Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams
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The document outlines strategies for integrating rapid user research methods into agile teams, emphasizing collaboration over traditional methods that often lead to disengagement. It describes a shift from long, separate reports to quick updates and collective conclusions involving all stakeholders. The approach promotes ongoing user research participation and adaptation of methodologies to better fit agile project timelines and processes.
Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams
- 1. 1 Bob Thomas User Research Consultant, LLC Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams
- 2. 2 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 2 Bob Thomas, User Research Consultant, LLC • User Research Consultant, 2019 – • Adjunct Professor, Brandeis University, Graduate Professional Studies, 2022 – • Director of User Research at Liberty Mutual Insurance: 2008 – 2019 • President, UXPA Boston • MS in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University • MBA in International Business and Marketing from Suffolk University 2
- 3. 3 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 3 Constructing a Better Way to Work Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 3 • Waterfall Agile • Non-Involvement Direct Collaboration • Big Honking Reports Quick-Hit Updates • Reaching Conclusions Separately Reaching Them Together
- 4. 4 1. In User Research, we would have a usability kickoff, sometimes with stakeholders involved, sometimes not. 2. We would follow that up with a moderator’s guide review. Our stakeholders would either be disengaged or want to make page-by-page changes. 3. We would run usability tests, which no one outside of the user research team would observe. Stakeholders would say they were too busy to attend. 4. We would finish the project with a big honking report, complete with video clips, to prove our findings and recommendations to our stakeholders. Why? Because we reached conclusions separately. 4
- 5. 5 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 5 Old Playbook: Seven-Week Projects 5 Week 1 Week 2 Weeks 2-4 Week 5 Weeks 6-7
- 6. 6 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 6 • Focus o Agile has a developer focus o UX has a customer focus • Speed & Timing o Agile relies on short iterations (usually, 2-week sprints) and rapid feedback from customers o UX research, especially discovery research, relies on longer iterations and reflection on feedback 6 Cons of Agile “But we don’t have time for user research!”
- 7. 7 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 7 • Collaboration o Work directly with Agile teams o Participate in daily standups and demos • Speed & Timing o Can still plan for discovery research o Carve up large user research projects into user stories per sprint or over an entire PI (program increment) or multiple PIs 7 Pros of Agile Make time for large user research projects by carving up the work over multiple sprints
- 8. 8 8 1. We still scheduled usability kickoffs – but some of these usability studies were run by the Agile teams, and we acted as facilitators or advisors. 2. We still had moderator’s guide reviews – or advised our Agile team members how to put them together. 4. We collaborated with our stakeholders to record observations and affinitize (categorize) the results. We were now reaching the same conclusions together. 3. We still ran exploratory and evaluative user research studies, but now our stakeholders were active observers. Not only that, but Product Owners, UX Designers, and Content Strategists were moderating sessions.
- 9. 9 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 9 9 Affinity Mapping Stakeholder Observations
- 10. 10 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 10 10 Affinity Mapping Stakeholder Observations
- 11. 11 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 11 Old Playbook: Three-Week Projects 11 Week 1 Week 2 Weeks 2-4 Week 5 Weeks 6-7
- 12. 12 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 12 12 New Playbook: Three-to-Four-Week Projects, Relying on UX Partnerships with Agile Teams HYPOTHESIZE LEARN EMPATHIZE BRAINSTORM BUILD UPDATE & MEASURE EXPERIMENT We Have a Problem to Solve (Week 1) We May Have a Solution (Week 2) Were We Right? (Weeks 3+) Usability Kickoff + Recruiting Screener + Mod Guide UX Research Study Update, Measure, and Learn
- 13. 13 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 13 Conclusion • No matter the methodology, our user research strategy was still the same: “Test early and often.” • User experience can succeed only when everyone – not just UXers – watches and listens • We succeed in Agile environments with: • Direct collaboration with stakeholders (over non-involvement) • Quick-hit updates and conclusions (over big honking reports) • Reaching conclusions together (instead of reaching them separately) Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 13 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 13
- 14. 14 Bring Rapid User Research Methods to Agile Teams 14 Thank You! Questions? Bob Thomas, User Research Consultant, LLC • @bobthomas • https://www.linkedin.com/in/boblthomas/ 14