Adventures in User-Centred Agile & DesignOps

Adventures in  
user-centred Agile
@stuccharlton @cxJon

@stuccharlton   @cxJon 
Most people make the mistake of
thinking design is what it looks like.

Most people make the mistake of
thinking design is what it looks like.
People think it’s this veneer – that
the designers are handed this box
and told, ‘Make it look good!’ …

That’s not what we think design is.
It’s not just what it looks like and
feels like.

feels like.
Design is how it works.

feels like.
Design is how it works.
STEVE JOBS

Design 
the 
right 
thing
Design 
the 
thing 
right

Design 
the 
thing 
right
Design 
the 
right 
thing

Designers Developers

Desoplervers?

Build 
the 
right 
thing
Build 
the 
thing 
right

Two Worlds CollideTwo Worlds Collide

Agile IT...  
the art of making terrible
software really quickly

Lean UX...  
the art of idealism  
(no deliverables!)
Value? Pah.

Design IT
Needs Requirements
Front-end Front-end
UI patterns Design patterns
?

Design IT
Needs Requirements
Front-end Front-end
Same?
(Not sure)

Design IT
Needs Requirements
Front-end Front-end
Not same

Design IT
Needs Requirements
Front-end Front-end
Not
design?

Our IT team don’t
care about the user
experience

We can do some UX
at the end

We found…
90% 
increase in credit card
applications
325% 
increase in current
account hub visits
NPS +5.9  
21 points above
expectation

Agile teams are more proficient in
executing the development
process…
NNG – Doing UX in an Agile World

Agile teams are more proficient in
executing the development
process… but the compressed
timescale forces some to abandon
user research and degrade the
resulting user experience.
NNG – Doing UX in an Agile World

romanpichler.com/blog/every-great-product-owner-needs-great-scrummaster/

AGILE
DEVELOPMENT
CONTINUOUS
INTEGRATION
CONTINUOUS
DELIVERY
CONTINUOUS
DEPLOYMENT
DEVOPS
Code Test Release Deploy Operate

AGILE
DEVELOPMENT
CONTINUOUS
INTEGRATION
CONTINUOUS
DELIVERY
CONTINUOUS
DEPLOYMENT
DEVOPS
Research

AGILE
DEVELOPMENT
CONTINUOUS
INTEGRATION
CONTINUOUS
DELIVERY
CONTINUOUS
DEPLOYMENT
DEVOPS
Validate
Research

AGILE
DEVELOPMENT
CONTINUOUS
INTEGRATION
CONTINUOUS
DELIVERY
CONTINUOUS
DEPLOYMENT
DEVOPS
Measure
Validate
Research

AGILE
DEVELOPMENT
CONTINUOUS
INTEGRATION
CONTINUOUS
DELIVERY
CONTINUOUS
DEPLOYMENT
DEVOPS
THE NEXT LAYER?
https://www.slideshare.net/john.clapham/succeeding-with-devops-mk2

validating against a user need
verifying against a specification

Tools
@stuccharlton   @cxJon

Design Systems
medium.com/@kaelig/introducing-design-systems-ops-7f34c4561ba7
The best products are
built by teams with great
communication bridges
between designers and
engineers

Consumer champion
Brands in 5 countries

From sketches to launch in Belgium 10 weeks

OMG
DEVOPS!

So why would a UX/UI
designer be so interested in
this movement? It’s because
the rapidly evolving landscape
of software delivery is
influencing the current user
experience design practices.
with quote
https://www.wired.com/insights/2015/01/is-devops-driving-the-
future-of-ux-design/

DesignOps
OMG
DESIGNOPS!?

Tools & culture

Collaboration

Staggered Sprints
Design Design Design
Prep
Sprint 1Sprint 0 Sprint 2 Sprint 3
Design
track
Dev
track
Dev Dev Dev

BDUF – Big Design Up Front

uh oh

Prep
Dev Dev Dev
uh oh!
Design
track
Dev
track

Cooperation
working with others to
support a shared goal
Collaboration
working together to
achieve a shared goal

Prep
Dev Dev Dev
hand-off
= waste
Design
track
Dev
track

Prep
Dev
track
Dev Dev Dev

“UX, Architecture, Test– Staggering a sprint”, Simon Powers
https://www.adventureswithagile.com/2016/01/01/ux-architecture-test-staggering-a-sprint/

“UX, Architecture, Test– Staggering a sprint”, Simon Powers
https://www.adventureswithagile.com/2016/01/01/ux-architecture-test-staggering-a-sprint/
2011
2014
2017
us

Kraftwerk
Cooperation
Collaboration

TEAM with arrows : DEV / DESIGN / ETC.
ux visual design backend dev
frontend dev
Scrum Master

TEAM with arrows : DEV / DESIGN / ETC.
ux visual design backend dev
frontend dev
Scrum Master
feedback loop

2011
2014
2017

1.5 UX consultants 
1 visual designer 
2 developers

Discover Define Develop Deliver

Design 
the 
right 
thing
Design 
the 
thing 
right

Alpha Beta

Alpha Beta
Working
thing
Ideas

Alpha Beta
Desvelop
Working
thing
Ideas

Alpha Beta
Discover Define Develop
Working
thing on
time
Ideas
Deliver
Desvelop

Verified  
but not
validated

@stuccharlton   @cxJon https://www.slideshare.net/Kevlin/turning-development-outsidein

Good
luck

The
developers
over-ran

Success

SDUF – Small Design Up Front

This is a
shit way
to design!

@gilescolbor
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waldenpond/3019558999/
Designing fordelight
@gilescolborne
https://www.slideshare.net/cxpartners/designing-for-delight-giles-colborne

A refreshing way to present
the our proposition and look
slick with our IFA partners….
It is a leap forward for the
sales team.

• Hiring smart, t-shaped, reasonable people

• Embracing the chaos

• Calibrating divergence with indicative SDUF & estimating

(These aren’t
requirements)

• Remembering that design debt is a thing

Tip: grow a
design system

• Agreeing a way to both design and deliver delight

• Agreeing a way to both design and deliver delight
• User testing in-sprint (judiciously)

Wrapping up

• DesignOps is happening, for a reason

• Collaboration, not cooperation

• Don’t rely on tools to embed change

• It won’t stick without senior design leadership

• It won’t stick without senior design leadership
• We can learn from the DevOps journey

“It depends…”

“It depends…”
Not a kop-out

Don’t assume
(you’ll probably be wrong)

Building empathy

• Delivering delight
• In-sprint user research (dual track?)
• Designing in and out of sprints
Let’s chat!

Adventures in User-Centred Agile & DesignOps

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