The document describes the author's experience running a diary study to gather customer feedback on a new software feature, highlighting the importance of iterative testing in an agile environment. By recruiting participants across Australia and providing them with physical diaries, the study facilitated rapport-building and motivated the team while emphasizing the value of early feedback. The successful implementation of this method led to a more empathetic understanding of customer needs and a successful product release.

2. -­‐ Approx
13
years
ago,
I
moved
into
a
sharehouse
in
Fitzroy
VIC
-­‐ Personalities
and
annoying
tendencies
were
not
evident
upfront,
only
noticeable
after
weeks
of
living
together

3. -­‐ Imagine
if
we
could
test
out
the
waters
with
everything
in
life
-­‐ The
iterative
style
of
agile
can
be
a
great
way
to
test
the
water
with
your
customer,
learn
early
on
before
committing
completely
-­‐ Similar
to
my
sharehouse
experience
-­‐
however
I
had
to
commit!

4. -­‐ Fast
forward
quite
a
few
years,
I
find
myself
working
at
software
company
working
as
UX
Designer
on
Desktop
software
-­‐ Implementing
a
new
feature
-­‐
set
to
move
customers
from
an
existing
manual
process
to
a
digital
one
-­‐ Potential
for
huge
success
but
had
to
GET
IT
RIGHT
(no
pressure)
-­‐ Replacing
their
non
digital
process
with
something
automated
was
met
with
fear
and
trepidation
-­‐ I
facilitated
regular
usability
testing
sessions
but
wanted
to
know
what
customers
felt
after
using
this
feature
for
weeks

5. -­‐ Decided
on
running
diary
study
with
product
owner
and
arranged
an
early
release
of
our
software
with
the
development
team,
just
for
our
small
group
of
diary
study
participants
-­‐ I
personally
recruited
approx.
20
participants
(through
using
our
in-­‐house
CRM)
-­‐ Participants
were
located
all
around
Australia,
did
not
meet
them
in
person
-­‐ Skype
introduction,
what
to
expect
being
involved
in
my
diary
study
(fill
in
diary
every
time
you
use
the
new
feature)
-­‐ Built
up
rapport
with
the
participants
so
they
felt
very
comfortable
with
me

7. -­‐ Actual
paper
diaries,
colored
covers
for
each
week
to
help
with
admin
-­‐ Sent
nice
parcel
to
participants,
complete
with
stamped
self
address
envelopes
at
beginning
of
research
-­‐ Diaries
were
posted
back
weekly
-­‐ Ran
for
6
weeks
-­‐ Gift
cards
as
thanks
–
$100
to
one
participant
that
sent
diary
back
on
time
every
week,
$250
to
overall
most
diligent
and
comprehensive
feedback
throughout
6
week
period

9. -­‐ Team
loved
physical
diaries
coming
in
regularly,
kept
team
motivated
and
interested
-­‐ Ripple
effect
through
office,
lots
of
buzz
-­‐ High
profile
project
in
general,
diaries
hanging
around
helped
provide
feedback
to
stakeholders
and
other
parts
of
the
business
who
may
have
an
interest,
self
serve
information
-­‐ Team
and
stakeholders
felt
closer
to
customers,
could
emphathise
-­‐ Easy
to
implement
a
beta
approach
to
software
releases,
diaries
helped
show
importance
of
early
feedback
and
iterating

10. -­‐ Weekly
backlog
grooming
sessions
with
business
analyst
and
product
owner
to
reprioritise
backlog
-­‐ Some
of
the
things
(UX
debt)
I
had
to
compromise
on
previously
were
bumped
up
in
priority,
based
on
customer
annoyance
from
diary
participants

11. -­‐ I’m
currently
planning
another
diary
study
at
the
moment
-­‐ More
prepared
to
be
on
call
for
help
-­‐ Have
a
developer
ready
to
help
troubleshoot
-­‐ Have
plans
in
place
for
a
release
to
fix
unforeseen
issues
-­‐ 6
weeks
felt
a
bit
long,
will
run
for
4
weeks
next
time
-­‐ Sound
out
preferred
methods
of
providing
feedback
early
on
to
avoid
wasted
effort
in
preparation

12. -­‐ Definitely
give
it
a
go,
pros
outweighed
the
cons
-­‐ Fitted
into
agile
really
well
-­‐ Old
school
style
had
HUGE
benefits
amongst
the
team,
involvement,
motivation,
self
discovery
-­‐
worth
the
effort
-­‐ Also
was
great
for
our
product
and
we
had
a
very
successful
release
to
market

13. -­‐ Please
get
in
touch
if
you
run
a
diary
study
in
your
own
agile
project!