UX Design

Agile Scrum: Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland how described in Scrum Guide as follows

Scrum: A framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.

• Lightweight, Simple to understand and Difficult to master

Scrum has been used to develop software, hardware, embedded software, networks of interacting function, autonomous vehicles, schools, government, marketing, managing the operation of organizations.

Scrum is immutable, cannot be modified by organization flexibility, if modified, we lose real benefits of scrum,  it should be adhered how described in Scrum Guide

Three Pillars:  1. Transparency 2.Inspection 3. Adaptation

Scrum Values: 1. Commitment 2. Courage  3. Focus  4. Openness  5. Respect

SCRUM TEAM:

1. Product Owner (1 person): Responsible creating product backlog items to maximize the value
   1. Product Backlog is visible, clear to all, and shows what the Scrum Team will work on next
   1. Backlog refinement/grooming can be done with help of developers, no more than 10% of the capacity of the Development Team
2. Scrum Master (1 person): Responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide
3. Development Team(3-9 people): Self organized team who creates working deliverable, collaborative responsibility, no sub team

SCRUM EVENTS:

1. The Sprint:  The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, usable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created.
   1. Sprints contain and consist of the Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, the development work, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective.
2. Sprint Planning: The work to be performed in the Sprint is planned at the Sprint Planning.
   1. Sprint Planning answers the following:

• What can be delivered in the Increment resulting from the upcoming Sprint?

• How will the work needed to deliver the Increment be achieved?

• The Product Backlog items selected for this Sprint plus the plan for delivering them is called the Sprint Backlog.
  • Participants: Scrum Team, Stakeholders, SMEs
  • Duration: Maximum 8 hours

• Daily Scrum: The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute time-boxed event for the Development Team.
  • Developers asks three questions
    • What did I do yesterday that helped the Development Team meet the Sprint Goal?
    • What will I do today to help the Development Team meet the Sprint Goal?
    • Do I see any impediment that prevents me or the Development Team from meeting the Sprint Goal?
  • Team plans work for the next 24 hours
  • Participant: Developers only, Scrum Master ensures that the Development Team has the meeting, cannot be moderator.          
  • The Development Team or team members often meet immediately after the Daily Scrum for detailed discussions, or to adapt, or replan, the rest of the Sprint’s work.

• Sprint Review: A Sprint Review is held at the end of the Sprint to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog if needed.
  • Presentation of the Increment is intended to elicit feedback and foster collaboration.
  • Participants: Scrum Team and Stakeholders
  • Duration: Maximum 4 Hours
• Sprint Retrospective:
  • Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people, relationships, process, and tools;
  • Identify and order the major items that went well and potential improvements; and,
  • Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Scrum Team does its work.
  • Participants: Scrum Team (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developer)
  • Duration: 3 Hours max

SCRUM ARTIFACTS:

1. Product Backlog:  The Product Backlog is an ordered list of everything that is known to be needed in the product. It is the single source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product.
   1. Responsible: Product Owner
2. Sprint Backlog: The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal.
   1. Responsible: Development team

• Increment: The Increment is the sum of all the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint and the value of the increments of all previous Sprints. At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be “Done,” which means it must be in usable condition and meet the Scrum Team’s definition of “Done”.

In Technology era, we see and use millions of digital and physical products which offers various features and facilities which influence people life.

When we look interaction of user and products , the interaction takes place very important role which brings user satisfaction and delightful user experience.

User Centered Design

Product owners and designer should think about user needs and what they feel when interacting with products , how product helps them to achieve their goal more effectively and efficiently. if we want to understand user needs, feedback and insights.

UCD is explicit understanding of the users, tasks and environment in which product being used. When we start create something, first we need think who is going use and what they need and expect

Empathy

Empathize user insights as part of User centric design approach. we can understand through various ethnographic research methods which has been distinguished as two types 1. Qualitative 2. Quantitative research methods.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research  can be done through user interview, it is an one-on-one session, User Interview can bring insights into what users think, feel and says about an application, they could share experience with similar products. Qualitative research can formed with open-ended questions  can get one or more answers

Example questions:

1. How would you describe your satisfaction with this product?
2. Please describe a scenario where our online solution helps you make day-to-day  activities.
3. How do you think this product could help you?

We can ask follow ups questions which simulate more responses.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is expressed in numbers and graphs. It is used to test or confirm theories and assumptions. Common quantitative methods include experiments, observations recorded as numbers, and surveys with closed-ended questions.

Surveys:   List of multiple choice questions that is distributed in online, can Ecollect responses remotely

Example of close ended questions

1. What  are the information you wish to see in our home page
2. Do you recommend our product to your friend
3. Do you like working with us

Another approach  user observation, user observation helps to uncover user problems and challenges when they do face in natural environment. We can use think aloud protocol asking user to speak loud what they think when using our existing product. This approach helps understand user paint points, emotions.

Synthesis

Synthesis of your findings and create recommendations  and  create report which will inform personas, journey maps, feature ideas, workflow ideas. Through customer journey maps, we can illustrate user pain points, challenges which will bring opportunity for innovation.

Design & Validate

Brainstorm with team, create ideas for user problems , user problem helps to find out opportunity for innovation. Create wire frame , low and high fidelity  prototype to implement  ideas then validate with stakeholders and iterate design

We need take our design to end user for validation

important step is validating your design properly. you simply need to get feedback from relevant users. Once  you get the feedback from the users, again refine your design and test different user group so that you could get different responses. Refine design until your stakeholder and user satisfaction, then finally you can start development and deliver. 

UCD Approach Benefits

With close user involvement, products are more likely to meet users’ expectations and requirements. This leads to increased sales and lower costs incurred by customer services. Systems designers tailor products for people in specific contexts and with specific tasks, thereby reducing the chances of situations with a high risk of human error arising. UCD leads to safer products. Putting designers in close contact with users means a deeper sense of empathy emerges. This is essential in creating ethical designs that respect privacy and the quality of life. By focusing on all users of a product, designers can recognize the diversity of cultures and human values through UCD – a step in the right direction towards creating sustainable businesses.

Conclusion

User centric design elicits user needs and feedback before development. This approach confirms user requirements and guides product development which helps to success in competitive market.