The document discusses integrating UX into Agile environments through four case studies: 1) A large government agency with distributed teams employs UX research 1-2 sprints ahead of development. This steady flow of research allows for fewer assumptions. 2) An oil and gas company splits UX efforts between future sprints and supporting the current sprint. This allows UX to be responsive but makes usability research difficult. 3) An early startup incorporates UX into its Scrum process through wireframes ahead of sprints and detailed design within sprints. Regular user feedback is established. 4) Common challenges across the cases include balancing work ahead of sprints versus within sprints and ensuring big picture assumptions

1. There’s more than one way to skin a
cat
Integrating UX into an Agile environment
Jon Innes
Janice James
Kate Walton
July 9-12, 2013

2. Agile: The basic concept
Product
Backlog
Sprint
Backlog
Potentially
Shippable
Product
Increment
Daily Scrum
Meeting
24
hrs
2-4
week
Sprint
Image from: http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/
July 9-12, 20132

3. Lean UX
Based on image from Janice Fraser http://www.slideshare.net/clevergirl /
July 9-12, 20133

4. How Agile can you go?
http://www.worldrecordacademy.com/society/img/101874_lowest_limbo_Shemika_Charles.jpg
July 9-12, 20134

5. Don’t worry—No cats were harmed!
Image from: http://justcatsonline.com/
July 9-12, 20135

6. Large Government
Agency employing
>10,000 employees
Many employees
telecommute full-time
or 1 day/week
July 9-12, 20136
Janice’s Company
Image from: http://dictionary.reference.com

7. Project
Designing a complex web application, integrating 3 internal and 3 external primary systems supported by other
systems
Distributed teams
Internal teams representing multiple business units
5 contract firms, each with its own Project Manager(s)
Content Management System
Web and Business Services
Reporting Management
User Interface Design and Development
6 User Interface Designers and Interaction Designers
1 Graphic Designer
6 Developers
Interaction designers primarily work remotely
Agile Environment
3-week Sprints
Interaction designers work 1-2 sprints ahead
July 9-12, 20137
The Project
Complex Application
Image from: www.carlosdinares.com

8. 3-week Sprints
Distributed teams
Internal teams
representing multiple
business units
External teams
consisting of 4-5
contract firms
UX team
8
Agile / UX Process
Image from: www. prince2msp.com

9. UX Process
1-2 Sprints Ahead
Wireframes to illustrate concepts
Interviews and feedback sessions with users 2x/wk, 2 hrs each
Iterate designs
Write user stories for agreed upon designs
1 Sprint Ahead
Final details of wireframes
Review user stories formally with business architects and all technical
teams
Refine if necessary
Conduct usability testing 2x/quarter
Meet weekly and as needed with UI developers to review designs,
evaluate for risks and effort
Meet weekly with Visual Designer
Agile / UX Process
9 July 9-12, 2013

10. The UI team drives the design
Steady flow of user research
means fewer assumptions
Usability testing facilitates
improved process of fixing
problems
Rotation of users provides a
good sampling
Working remotely means
increased focus and
productivity
The Good . . .
10
Image from: www.snookerbacker.com

11. Working remotely means
Less in-person interaction
with UI developers
Lots of meetings (in
addition to typical Agile
meetings)
Juggling usability testing
during other in-Sprint
research and design
activities is difficult
July 9-12, 201311
. . . And the bad
Image from: www.sodahead.com

12. July 9-12, 201312
Takeaways
UX within Agile is an evolving
process—not necessarily a bad
thing
Sprint Zero is an opportune time
User Research
Agile training
Communication plans
Communication within teams and
across teams is key
Be creative in delegation of
responsibilities to allow for more
user research Image from: www.momastery.com

13. Product and service provider to
the oil industry
<72,000 employees in > 80
countries
Broad range of end-users from
engineers to field operators
Kate’s Company
13 July 9-12, 2013

14. Two separate applications which are different in:
Objectives
End-user populations
Technical Platforms
Large, highly complex applications
Engineering Tool (4 years)
Process assurance tool (4 years)
2 independent, parallel timelines with shared resources;
working on the projects simultaneously
26% of the team is offshore
The Projects
14 July 9-12, 2013

15. Agile / UX Process
15 July 9-12, 2013
Very typical agile process in many regards
UX efforts are split between researching and
designing for future sprints and supporting the
current sprint
Atypical aspects
Amount of effort spent during the sprint
Last minute negotiations with development
Redesigns
Interim feedback and testing
UX sign-off on user stories
Detailed UX specifications
Image from: www.fourseasonsamusements.com

16. July 9-12, 201316
UX Specification Example

17. Pros
UX team is a balanced partner
within the team
In the trenches with the team
every day – reactive and
responsive to changing needs
Assurance that the design is
followed through to the
implementation
The Good . . .
17 July 9-12, 2013
Image from: www.smartfreightware.com

18. Cons
Unable to perform as much usability research as
needed
July 9-12, 201318
. . . And the bad

19. No typical agile environment; No
typical UX fit within the agile
environment
Some aspects of the project will force
the shape that UX takes
Some things you can work to change;
some things you have to accept
The most important success factor of
our environment is that we assess and
iterate on the process
Next iteration involves ‘mini-
sabbaticals’
Takeaways
19 July 9-12, 2013
Image from: www.mondolithic.com

20. Early stage startup, with series A funding (some cash)
Team meets the “two pizza size” rule limit
Everyone is in the same physical location
Founders have good sense of customer needs
Everyone believes that user experience is critical
Some of them know what UX means!
Just trying to figure out what how to do things right
Jon’s Company
20 July 9-12, 2013

21. Evolve web based application to expand user base
Existing visual design defined by external agency
Goal is to add and refine features based on:
Backlog of ideas from founders
Competitive analysis by Product Owner
Feedback from prior user studies
Founders had talked to users, but rather informal
The Project
21 July 9-12, 2013

22. Scrum with only minor modifications
Two week sprints
UX driven modifications to Scrum
“Feature toggles” used to try for continuous delivery
Basic visual style of site defined, but still evolving
Team reviews product backlog a sprint ahead
All user stories evaluated for UX risk & effort
UX tasks split into 2 phases
Sprint ahead: Wireframes/mockups as “light specs”
In Sprint: Detailed design & user testing
Agile / UX Process
22 July 9-12, 2013

23. Stories move from commit to delivery in about a
month
Regular user feedback cadence established
Remote or in person testing of designs
Clearly defined definition of done for UX
Team agrees on design hypothesis in sprint planning
Highly collaborative process
The Good . . .
23 July 9-12, 2013

24. Big picture assumptions often go unexamined
Balancing sprint ahead vs. in sprint work is tough
Have to plan studies during sprint ahead, run next sprint
Research work can impact detailed design time
Sometimes design epics are hard to fit into sprints
Beware the never ending story!
Hard to avoid reworking stuff during detailed design
This makes it hard to make big changes
Prototyping is done in real code =$$$
July 9-12, 201324
. . . And the bad

25. Have a solid product vision & backlog
Don’t know who you are designing for? Don’t sprint!
Use story mapping & design charrettes to focus team
Consider “sprint sabbaticals” for big picture UX work
Once sprinting, it’s hard to change design direction
Doing any research away from team is hard in a sprint
Track UX metrics to keep score as you go
How many users have you interacted with?
Can users complete the stories/tasks as expected?
Are users satisfied with what is delivered?
Takeaways
25 July 9-12, 2013
UX Metrics: http://boxesandarrows.com/integrating-ux-into-the-product-backlog/

26. Discussion
July 9-12, 201326