sxsw2013: get agile! scrum insights for ux, design and development

GET AGILE! Scrum for UX, design & development

1

Pieter Jongerius et al.

Amazon: bit.ly/

get-agile

GET AGILE!

2 #GETAGILE @PIETERJ

35,000+ hours

Over 4 years of Scrum

experience

SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNT


Our agile ambition

Agency challenges

Des / dev Integration

OUR AGILE AMBITION Speed, quality, risk management

4

OUR AGENCY


We are a full service agency, we design & develop all things digital, such as apps & web sites. We have around 6 scrum rooms running at any time

Dutch 100 people 3 offices 6 scrum rms

WE LEARNT THE HARD WAY


However, when we adopted scrum, we quickly found out that it’s no bed of roses. We did learn the hard way: sprints ending up in chaos, team members feeling left out,

facing massive rework, etc.

AMBITION: FULL INTEGRATION Building great products requires ·  Strategists ·  Designers ·  Developers ·  Copywriters ·  Business specialists · Marketing & communication ·  ..and more Our way of Scrum · working in parallel ·  deliver shippable product ·  every single sprint.


ÜBERSCRUM


Out of sheer respect for the agility it takes to do this well, we’ve come to call this Überscrum.

PRETTY CLOSE TO ROCKET SCIENCE


BUILDING A TEAM What will the team look like?

10

SCRUM DEPENDS ON THE TEAM


Most of what I’ll share concerns human skills and people management. Bringing the team together, not only physically, but mentally also.

It’s no secret that this works best with smaller teams, of around 5-7 people. Although you can scale it up to 15 if you have to.

NOTHING SHORT OF SUPERHEROES

· Speak their minds · Actively seek feedback ·  Invest in group success

· Empathic · Ambitious · Skilled ·  Inventive

· Motivated to Scrum


AGENCY CHALLENGES

First Team composition varies.


Team building is daunting in any Scrum environment. But for an agency, team composition varies a lot, based on capacity, specific skills, and 3rd party cooperation.

TEAM BUILDING: GAMES


Draw the box

All team members draw a packaging as if the product was on sale on a shelf in a store. You are forced to think in USP’s and get an immediate grasp of individual team members goals & dreams.

TEAM BUILDING: GAMES


The Marshmallow Challenge Check http://marshmallowchallenge.com/

TEAM BUILDING

INSPECT & ADAPT In daily standups and reviews, we address personal and team issues.

GIVE TIME Minimum of 3 sprints per project.


AGENCY CHALLENGES

First Team composition varies.

Second Team members can’t be 100% dedicated to the project.


You will have agency- and other stuff. Meetings, phone calls, other projects. This can be a big disappointment and frustration for the team.

SCRUM FOCUS SOLUTIONS 1. Agree on a % focus, f.i. 80-90% 2. Don’t necessarily do a fulltime scrum. Use a minimum of 3 days/wk 3. Scrum days may vary per discipline. But keep the team together!


SCRUM MASTER PARADOX

· Team builder, yet be able to confront

· Authority in their craft, yet have an eye for all disciplines

· Switch easily between Scrum Rules and Agile Principles

In our agency · Mostly senior UX designers


CLIENT IN THE HOUSE! Embrace the Product Owner

The most profound impact Scrum has on the way of working in an agency, is having the client around all the time. No more big briefing or presentation meetings: the client is there to provide input continuously.

Product Owner The toughest job in Scrum.

PRODUCT OWNER PARADOX · Strong-willed

yet open · Political sense

yet independent · Demanding

yet understanding

· Have the mandate & be honest about limitations


PART OF THE TEAM? As much as possible. · Tasks · Creativity · Really open up Present in the team, from fulltime to a minimal 2 mornings /wk


ANY RESEMBLANCE TO EXISTING PERSONS IS BASED STRICTLY ON COINCIDENCE

BEWARE OF THE…


HYPERCRITIC

OPPORTUNIST WORRIER

MEDDLER

In Get Agile! we discuss four destructive product owner types

BEWARE OF THE…


OPPORTUNIST WORRIER

MEDDLER HYPERCRITIC

Let’s pick one: The Hypercritic generally enjoys the process, discusses all details at length and will not move on on “good enough”. It all has to be perfect.

Warning: using flexible scope in your defence will get back at you later on.

ÜBERSCRUM Design hearts development – and the other way around.

26

STOP ATTACHING UX TO ‘SCRUM’


If you want to remain agile, design cannot be a prerequisite. It cannot be on a definition of ready. If you want design to have impact, UX design cannot be some advisory group to the PO,

who’ll decide what to turn into stories, and what not. Eliminate this waste.

Step up as a single team

Be creative and solve problems

Create shippable products

Together.

STOP ACTING LIKE A SPOILED PRINCESS


You will have to make compromises. Designers must for instance face the truth that some things are unaffordable to build

Developers must invest in going the extra mile to create better UX.

STOP SEARCHING FOR THE BEST RULES


Shared stories Staggered sprints

Interaction

Visual DESIGN

development

- OR -

✘ There is not one strategy of interdisciplinary cooperation that will work for all of your stories.

STAY AGILE!


"Be like water" -- Bruce Lee

design is valuable a waste! It's just a very expensive way of communicating

Often necessary, but not always!

SECRET: STORY TYPES Not all stories are alike. · überstories · development only · design only

We specify this during sprint 0 or backlog grooming


STORY TEMPLATE


We use a custom made story template to accommodate for documenting the type of the story: the disciplines involved are checked. Again: we decide on this BEFORE we start the sprint.

