Presented in Dublin at the CHQ Building as part of the Dublin UX Meetup. http://www.meetup.com/Dublin-UX/ Key Tactics include: • Start Design Ahead of Development • Create an Independent, Electronic Design Backlog • Use Small Deliverable Based Design Tasks • Deliver Design to a Product Owner • Create A Design Acceptance Environment

1. THE DESIGN FORTRESS
Boosting Design Productivity &
Creativity in an Agile World
David Randall • @davidkrandall • davidkrandall.com

3. ABOUT YOU

4. PHILOSOPHY
TOOLS
PROCESS AND TACTICS

5. THE BACK STORY

9. WHY IS ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE SO
HARD?

14. AT PIVOTAL EVERYTHING CHANGED
FOR ME, BECAUSE I SAW THIS
AMAZING DEVELOPER PROCESS

16. PAIR PROGRAMMING
TEST DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT
ITERATION PLANNING
PIVOTAL TRACKER
WEEKLY RETROS

17. I GOT JEALOUS

18. I STARTED TO UNDERSTAND THE
CHALLENGES OF DESIGN + AGILE

20. I STARTED SEEING THE BOUNDARY
OF THE CRAFTSMAN MODEL

22. “ To be competitive we need
institutionalization. We need a
process driven approach.
Because at the end of the day,
none of us is as smart as all of
us.

23. • Keep Teams Consistent
• Be Proactive Not Reactive
• Have a Dedicated Scrum Master, Especially at
the Beginning
• UX Must Work at Least One Step Ahead of the
Sprint

24. • Keep Teams Consistent
• Be Proactive Not Reactive
• Have a Dedicated Scrum Master, Especially at
the Beginning
• UX Must Work at Least One Step Ahead of the
Sprint

25. THE DESIGN FORTRESS: 5 KEY
PRINCIPLES FOR AGILE DESIGN

27. DESIGNERS
WHO WORK ON
LOTS OF
PROJECTS
DESIGNERS
WHO WORK
WITH
DEVELOPERS

28. START DESIGN AHEAD OF
DEVELOPMENT
1.

29. 1. START DESIGN AHEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
• Discovery + Framing
• 2-4 Weeks
• Insights and early prototypes
• Not a finished design

31. 1. START DESIGN AHEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
• Keys to Success
– Keep it agile
– Stakeholders and Product Owners Involved
– Flexibility at the end

32. CREATE A INDEPENDENT,
ELECTRONIC DESIGN BACKLOG
2.

36. 2. CREATE AN INDEPENDENT, ELECTRONIC DESIGN
BACKLOG
• Helps design float above lumpy dev and PM
needs
• Enables prioritization of research and non-
mockup related tasks
• Allow the problem and the solution to be
documented, saved and linked

41. USE SMALL, DELIVERABLE
BASED DESIGN TASKS
3.

42. 3. USE SMALL, DELIVERABLE BASED DESIGN TASKS
• Project > Epic > Story > Task
• Not true user stories
• Eliminate the muddy middle
• Finish line
• No (bad) surprises

43. 3. USE SMALL, DELIVERABLE BASED DESIGN TASKS
Review
the
front
page
Finish
Se3ngs
Screen

44. 3. USE SMALL, DELIVERABLE BASED DESIGN TASKS

46. 3. USE SMALL, DELIVERABLE BASED DESIGN TASKS
• Bonus: Pointing

47. DELIVER DESIGN TO A
PRODUCT OWNER
4.

48. WE DON’T MAKE PRODUCTS, WE
MAKE PLANS

49. 4. DELIVER DESIGN TO A PRODUCT OWNER
• Keeps development and business constraints
in view
• Avoids fuzzy acceptance and rework

52. CREATE A DESIGN ACCEPTANCE
ENVIRONMENT
5.

53. FEW THINGS ARE MORE TRAGIC
THAN A PERFECTLY IMPLEMENTED,
OUT OF DATE DESIGN

54. 5. CREATE A DESIGN ACCEPTANCE ENVIRONMENT
• Share all of your work all the time
– Sketch > Invision
• Only share links, never attach images
• Make every flow as complete as possible
– Symbols, Styles, Libraries
• Buy a URL

58. THE DESIGN FORTRESS: 5 KEY PRINCIPLES
1. Start Design Ahead of Development
2. Create a Independent, Electronic Design
Backlog
3. Use Small, Deliverable Based Design Tasks
4. Deliver Design to a Product Owner
5. Create a Design Acceptance Environment
David Randall • @davidkrandall • davidkrandall.com