Robert Coop from Hippo Digital discussing integrating UCD (User centered design) into Agile project delivery

1. Agile in depth
Integrating experience design into Agile delivery
NUX – 27 November 2017

2. Setting the scene
• What’s the problem?
• What do we mean by ‘Agile in depth’?
• The nature and complexity of delivering enterprise-level services
• Staggered sprint, the common approach to integration
• The ‘customer team’ operating model
• Continuous discovery and delivery

3. Agile in the enterprise
We argue that
when considering
enterprise delivery,
Agile cannot sit in
isolation of user
centred design and
DevOps (or service
operations) and
delivery of services
that are valuable,
useful and feasible
User Centred
Design
DevOps
Agile
Delivery

4. Agile in the enterprise
Where these area
overlap creates
potential tensions,
but equally there
are opportunities
to explore
User Centred
Design
DevOps
Agile
Delivery
Delivering UX
into Agile
Beyond the Cagan
principles
The customer
team
Continuous
discovery and
delivery

5. Beyond the Cagan
principles

6. Cagan principles
Marty Cagan introduces three key
concerns of product ownership:
The need to deliver value to the
sponsoring organisation, create
services that are usable (and
desirable) to users and to ensure
the service is feasible to deliver
Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love
Valuable
Usable Feasible

7. Beyond Cagan
Efficient to use in meeting user
needs and business requirements
Secure in design so that meeting
governance needs is seen as a
benefit, not a hindrance to access
Operable in that the service can
be maintained to the standard
required and adapted as needs
change and emerge
Valuable
Usable Feasible
Operable
Efficient Secure

8. Delivering UX into
Agile

9. Staggered sprint
‘Staggered sprint’ is the dominant
model for integrating experience
design into Agile delivery
Design
Develop
Validate
Design
Develop
Validate
Design
Develop
Validate
Design
Develop
Sprint 0 Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint n

10. Staggered sprint
‘Staggered sprint’ is the dominant
model for integrating experience
design into Agile delivery
But it can be problematic:
1. User and design research
2. Design communication
3. Design/delivery commitment
4. Design intent
5. Protracted feedback
Design
Develop
Validate
Design
Develop
Validate
Sprint 0 Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3
Design
Develop
Validate
Design
Develop
1
2
3
4
Sprint n
5

11. The customer
team

12. Customer team
The customer team
support the Product
Owner in defining
and refining
stakeholder
requirements and
delivering these into
the delivery team
through the process
of continuous
discovery

13. Supporting design thinking
The focus is on
meeting user needs
through the delivery
of relevant and
operable services
that address real-
world business
problems
Business
requirements
User needs

14. Collaborative design
• Within context of overall service design, UX strategy, technical
architecture, delivery capability and service operations
• Requires a realignment of roles
• Design at the Epic level, refine at the Story level
• Encourage collaboration (the developers hold all the cards, but not
necessarily the understanding of how to play the hand)

15. Unifying disciplines

16. Continuous discovery &
delivery
Continuous discovery
and delivery provide a
framework where
experience design is
truly integrated into
Agile delivery
Build the right thing
and build the thing
right
User Centred
Design
DevOps
Agile
Delivery
Continuous
discovery and
delivery

17. Continuous discovery
• Based on lean principles
• Short design iterations delivered just in time through collaborative
design sessions
• Designers remaining engaged throughout
• Hypothesis-driven approach eases user and design research
pressures and supports concept of continuous discovery
• Collaborative design involving the delivery team as well as the
customer team and key stakeholders

18. Continuous delivery
• Focus on quality over speed of delivery (Scrumban)
• Continuous build, delivery, integration and testing supports rapid
feedback
• Supports a more collaborative approach to both design and delivery
• Test-driven development and automated testing and working
software after each iteration

19. In conclusion
• Design and delivery in the
enterprise is complicated
• Staggered sprint is a poor model
for integration
• The customer team have a
pivotal responsibility
• Continuous discovery working
alongside continuous delivery
provides an option
Benefits of continuous design and
delivery:
1. Collaborative and shared
responsibility
2. Avoids unnecessary design,
delivery and validation hotspots
3. Provides rapid iterations and
feedback as part of quality
focussed approach

20. Robert Coop
robert@hippodigital.co.uk
07714 672888