SECRET: QUALITY IS FLEXIBLE · Skilled professionals hate

this · But it’s true

· Better is the enemy of done · Takes a lot of skill

· Story scores: 7 times an A or 9 times a B?

· Which stories should be top notch?


FLEXIBLE EVERYTHING?

No.

Look your client in the eye and say: I will always deliver value for money

Flexible scope doesn't protect you from the occasional pizza.

SUPER SPRINT 0 Balancing preparation and BDUF


Also in Scrum you’ll need a solid start before actual sprints, or everyone will sprint in a different direction. Too often, we made the mistake of starting on just a hunch of what we we’re trying to achieve.

But that’s all in the past.

SUPER SPRINT 0

Parallel definition tracks

· Define strategy


SUPER SPRINT 0


· Define strategy · Define architecture


SUPER SPRINT 0


· Define strategy · Define architecture · Do research


SUPER SPRINT 0



· Get creative! · Design a concept…


SUPER SPRINT 0



· Get creative! · Design a concept but don’t

do a BDUF*

* = Big Design Up Front

#GETAGILE @PIETERJ 42

✘

SUPER SPRINT 0

· Takes 3-6 weeks · Consumes some 20% of project budget · Has a slower pace ·  Involves all team members


Team ready, PO ready, backlog ready,

LET’S SPRINT!

USE THE ROOM!


SECRET: LET’S GET PHYSICAL


The room is the one ultimate thing the whole team shares. It’s an opportunity to create a real visceral project reality. We’re really religious about this.

And not just the scrum board.

DRAW YOUR PROJECT GOALS


Strategic PowerPoint presentations in project folders will NOT be looked at. Word documents will not even be remembered to have been made at all. Seriously.

KEYWORDS ON THE WALL


Discuss your work. Point at keywords on the wall. It keeps you on track.

WHO & WHEN


Oh, also use Excel and Outlook as little as possible :) (and gDocs is no better, really avoid hiding stuff in computers)

TASK PERSONALIZATION


Physical task claiming tags help team members maintain that sense of responsibility. My task! I’ll finish it!

MORE FUN USING FACES


CODE OF CONDUCT


Another example: put up a Code of Conduct. Created and used by developers. States when to do refactoring, how to handle unit tests.

In fact put up anything on the wall that will keep the team on track.

DEFINITION OF READY

In some Scrums, stories often yield unexpected impediments

· Business rules · Required content · Technical complexity

DOR is a set of requirements that helps making stories ready before you sprint. Use only when you really need it.

53 #TWAB2012 @PIETERJ

DOUBLE DEFINITION OF DONE


The introduction of Story types leads to the need for a more differentiated, in our case often Double Definition of Done, splitting design and tech requirements.

TOO MESSY?


So can Scrum rooms get too messy? Maybe. But we’re fine with it as long as it works for the team!

TOO TIDY


They can be too tidy though. This sitemap is so beautifully crafted that no-one will dare altering it. Not really agile, is it?

POLE OF QUOTES


The weirdest things get said during sprints. It’s a lot of fun writing the best quotes down.

#DUBSTEPFRIDAY


All work no play makes Jack a dull boy. To lighten things up a little, some teams use theme days. Like Dubstep Friday! Formal Thursday has also been spotted, as is a regular wakeboard training on the rug.

OWN THE PLACE


It’s basically a matter of owning the place, feeling almost at home. Here you see Danny and Nils in their little SuperTrash shrine, being all feminine and independent.

It makes things even more fun, and it keeps the product personality on brand!

MAYHEM, REALLY? No.



SPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES

time > No, it’s not just mayhem. While one of the agile principles is that the team should be self-organizing, we can provide a little structure. Especially for beginner teams.


Sketch & discuss

Test & spikes

interaction design


Flows & states

time >

Please keep in mind while I build this up,


Sketch & discuss

Test & spikes

Templates

Test & Des-only stories

interaction design

visual design


Modules & states

Flows & states

time >

…that it’s just A way of providing some structure in überscrum. Providing it WITH the team. Not TO the team.


Sketch & discuss

Test & spikes

Templates


interaction design

visual design

front-end development

Dev-only stories

Test & spikes


Implement design

Modules & states

Flows & states

time >

You might see this chart as a mere starting point.

Sketch & discuss

Test & spikes

Templates


interaction design

visual design

front-end development

back-end development

Dev-only stories

Test & spikes

Objects & data Admin section

Test & spikes


Controllers, flows

Implement design

Modules & states

Flows & states

time >


Moving on in time

Starting quickly

Scrum: agile but fragile

FINALLY… Demo & retrospective

67

DEMO: THE STAKEHOLDER TEST


When the product permits, you might NOT demo it, but have it user tested by the stake holders at demo time. Give them assignments, have them use it. They’ll love it!

RETROSPECTIVE · Address H2H issues. · When all fails, fall back to

strict staggered sprints. Try again next time!


SO HERE’S HOPING…


If there’s one thing I would like you to take with you, its that Scrum is about people, their skills, wishes and dreams. It is about end users; about the customer and their stakeholders; it is about the team.

If you put them first, I promise, you’ll have a great time!

brands, design & interaction

@pieterj

@getagilebook

Pieter Jongerius et al.

Amazon bit.ly/get-agile And right now in the SX Bookstore, outside this room in the foyer.

sxsw2013: get agile! scrum insights for ux, design and development

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