Want to know how to deliver high-value, strategic research insights within a lean sprint process? Learn a quick, useful, and inexpensive process for incorporating user research & usability into Agile Design & Development sprint cycles. We will share a case study that demonstrates how it works and how we work together (research + UX design + dev). Some of the topics we'll cover: User Research on a slim budget & tight timeline Planning research while still designing (what, when, how) Rapid prototyping to support usability testing The Post-Testing debrief (meeting with core team to discuss observations & agree on next steps for design and development) Design iteration based on testing observations (not based on a lengthy expensive report)

1. UX RESEARCH WITHIN AN
AGILE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT SPRINT CYCLE
1 JUN 2016

2. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
WHAT WE’LL COVER
5 artifacts that
we use
TOPICS
Lessons
learned
What’s nextA case studyResearch during
design & dev
sprints

3. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
IN CONTEXT
PAST PRESENT FUTURE

4. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE PAST

5. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
LINEAR AND ATOMIZED
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
01 02 03RESEARCH DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

6. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
RESEARCH DEFICITS
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
Puts focus on user in
up-front research
phase: lack of user
focus in later phases
Conceptual and
discovery research
too early, during
abstract phase
Developer validation
too late, during
concrete phase of
implementation

7. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
DESIGN DEFICITS
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
Interactive focus -
lacks opportunities
for abstraction
Atomized focus on
aesthetics
Voice of user can be
lost

8. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
IMPLEMENTATION DEFICITS
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
Developers see little
interest in research
phase (not relevant
to their needs yet)
“Whisper down the
lane”

9. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
Assumes and relies
upon close physical
proximity of teams
Assumes and relies
upon hyper-
communicative team
members
Not necessarily
scalable when
utilizing
geographically

10. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
WHAT IS THE PROCESS REALLY LIKE?
PROCEDURAL DESIGN & PROGRAMMING

11. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
How can we change it?

12. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE PRESENT

13. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
A shift in mindset.

14. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
A SHIFT IN MINDSET
Research engaged
throughout the
project; all disciplines
use sprints to deliver
value.
Research is a design
and development tool
for creating a “user-
center designed”
product.
Abandon the
assembly line
process.

15. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE GOAL
As a
researcher,
I want to
get to findings &
insights (quickly),
so that
we can get to a
good design
(quickly).
USER-CENTERED DESIGN

16. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
RESEARCH & SPRINTS
Who?
Research, Design,
Dev, Clients
What?
Informing or
Evaluating
When?
As often as needed
throughout sprints
USER-CENTERED DESIGN

17. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
What’s it look like?

18. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE AGILE TRINITY

19. EVALUATE EVALUATE EVALUATE
RESEARCH DESIGN BUILD

20. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
SPRINT 0 SPRINT 1 SPRINT 2 SPRINT 3 SPRINT 4 SPRINT 5 SPRINT 6 SPRINT 7

21. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
SPRINT 0 SPRINT 1 SPRINT 2 SPRINT 3 SPRINT 4 SPRINT 5 SPRINT 6 SPRINT 7

22. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
GENERATIVE OR DESCRIPTIVE
RESEARCH TO INFORM

23. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
EVALUATIVE
RESEARCH TO VALIDATE

24. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
A CASE STUDY
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Challenge
Website redesign to create a dedicated experience for advisors
Establish a new look and feel to communicate launch of new
brand
Leverage and re-architect existing content
Timeline
6 month timeline / 8 Sprints (3 wks each)
Deliverable
Working prototype that demonstrates new user experience and
key workflows with usable code

25. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE SPRINT PLAN
Purpose
Design the vision.
Concept
Design the framework.
Feature sets
Design the workflows.

26. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
SPRINT 0 SPRINT 1 SPRINT 2 SPRINT 3 SPRINT 4 SPRINT 5 SPRINT 6 SPRINT 7

27. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
SPRINT 0 SPRINT 1 SPRINT 2 SPRINT 3 SPRINT 4 SPRI
kickoff

28. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey Conference Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/survey www.uxpa2016.org #UXPA2016
STAKEHOLDER
INTERVIEWS
IN-DEPTH USER INTERVIEWS
TECH ASSESSMENT
COMP
SPRINT0
Week 3 Week 4Week 1 Week 2
SPRINT1

29. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey Conference Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/survey www.uxpa2016.org #UXPA2016
FRAMEWORK DESIGN
NT
COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT
Week 3 Week 4 Week 6Week 5 Week 7
RESEARCH SYNER INTERVIEWS
USABILITY TESTING
SPRINT1 SPRINT2
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT

30. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
5 RESEARCH ARTIFACTS
The Research Protocol
The Observation Guide
The Post-Testing Debrief
The “Report”
The Refactoring Sprint

31. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE RESEARCH PROTOCOL
Study Goals
Document the objectives for the study.
Key Tasks
Document what’s being tested

32. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE OBSERVATION GUIDE
Observation guide to keep observers on task
What are we testing?
What did you observe?

33. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE POST-TESTING DEBRIEF
Protocol Outline Handout
Study Goals
Key Tasks
Organized Discussion
What worked
What worked but needs tweaks
What didn’t work
Requires data analysis

34. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE “REPORT”
Study Goals
What worked
What worked but needs tweaks
What didn’t work
Other important findings

35. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE REFACTORING SPRINT
Research
Detailed analysis, looping in design, dev, and clients if
anything changed since the debrief. Start planning the next
set of research.
Design & Development
Iterate based on research findings, begin next feature set.

36. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
LEARNED IN THIS PROCESS
What are we
researching?
Lead the process.
What are we
changing?
Own the discussion.
What does it mean to
be agile?
Be ready for change.
THE ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER

37. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
How can we iterate on this process?

38. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE FUTURE

39. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
A change in mindset.

40. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
Object-Oriented UX
#OOUX
A change in mindset.

41. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
OOUX ORIGINS
Dave Collins (1994)
Designing Object-Oriented User Interfaces
Sophia Voychehoyski (2015)
http://alistapart.com/article/object-oriented-ux

42. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
OOUX
Place object design
before interaction
design.
Place data before
logic.
Abandon the
assembly line micro-
process.

43. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
PROCEDURAL

44. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
PROCEDURAL vs.

45. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
PROCEDURAL vs. OBJECT ORIENTED

46. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
WHY DO WE WANT TO DO THIS?
So we can think about the entire system in line with real-world
objects in users’ mental model, not digital-world actions.
We don’t go to a web site because we want to search, filter, or
check-out. We go to a web site because we want a plane ticket. We
want relationships. We want food.
We want a book.
We want things.

47. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
You might be thinking, this all sounds great, but we have a lot of
invested in Agile.
We have user stories, we have workflows, we have a minimal viable
product we need to produce in a few weeks.
What does that all mean?
BUT WE’RE SO INVESTED IN AGILE!

48. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
Start with a discrete “object”, which can have associated
“actions” and “adjectives” associated with it.
OOUX & “THINGS”
Example:
Object: Coin
Verb: Rate
Adjective: Year

49. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
As a user I can view numerous coins so that I can rate each coin.
As a user I can add/edit/delete comments for each coin and sort by date posted.
As a user I can view the properties of each coin, so that I can see what the current average rating is, as well as view
the year, mint, type, obverse and reverse image and see who the user is who originally uploaded the coin.
THE USER STORY
Noun, Verb, Adjective, Metadata

50. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
1. Nouns are objects
2. Verbs are methods of objects (CTAs)
3. Adjectives are properties of objects
4. Collection of adjectives are metadata
5. Find relationships between objects
6. Find dependencies between objects
7. Code before wireframes (!)

51. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THE EFFECT OF OOUX ON PROCESS?
Research, then design, then development
vs.
Research and design and development

52. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE

53. Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey/279 #UXPA2016 #OOUX
THANK YOU
Ed Hertzog
edhertzog@gmail.com
@phillywebguy
Georgia Spangenberg
georgiaspangenberg@gmail.com
@247ux