The document discusses the tension between user experience (UX) design and agile development, arguing that agile methodologies often overlook UX, which can impact product value and customer satisfaction. It emphasizes the need for collaboration between UX designers and developers for effective design iteration and highlights the importance of measuring customer feedback through techniques like Net Promoter Score (NPS). Additionally, it presents the idea that collective embarrassment and candid feedback can foster a more innovative and successful development process.

1. Selling User Experience
to Coders"
Maarit Laanti!
28-Oct-2014!

2. Maarit Laanti"
• 20 years in various product development roles at Nokia,6 years in
agile & lean transformation / organizational development!
– Product development for various products and platforms!
– Coached and trained hundreds of practitioners
in agile methods deployment!
• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Program Consultant at Nitor Delta!
• PhD — “Agile Methods in Large-Scale Software Development
Organizations – Applicability and Model for Adoption” (2013)!
• Keynote speaker at XP2014 / Rome!
• Author or editor of agile and lean textbooks: !
– 376 vuotta ketteriä kokemuksia / Sytyke (2013)!
– LESS!, Essays on Business Transformation (2012)!
– Ohjelmistoliiketoiminta (2003)!

3. My claims in this presentation"
1. Here is a built-in-tension
between UX design and
development!
2. Agile forgot UX from the
start!
3. Agile (re)discovered UX
(Apple proved you can sell
designed products with
higher price)!
4. There are (proven) ways to
do better!
5. Collective embarrassment is
the best tool available!

4. ”Let’s ADD Sprint #13 for it!”

5. Complex UI – simple code – simple UI complex code?"

6. Design is an iterative process"
• Great
UX
is
created
with
itera/ons!
• Do
we
also
need
a
Steve
Jobs
to
say
no?

7. Agile development?"
Agile
means
you
just
have
a
bunch
of
coders
and
the
customer
si7ng
in
middle
of
them

8. Give
me
your
UI
spec
and
we
will
implem
ent
it

9. USABLE,
not (just)
working!

10. This is how we sell agile
VersionOne study 2008
Improved
Significantly
Improved
Enhanced ability to manage
changing priorities
41%
51%
Improved project visibility
42%
41%
Improved alignment of IT
39%
27%
and business goals
Reduced project risk
48%
17%

11. Agile delivers projects on time and budget
The value of incremental delivery"
ROI of "
traditional
project"
Brake-even"
ROI of "
agile project"
Benefits:!
• Faster feedback enables faster
learning – enabling right focus /
right change of focus!
• Smaller increments lessens
project complexity!
• Earlier brake-even point / ROI!
• Partial deliveries equal to
smaller risks – fail safely;
execute gloriously!
With Minimum Marketable Release
approach we can gain faster time-to-market
and time-to-profit!
Single release approach means
slower time-to-market and time-to-
profit!

12. Boss’s
Wife
This
/me
we
do
the
UX
properly…
We
test
every
itera/on
with
real
users!
The
current
tests
shows
that
our
customer
segment
is
going
to
love
this
product!
I
gave
the
proto
to
my
wife,
but
she
did
not
like
it.
I’d
say
we
cancel
this
product.

13. Project on time and budget can be an epic failure!"
NPS
-­‐20

14. Measuring the customer value"
Lean metrics for services"
• Utilization rate!
• How fast the service is!
• How accurate the service is!
• How many errors does take
place when delivering the
service!
Customer satisfaction"
• Would you recommend this
service to your friends? (Net
Promoter Score, NPS)!

15. Why this is important? Be the top dog!"

16. With the lean startup we are getting there…."

17. Back to the roots of agile.
Cockburn:
Software Development is a Co-operative Game"
Co-creation. Groups are
faster solving problems
than individuals. Let the
software evolve together,
as the sum of the whole
is more than its parts.!
!
Co-­‐
evolu/on
UX
Arch
Feedback
Synergis/c
view

18. An extended team – same team or different team?"
Same team"
• UX design and developers
need to talk with each other –
UX designers need to see how
the designs can be
implemented; development
needs to get latest design &
sketches!
• Co-evolution leads to best
results. More than a school
bus length and it does not
matter if you are on the same
building or not!
Different team"
• UX design / development is
essentially a different kind of
discipline; needs to have its own
iterations !
• Need to develop UX design
skills!
• Common look and feel!
• UX Definition of done?!
• Common style guide and
component library!
• Usability tests are not on a team
level in any bigger organization!

19. How IUX designers and developers are seeing each
other…"
UX Designer" Developer"

20. …as extremes…."
Hippie" Code troll"

21. ....but in reality we are all artists, and we should treat
ach other as artists!"
Computer-assisted
graphical designer" Computer scientist"

22. A joined kanban-wall"
• Same team or two teams sitting
next to each other!
• A joined wall where both
iterations are made visible !
• A visual management tool for
both!
Concepting!
Design!
Delivery!
Ideas UX-design Validation Coding Delivery

23. What needs to be measured? NPS?"
• Compare the current version the current demo with competitor
version / demo!
• For each Feature, define the ambition level for this iteration!
– Minimum!
– Median!
– Maximum!
• What are the basics that always needs to be there?!
• What are ways to differentiate from competitors?!
• What is the customer segment? Friendly users / focus group?!

24. Why it is hard to be one team
Disney’s creative process"
• “Get me something to
implement” – mentality!
• “What is the difference
between these two colors?” !
• “Can’t we just add another
button?”"

25. The power of collective embarrassment"
Rules of the game:"
- Force to see misuse cases à
real, frank and honest
feedback!
- No blame game"
- Trust that everyone wants to
do their best!

26. Why it is hard to be one team – the critique"
Thou
shall
not
cri/que
an
un-­‐finished
work
Candor
could
not
be
more
crucial
to
our
crea/ve
process.
Why?
Because
early
on,
all
of
our
movies
suck.
Crea/vity
has
to
start
somewhere,
and
we
are
true
believers
in
the
power
of
bracing,
candid
feedback
and
the
itera/ve
process-­‐-­‐reworking,
reworking,
and
reworking
again,
un/l
a
flawed
story
finds
its
through
line
or
a
hollow
character
finds
its
soul.

27. Lean startups vs. set-based design?"
Point-based!
Set-based!
Pick
one
Pick
many
Make
it
work
Pick
many
again
Choose
the
best

28. Set-based design with focus groups"
Set-­‐based
design
itera/ons
combined
with
set-­‐
based
design
and
friendly
focus
groups
Case
F-­‐secure
Lokki

29. Thanks!"
A
nerd
on
the
journey
to
find
her
inner
ar0st
J

30. KETTERÄ
MUUTOS
!
!
!
ASIAKAS-"
KOKEMUKSEN"
SUUNNITTELU"
"
!
!
Nitor"
nitordelta
KETTERÄ"
TOIMITUS"
JATKUVAT"
PALVELUT"