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User-Centred Agile Development
of the most common methods, grouped to correspond to the core UCD phases: ( 1)
understanding, ( 2) specifying, ( 3) designing and ( 4) evaluating. The iterative nature
of the UCD process supports the selection of any method at any time, asking, e.g.,
What are the most important insights to gain next? How much time and resources do
we have for UX work now and later?
Understanding: Discover Insights
Design processes typically start with an exploration of the problem area at hand.
A core aspect of UCD is framing the goals in situated user needs. Thus, entering
into the context of use to gather rich qualitative insights is recommended. UCD has
traditionally been quite task focused on specific usage goals ( e.g. Pinelle & Gutwin,
2003), overlapping with UCD. However, UCD also overlaps with anthropology in its
field work to discover situated needs and the characteristics of the users. Key questions may be: Who are our users and their experienced reality, needs and mental
models? What is the context and nature of use? This work is often called “ user
research” or “ design research”. You ask, listen and take notes.
Perhaps the most frequently used methods are interviews and observations
( Begnum & Thorkildsen, 2015). These methods are flexible and may be contextual,
formal or informal, spontaneous or planned, open and involved or closed and hidden.
They include both focus groups and task analysis. There are many other methods that
can also be utilized, such as workshops, card sort, probes, environmental analysis,
empathic modelling and service safaris. Using quantified data from surveys or web
analysis is a low contact method for knowledge gathering. Since they seldom help
you identify pain points in complex real-life scenarios, they are not recommended as
sole methods for finding and framing the right problem to solve.
Specifying: Define Needs
As UCD is iterative, the lines between gathering insights and specifying needs are
blurred. You discover something, create assumptions, then go back to investigate
interesting findings. Commonly used methods for specifying needs in UCD are
affinity maps, personas, value propositions and scenarios-related techniques such
as storyboards, user journeys and user stories. Many specifying methods visualizes
the elicited insights. Such visual artefacts are recommended to convey user needs to
stakeholders and facilitate team communication ( Garcia, Silva da Silva, & Silveira,
2017). The visualizations can be updated as new discoveries are made. The specification phase is ended when you have framed your problem and feel certain that you
have discovered true contextual needs and pain points.
Designing: Explore Solutions
Moving on to exploring solutions, there is a massive range of techniques available to ideate, create and evaluate design concepts – including blue-skying, brainstorming and bodystorming ( D. Gray, Brown, & Macanufo, 2010). Many of the
scenario-related techniques cross over to the concept exploration phase. User involvement and c o-creation may be utilized to explore alternative design directions early
on. They also help uncover user perspectives and additional insights into the underlying emotions and values behind user preferences. Workshops are recommended
User-Centred Agile Development
of the most common methods, grouped to correspond to the core UCD phases: ( 1)
understanding, ( 2) specifying, ( 3) designing and ( 4) evaluating. The iterative nature
of the UCD process supports the selection of any method at any time, asking, e.g.,
What are the most important insights to gain next? How much time and resources do
we have for UX work now and later?
Understanding: Discover Insights
Design processes typically start with an exploration of the problem area at hand.
A core aspect of UCD is framing the goals in situated user needs. Thus, entering
into the context of use to gather rich qualitative insights is recommended. UCD has
traditionally been quite task focused on specific usage goals ( e.g. Pinelle & Gutwin,
2003), overlapping with UCD. However, UCD also overlaps with anthropology in its
field work to discover situated needs and the characteristics of the users. Key questions may be: Who are our users and their experienced reality, needs and mental
models? What is the context and nature of use? This work is often called “ user
research” or “ design research”. You ask, listen and take notes.
Perhaps the most frequently used methods are interviews and observations
( Begnum & Thorkildsen, 2015). These methods are flexible and may be contextual,
formal or informal, spontaneous or planned, open and involved or closed and hidden.
They include both focus groups and task analysis. There are many other methods that
can also be utilized, such as workshops, card sort, probes, environmental analysis,
empathic modelling and service safaris. Using quantified data from surveys or web
analysis is a low contact method for knowledge gathering. Since they seldom help
you identify pain points in complex real-life scenarios, they are not recommended as
sole methods for finding and framing the right problem to solve.
Specifying: Define Needs
As UCD is iterative, the lines between gathering insights and specifying needs are
blurred. You discover something, create assumptions, then go back to investigate
interesting findings. Commonly used methods for specifying needs in UCD are
affinity maps, personas, value propositions and scenarios-related techniques such
as storyboards, user journeys and user stories. Many specifying methods visualizes
the elicited insights. Such visual artefacts are recommended to convey user needs to
stakeholders and facilitate team communication ( Garcia, Silva da Silva, & Silveira,
2017). The visualizations can be updated as new discoveries are made. The specification phase is ended when you have framed your problem and feel certain that you
have discovered true contextual needs and pain points.
Designing: Explore Solutions
Moving on to exploring solutions, there is a massive range of techniques available to ideate, create and evaluate design concepts – including blue-skying, brainstorming and bodystorming ( D. Gray, Brown, & Macanufo, 2010). Many of the
scenario-related techniques cross over to the concept exploration phase. User involvement and c o-creation may be utilized to explore alternative design directions early
on. They also help uncover user perspectives and additional insights into the underlying emotions and values behind user preferences. Workshops are recommended