The document discusses reconciling agile development methods with user-centered design (UCD) principles. It reviews 5 existing Agile-UX processes: 1) parallel tracks, 2) design work on parallel levels, 3) iterative design/development phases with testing, 4) big upfront design followed by agile development, and 5) usage-centered design. However, none of the processes fully address all UCD activities, principles, and agile values. While the parallel tracks process is generally accepted, other solutions may be needed depending on specific project challenges. Open questions remain around practices to complement processes and ensuring a process that fully respects UCD and agile principles.

1. Agile-User Experience Design:
an Agile and User-Centered Process?
Lou Schwartz
ICSEA 2013

2. Agenda
1. Agile vs. User Centered Design
2. Review of 5 Agile-UX processes
3. Discussion
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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3. Agile-
User Experience Design
Values
1. Individuals and interactions
over processes and tools
2. Working software over
comprehensive documentation.
3. Customer collaboration over
contract negotiation.
4. Responding to change over
following a plan.
1. The design is based upon an
explicit understanding of users,
tasks and environments
2. Users are involved throughout
the design and the development
3. The design is driven and refined
by user-centered evaluation
4. The process is iterative
5. The design addresses the
whole user experience
6. The design team includes
multidisciplinary skills and
perspectives
Agile Manifesto
ISO 9241-210
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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4. Agile-
User Experience Design
Objectives
•
•
•
Enhance value of delivered
product to satisfy the customer’s
requirements
Avoid delayed projects, budget
overruns and stressful jobs
Assure quality
BUT
• Neither method nor good
practices to achieve this
objective, particularly for the
needs elicitation or the design
part
• Focused on the developers’ work
and on the development quality
• No guarantee on usability of
interfaces
•
Produce usable software to
satisfy real end-users and
customers
BUT
• No guarantee on delayed
projects, budget overruns and
stressful jobs
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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5. Agile-
User Experience Design
Processes
[Product owner]
Product Backlog
(priorized)
[Team]
Sprint Backlog
Daily
Scrum
Product
(potentially delivered)
Sprint
2-4 weeks
SCRUM / 1 Agile method
ISO 9241-210
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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6. Agile-User Experience Design
Reconciliation of both approaches is possible
And implemented
• It implies focusing more on design activities
• It results to a redefinition of the process to organize the
activities dedicated to the design and the process dedicated to
the development.
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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7. Process 1: Parallel tracks
Sy
Well acclaimed by usability experts who test it
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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8. Process 2: Design work done on parallel
levels
Armitage
R: requirement
S: software
P: Product
Concerns only the designers’ work organization
3 parallel levels, from unit to global level
•
•
•
Provide detailed designs for the requirement developed in the current or next
iteration.
Redesign software developed in previous releases (a release is a set of several
iterations).
Provide overall product vision, to keep a global coherence throughout the
project and developed software.
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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9. Process 3: iterative design phase +
iterative development phase + Tests
Deuff & al.
1. Design
2.
Development
3. Final
users’s test
• Phase 1: Iterative upfront design
• Phase 2: Iterative development in agile
• Phase 3: Big final users’ test
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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10. Process 4: Big upfront design
Blomkvist
Chamberlain & al.
McInerney & Maurer
Nodder & Nielsen
…
Big upfront
design
Development
in agile
• To support product owner in User stories definition usability
experts propose a big upfront analysis
Supporters
Blomkv Chamb Consta
ist
erlain
ntine
Project
I
Do first
analysis and
design
Avoid risks
Have a global
vision
X
Brown
X
X
X
X
Deuff
Ferreira
Project Project Project
2
3
4
X
X
McIner Nodder
ney
Proje
ct PV
X
X
X
X
X
X
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
X
X
10

11. Process 4: Big upfront design
Blomkvist
Chamberlain & al.
McInerney & Maurer
Nodder & Nielsen
…
Big upfront
design
Development
in agile
Opponents
• Iteration 0 is enough
Armitage
Avoid risks (time &
money consuming)
Respect Agile values:
accept changes
Big upfront analysis
reduce quality
Chamberlain
Project I
Brown
Ferreira
Project 1
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Nodder
X
X
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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12. Process 5: Usage centered design
Constantine
Integration of agile and User Usage Centered design
• more focused on roles and on usage scenarios (task cases)
than on users
• Roles and tasks are identified by stakeholders (domain experts,
business people, designers, developers, users, etc.) thanks to
brainstorming
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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13. N E = Not ensured
Recom = recommanded
Discussion
Sy
3. Design driven and refined by usercentered evaluation
Constantine
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
NE
X
NE
but recom.
X
X
NE
X
NE
but recom.
NO
X
UCD
principles
1. Specify context
2. Specify users’ needs
3. Design
4. Evaluate
1. Design based on explicit
understanding of users, tasks and
environment
2. Users involved
Big upfront
design
X
X
X
NO
X
UCD
Activities
Armitage
Deuff
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
More or less
NE
but recom.
X
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
X
X
X
NE
but recom.
X
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
but promoted
NE
NE
NE
NE
but promoted
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
X
X
+/-
NO
X
4. Iterative process
5. Process addresses the whole user
experience
6. Team includes multidisciplinary
skills
Agile
Values
1. Individual and interactions over
processes and tools
2. Working software over
comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over
contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over
following a plan
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
X
X
X
NO
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14. Conclusion
• Even if the parallel tracks process is generally accepted, some
other processes are proposed
• Brown  Every team has to find its proper way to process
Agile-UX because “different challenges require different
solutions”
• No one studied process covers entirely all the UCD activities,
UCD principles and Agile values
•
Have to be completed by practices or by cultural aspects, e.g.
• Add tests
• Combine some processes
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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15. Conclusion
Opened questions
• Which practices are necessary to complete the Agile-UX
processes?
• What can be an Agile-UX process that respects all UCD and
Agile principles?
• How may the people and the cultural question enhance the
Agile-UX processes?
• How to ensure the respect of the fifth UCD principle: process
addresses the whole user experience?
Agile-UX: an Agile & UCD process? -- Lou Schwartz
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16. Thank you for your attention
lou.schwartz@tudor.lu