Agile in Wonderland

Designing for an agile client with an offsite UX team
Jason Taylor and Diana Runkle
Agile UX 2012
March 2 - Sydney, Australia

1. Agile in Wonderland Designing for an agile client with an offsite UX team
2. Hello... we work for Boomworks. Diana Runkle (@drunkleAU)  Senior UX Designer Jason Taylor (@although)  UX Team Lead boomworks.com.au
3. The project. This is what we’ll be talking about today...  Self-service web application  Massive in scope (and still going)  About how we worked (not what)  We’re evolving our approach
4. Why did we work offsite... for this client team and project?  It’s how we produce the best results  We have our own flavour of agile  We have all the skills in-house  We can’t just move Boomworks on-site  There’s no right or wrong way
5. Other factors... in working offsite for this project.  They are still assembling their team  Agile was new to our client  Client team in multiple locations  Some growing pains
6. When we started... with this client team and their project.  Existing product eco-system  User stories created  Playing a game of catch-up  Working in two week sprints
7. How we kicked off... and engaged with the agile team.  Fact finding workshops  Design sprint zero  Upfront collaborative design  Produce multiple concepts
8. Working on the project... and what we did in each two week sprint.  Collaborate on user stories  Design and review etc...  Hi-fi prototyping  Test and report in real time  Make any changes
9. Ideal goal for this project... and any other project.
10. To achieve an ideal goal... we have a flexible approach to our team.  Core project team  Scaled up when needed  Stand-ups, team reviews and design walls  Everyone kept in the loop
11. To achieve an ideal goal... we try to work smarter (not harder).  Try to design things right the first time  Keep the client involved at all times  Rapid tempo for regular activities  Iterate on the hard and easy stuff  Plan early and often
12. Before we move on... other factors for working offsite.
13. What worked for us... when working offsite with an agile client.
14. Communication. What worked was open communication...  Embedded Project Manager  Client and home team feedback  Review meetings and backlog  Transparency
15. Information. What worked was getting good information...  Validating user stories  Knowing the system constraints  Leveraging their style guide  Best practice design  Opinions
16. Rapid design. What worked for us was collaboration...  Collaborative sketching upfront  Pair design on the computer  Imaginative interaction scenarios  Try to break our own ideas  Collaborative client reviews
17. Hi-fi prototyping. What worked was being grounded in reality...  High value in building interactions  Real data completes the picture  Detailed slices driven by our test plan  Smoke and mirrors where needed  Time to build multiple versions
18. Regular testing. What worked for us was the shared vision...  Test core tasks within the big picture  Test large chunks of functionality  Formal testing process  Real time review and reporting  Mentoring
19. Working offsite... and how we feel about the approach.  It can be hard and you can’t drop the ball  For us the benefits are the greater good  We have our own creative space to play in  We can draw on Boomworks’ resources  There’s no need to wear pants 
20. What is the hard stuff... when working offsite with agile?  Two week cycle for key elements  Testing slices of a product  Defining an IA upfront  Keeping everyone up to speed  Perfect world vs regular releases
21. What is the good stuff... when working offsite with agile?  Regular testing timeframe  Rapid feedback and reporting  Daily stand-ups and review process  Project retrospectives  Collaboration is essential  Usability driven outcome
22. What we’ll be improving... for this and future projects.  Extend the design cycle to three weeks  Include a secondary round of testing  Solve the hardest problems first  Seek new ways to work and collaborate  Continue to share skills and knowledge
23. So...why offsite? Why do we think it’s possible?  The approach to date is successful  The project has forward momentum  We’re still shipping software  We can draw on all our resources  Our team can maintain our flavour of agile  There’s no definitive rule book
24. But really...why agile? Because agile isn’t about co-location.  Individuals and interactions over processes and tools  Working software over comprehensive documentation  Customer collaboration over contract negotiation  Responding to change over following a plan agilemanifesto.org
25. Questions? Thank you