Winter School 2014 John Knight Aalto University of Arts, Design and Architecture John Knight, 2014 Agile as a Theory of Design UX Practitioners Survey
Efficiency Respondents noted better visibility of deliverable reducing uncertainty Perceived reduction in reworking and increase in reuse of resources Feedback supporting better scope management and clarity of requirements Belief that Agile improved quality assurance A comparison of methods (Case Study) suggested that Agile provides a collaborative framework that has the potential to aid reflexivity and accelerate a design focus: Categories from the study included: Case study Agile vs. Waterfall comparison Satisfaction Perceived reduction in effort in general and better and clearer focus Belief of more even distribution of work with greater involvement across disciplines Feedback on more clearly defined roles and responsibilities and reduced conflict Quality The sense that there was more effective and informed decision-making Increased involvement in process improvements Perceived reduction in production effort and greater thinking time Collaboration Feedback that knowledge sharing throughout the lifecycle improved Reported clearer sense of direction and cohesiveness common goal The sense that engagement had increased within the wider project team
Emergent There is a dialogic relationship between outcome and activity wicked problem Provisional Artefacts manifest partial solutions at any point in time Contractual Deliverables embody contractual agreements Mutable Outcomes are amenable to ongoing change The implications of the Case Study included the potential for Agile to be an implicit theory of the activity of design and its outcomes as defined below these needed to be tested: Implications from the case study Co-creative A distributed activity involving clients and practitioners Reflexive An iterative social process of doing and reflecting Inclusive Accommodates a wide set of stakeholders Recursive A continuous process of improvement Agile Design Theory Agile Artefact Theory Traditional Design Theory Traditional Artefact Theory Individualistic Internally Reflexive Exclusive to Designers Focused on early conceptual design Emergent Provisional Designerly rather than pragmatic Products tend to be fixed after design
Enhancements to the Case Study required surveying greater numbers of practitioners and widening the scope of enquiry to investigate the following topics: Improvements to the case study Does Agile foster collaboration? Does Agile foster efficiency? Does Agile foster knowledge sharing? Does Agile help decision-making? Does Agile improve quality? Does Agile foster creativity? Does Agile foster client relationships? Does Agile foster reflexivity?
105Respondents An online survey was run over two months with a good response rate from relevant respondents (UX) generating a good amount of qualitative and quantitative data Follow-on Online Survey of UX Practitioners Range of Qualitative and Quantitative Data The client often learns a lot (maybe more than they need?!) and team members learn more about PM. Everyone else learns a little about everything. Good Response Rate and Profile Match
Agile fosters collaboration between different teams Survey Results - Collaboration 67%