Agile UX is a process that unifies developers (running Agile) and designers (practising UX) through collaboration-centred methodology. Projects are broken down into short cycles known as iterations, consisting of smaller tasks such as design, coding and user testing, that are repeated over the entirety of the project.
If you are working within a creative agency, as a UX designer, a software developer or a project manager managing teams, this presentation features 5 brilliant quotes from current practitioners at the 2015 Agile UX conference held in Australia, which will help you implement Agile UX successfully.
2. Important Jargon!
UX Agile Agile UX
User experience describes core
aspects necessary to ensuring a
product or design is as efficient
and enjoyable as possible.
Measured by usefulness, usability,
appeal and level of engagement.
Agile methodology, a project
management process which
originated from software
development, helps teams
respond to sudden and
unpredictable changes through
incremental, iterative work cycles,
known as sprints.
A time boxed, iterative approach
to incrementally building a project
from inception.
Projects are broken down into short
cycles consisting of smaller tasks
such as design, coding and user
testing and repeated throughout
the project.
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5. Life’s too
short to build
something no
ones wants.
Ash Maurya
Author of Running Lean
and Creator of Lean Canvas
1
6. Test your
product in
the wild
Lo-fi
testing
Testing a design with people who
may utilise your project/product
allows you to understand any
design problems.
Collecting insights on the ground
allows you to generate more ideas,
kill ideas that don’t work as you
thought they might, and test them
at speed.
Usability is
the killing
field of
cherished
notions.
David Orr
8. 2
Negotiate the rules of
engagement upfront
and define the
standads together.
Cameron Grice
9. Offer a
vision and
exit plan
Rome
wasn’t built
in a day
The Agile process is not about
going it alone! Gather support from
your team by offering a vision.
Ensure good communication so
that team members share and
follow future visions.
Align teams
to resolve
dependencies
Identify each other’s needs, and negotiate
solutions with all team members.
11. 3
We need to set
realistic expectations
on UX engagement
and quality.
Warwick Bracken
12. Engage
your
stakeholders
As UX practitioners we want to know that
stakeholders place importance on the process.
Think outside
the box
Agile doesn’t have to be a strictly stringent
process. Think outside the box and involve top
level management using unique strategies.
13. Megan Dell’s
Diary Study
Combine old school methods with the Agile
process to affect the way in which stakeholders
engage with different iterations of the project.
An incentivised diary study was conducted.
She sent users a physical journal to document
the testing of a company product.
Each week participants sent their diaries back
filled with insightful comments about their
experience of using the product.
Stakeholders took a surprising interest in
reading the diaries.
Enabled them to be actively involved in
understanding the iterative process as well
as the customers’ feelings.
15. Be
progressive
& reactive
Always
challenge
design &
development
Teams must remain progressive and
reactive rather than committed to a
single idea.
Consistently challenge the design
or development of a project and
integrate feedback into each iteration.
Be
ruthless
It is important to look to the future
and be ruthless about the project’s
scope, rather than focusing only on
the present.
16. 5
Vision starts with a
firm foundation and
carries through with
design principles.
Lexi Thorn &
Scott Maywood-Bryant
17. A shared
vision is
integral
Solve
problems
as a team
A shared understanding of the vision,
business context and design challenges
are integral to laying the foundations for
UX design and prototyping.
Cross disciplinary team culture allows
everyone in the team to wear “multiple
hats” and work together through each
iteration process.
Be
transparent
Be transparent about the UX process enables
to foster trust throughout an organisation.