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Sensemaking in Safety Critical and Complex Situations
• XP is the most specific framework, pushing specific methods and practices
such as co-location, pair programming, weekly iterations, continuous integration and quarterly releases.
• Kanban is regarded today as agile but has roots in lean thinking of eliminating bottlenecks and moving from p ush- to pull-based flows. Kanban does
not set time-limited iterations ( sprints) and instead focuses on limiting the
number of work tasks in progress.
It is common for companies and teams to create their own process models by adjusting the proposed agile frameworks. Overall, iterative feedback loops, rapid learning
and incremental software delivery are key agile at tributes – as is the role of the team.
Agile teams are usually multidisciplinary, and team members organize tasks and
work amount in a democratic manner. Though many agile teams apply time-limited
iterations that ends with a delivery ( Scrum-like), this is not a must. Some agile teams
strive to achieve efficient workflows ( K anban-like). Currently, there appears to be
a shift from the early agile process approaches towards even lighter frameworks
guided by the modern agile principles – without elevating specific practices.
As agile has evolved, focus on risk management and user empathy has also been
increased. Modern agile approaches seem less focused on estimating story points
for feature development and the efficiency ( velocity) of the team to develop features.
Instead, the importance of a safe culture for experimenting and learning from mistakes
is emphasized. As such, even if efforts are planned with the aim of incremental delivery,
there is a shift towards learning of e nd-user needs through product development iterations. Note that just as in UCD, agile processes are not mainly focused on initial problem
framing activities, but rather on experimentation based on assumptions of needs.
USER-CENTRED AGILE DEVELOPMENT ( UCAD)
Both UCD and agile mindsets embrace iterative and incremental processes with frequent feedback loops to explore, learn and improve. These practices have proved
valuable in delivering the right solutions to the problems at hand. However, there are
indications that some user-centred values are overlooked in the agile world. The next
sections discuss the three main dangers when merging UCD and agile development:
( 1) rushing problem framing, ( 2) interface without context and ( 3) workload discrepancies and flow issues.
ruShing Problem framing
User-centred methods are well suited for gathering i n-depth insights, identifying
needs and scoping the design space based on user needs – including deciding which
needs are the most critical to solve and innovating on possible strategies to do so.
Though well suited for problem solving, agile settings have less tools for problem
framing – including exploring whether software development is the right approach to
solve a user need. Compared to the user-centred double diamond model, agile frameworks do not emphasize the early process of problem framing prior to exploring
solutions. Experimenting in incremental and iterative development is not the same
Sensemaking in Safety Critical and Complex Situations
• XP is the most specific framework, pushing specific methods and practices
such as co-location, pair programming, weekly iterations, continuous integration and quarterly releases.
• Kanban is regarded today as agile but has roots in lean thinking of eliminating bottlenecks and moving from p ush- to pull-based flows. Kanban does
not set time-limited iterations ( sprints) and instead focuses on limiting the
number of work tasks in progress.
It is common for companies and teams to create their own process models by adjusting the proposed agile frameworks. Overall, iterative feedback loops, rapid learning
and incremental software delivery are key agile at tributes – as is the role of the team.
Agile teams are usually multidisciplinary, and team members organize tasks and
work amount in a democratic manner. Though many agile teams apply time-limited
iterations that ends with a delivery ( Scrum-like), this is not a must. Some agile teams
strive to achieve efficient workflows ( K anban-like). Currently, there appears to be
a shift from the early agile process approaches towards even lighter frameworks
guided by the modern agile principles – without elevating specific practices.
As agile has evolved, focus on risk management and user empathy has also been
increased. Modern agile approaches seem less focused on estimating story points
for feature development and the efficiency ( velocity) of the team to develop features.
Instead, the importance of a safe culture for experimenting and learning from mistakes
is emphasized. As such, even if efforts are planned with the aim of incremental delivery,
there is a shift towards learning of e nd-user needs through product development iterations. Note that just as in UCD, agile processes are not mainly focused on initial problem
framing activities, but rather on experimentation based on assumptions of needs.
USER-CENTRED AGILE DEVELOPMENT ( UCAD)
Both UCD and agile mindsets embrace iterative and incremental processes with frequent feedback loops to explore, learn and improve. These practices have proved
valuable in delivering the right solutions to the problems at hand. However, there are
indications that some user-centred values are overlooked in the agile world. The next
sections discuss the three main dangers when merging UCD and agile development:
( 1) rushing problem framing, ( 2) interface without context and ( 3) workload discrepancies and flow issues.
ruShing Problem framing
User-centred methods are well suited for gathering i n-depth insights, identifying
needs and scoping the design space based on user needs – including deciding which
needs are the most critical to solve and innovating on possible strategies to do so.
Though well suited for problem solving, agile settings have less tools for problem
framing – including exploring whether software development is the right approach to
solve a user need. Compared to the user-centred double diamond model, agile frameworks do not emphasize the early process of problem framing prior to exploring
solutions. Experimenting in incremental and iterative development is not the same