Agile Manifesto - http://agilemanifesto.org/ @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

IA in agile development Core IA Design Processes Prioritized Develop/Test requirements Planning Iteration release Product release @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Agile challenges traditional IA valueproposition Working in Waterfall Working in Agile  Define site/application systems  Can only design for known (navigation & labeling, metaphors requirements. etc.), resulting in a comprehensive and scalable user experience  Use upfront research to inform  Cannot do all research up front. designs  Provide detailed and elegant  Smaller deliverables produced deliverables to developers much more frequently  Save money and development  Coding begins before design is effort by reworking and testing finished – inevitably has to be re- designs before one line of code is worked. written @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

How can IAs be successful in agile? Let go of old ideas of perfection and . . .  Change how you think  Change how you work @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you think Understand the opportunities for IA in Agile You can design iteratively •Freedom to make mistakes earlier •Working prototypes for testing come early •It’s OK to refactor... Really! @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you think Want-to-have vs. need-to-have How do I know the difference? • Prioritize requirements • User personas and use case scenarios • “What’s the simplest thing that could work?” • Remember that it’s a moving target @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you think Increment your way to perfection Think just enough, just in time • Additional features ≠ better. • Elaborate designs do not always create the perfect UX. • Iterations provide room to make incremental progress @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work An example… Goal = A pyramid for the Pharaohs tombPyramid example courtesy of John Mayo-Smith, Two Ways To Build A Pyramid,InformationWeek, 22 Oct 2001http://www.informationweek.com/news/development/tools/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6507351 @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Approach 1 – Build the foundationPyramid example courtesy of John Mayo-Smith, Two Ways To Build A Pyramid,InformationWeek, 22 Oct 2001http://www.informationweek.com/news/development/tools/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6507351 @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Approach 2 – Build up the pyramidPyramid example courtesy of John Mayo-Smith, Two Ways To Build A Pyramid,InformationWeek, 22 Oct 2001http://www.informationweek.com/news/development/tools/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6507351 @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work General requirement: Users must be able to save and organize articles they find on your site into a personal account space. Place in Attach the multiple whole article Email multiple as a PDF folders articles Ratings Search saved Share notes Save articles article full text and ratings to folders with others Auto-fill Add/edit notes search box Email a link to Create a an article. personal account Search saved article titles Add / delete Customize articles to a Change colors and list password layoutBusiness Ability to save Ability to email Ability to find Allow users to Create aRequirements personal articles articles saved articles add notes account @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Back to the pyramid @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work It’s tempting to build requirements vertically... Edit, Move, Attach the Share notes CustomizeEmbellishments Rename whole article Auto-fill and ratings colors and search box Folders as a PDF with others layoutEnhancements Save articles Email multiple Search saved Change Ratings to folders articles article full text passwordBasic Functions Add / delete Email a link to Search saved Register for a articles to a Add/edit notes personal an article article titles list account Business Ability to save Ability to email Ability to find Allow users to Personal Requirements articles articles saved articles add notes account @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Good layering creates a fully functional system more quickly. Edit, Move, Attach the Share notes CustomizeEmbellishments Rename whole article Auto-fill and ratings colors and search box Folders as a PDF with others layoutEnhancements Save articles Email multiple Search saved Change Ratings to folders articles article full text passwordBasic Functions Add / delete Email a link to Search saved Register for a articles to a Add/edit notes personal an article article titles list account Business Ability to save Ability to email Ability to find Allow users to Personal Requirements articles articles saved articles add notes account @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Starting basic is also important at the next level of granularity. Edit, Move, Attach the Share notes CustomizeEmbellishments Rename whole article Auto-fill and ratings colors and search box Folders as a PDF with others layoutEnhancements Save articles Email multiple Search saved Change Ratings to folders articles article full text passwordBasic Functions Add / delete Email a link to Search saved Register for a articles to a Add/edit notes personal an article article titles list account Business Ability to save Ability to email Ability to find Allow users to Personal Requirements articles articles saved articles add notes account @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Layered design example 1st layer – Saved list of articles @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Layered design example 2nd layer – Add navigation, article details, sorting @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work  Bi-focal design • Attention to framework, architecture, big picture • Deliver detailed design on very small aspects of system. @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Many of these are familiar, but how you produce them may change.  Personas  Use cases  Sketches  Wireframes  User stories  Process flow  Prototypes -and-  Ad hoc – what the project needs now. @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Deliverables– think lightweight! The Agile Manifesto “Working software over comprehensive documentation” Austin Govella “There’s a dangerous, anti-deliverable meme lurking about that damages good teams.” Anders Ramsay “UX designers continue to struggle with letting go of the deliverables mentality, the idea of UX being one of creating pretty-looking design artifacts before starting to create software.” @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Try using “dirty deliverables” for some situations. A basic site map – post its on butcher paper (courtesy of FatDUX) @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work Wireframes work well side by side with annotations FIG 2: My Saved Articles FIG 2 Notes: 1. Page title 2. Count of all items in the list. • Increments as items added 1 2 4 • Decrements as items deleted 3. Link back to last set of search 3 5 results 4. Sort options: • By date added – reverse chron • By date published – reverse 6 chron • Alphabetical by title 5. Checkbox to select all items in the list • Checking selects all items • Unchecking deselects all items 6. Articles. Each item includes: • Checkbox • Number in list • Citation – in same style as in search results • Date added – DD Mon YYYY @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Change how you work User stories – keep them short and precise. Link to details Title: Article list view User statement: As a researcher, I want to see a list of articles that I have selected during my session. Acceptance criteria: 1. The page appears as in the wireframes. 2. The titles of all articles the user has selected during the session are listed in alphabetical order. 3. The articles are numbered. 4. Each article can be deleted from the list. Wireframes: http://www.mywireframelink.com Owners: JMarkel – IA JJones - DEV SSmith – QA Related Stories: 1287 Link to article list from utility nav. History/notes: 1. 1 Apr 2011, JMarkel - Story created @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Conclusion Do you really have to let go of perfection to be agile? It’s not about perfect deliverables, it’s about working toward a highly usable product. It’s a goal, not an end-state. It’s a lesson we’re all still learning. @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

Bye Questions? Contact info: Chris.Farnum@proquest.com Serena.Rosenhan@proquest.com Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/ChrisFarnum/ Special thanks to Joanna Markel and Carissa Demetris! without whose Agile know-how this presentation would not have been possible @crfarnum @SHRosenhan #WIAD

WIAD2012 A2 - Letting go of perfection: Developing IA agility

by Chris Farnum on Feb 09, 2012

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