user-centered design at the economist

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User-Centered Design at The Economist

Danny Setiawan Lead UX for Mobile, The Economist06.08.2016

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Objective

Share insights and practical steps to improve UX contribution in Agile based on my experience of

implementing User-Centered Design for The Economist mobile team.

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Agenda• Intro • UX activities • At The Economist • What does that look like?

• Integration UX into Agile workflow • Going Lean • Usability Testing Driven Development

• Questions?

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3 types of UX activity

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Operational• Goal: Flow (unblocking dev)

• Activity: Reacting to issues raised by developers during sprint

• UX role: Produce deliverables so dev team can complete stories

• Measure: Team’s velocity

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DevelopmentTask 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 … DoneBacklog

UX resource

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DevelopmentTask 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 … DoneBacklog

UX!?

UX resource

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DevelopmentTask 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 … DoneBacklog

UX!?

UX!?

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DevelopmentTask 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 … DoneBacklog

UX!?

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DevelopmentTask 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 … DoneBacklog

UX!?

UX!?

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DevelopmentTask 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 … DoneBacklog

UX!?

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DevelopmentTask 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 … DoneBacklog

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Tactical• Goals: Flow (smooth implementation), value (what’s important for

customers)

• Activity: Preparing everything that’s required to implement stories for upcoming sprint (prioritize use cases, test solutions)

• UX role: Contribute to story definition, prioritization and produce deliverables addressing potential blockers

• Measure: Team’s velocity, customer satisfaction

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

UX resource

Task 3 Task 4

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

UX resource

ElaborationIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

ElaborationIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

ElaborationIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

ElaborationIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

ElaborationIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

ElaborationIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklog

ElaborationIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklogIdeate Prototype Test

ElaborationPrep for dev

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Strategic• Goals: Growth (customer segment and problem to solve)

• Activity: Research to identify and validate opportunities

• UX role: Facilitate discovery phase, ideate and test solution

• Measure: Acquisition metrics

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Development

Task 1 Task 2 … DoneBacklogIdeate Prototype Test Prep for dev

Elaboration

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Development

… DoneBacklog

Elaboration

Ideate + test solution

Discovery

Identify + validate new opportunities

User Research

Stakeholders’ Input

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At The Economist

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OperationalTacticalStrategic

Mar 2015

Activities breakdown Economist Mobile UX Team

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OperationalTacticalStrategic

Mar 2016

Activities breakdown Economist Mobile UX Team

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How ?Change of Culture

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“Culture

set of beliefs, values, and behaviors, including their embodiment in artifacts; that are shared by a group of people

WORKING DEFINITION

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Culture

• Belief: How we believe things work (world view)

• Value: What we consider important (prioritize)

• Behavior: What we do to get the value based on the world view we subscribe to

• Artifacts: Manifestation of our behavior

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Example

• Belief: User testing is a waste of time

• Value: Efficiency

• Behavior: Not supporting user testing initiative

• Artifacts: Email, verbal communication

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Practical Tips• Start Small

• Small team, small cost, small time, small risk • Build momentum : Many small wins > One big win

• Don’t dictate, motivate • Provide real value (that can be felt) • Help others succeed

• Don’t bulls#*t • It’s ok to say “I don’t know the answer (but I can help you find out)” • Drop the buzzwords

• Lead with a story (meaning & purpose) • Co-create

• Be transparent about your method • Include others in your process • Let others contribute

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How we started…• Start with unblocking dev to earn trust

• Facilitate small ideation sessions that involves the team (proto-persona, sketching exercise , etc.)

• Visualize process, highlighting contribution UX can make

• Support Product Owner and Scrum Master in product roadmap creation

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What does that look like?

Integrating UX into Agile workflow

Team’s activities

Android JIRA workflow

Going Lean

Lean Startup Method

Hypotheses to Validate

PersonaProblemSolutionUsabilityGrowth

Team’s activities

Team’s activities

Team’s activities

Team’s activities

3 months 6 months

Sample Artifacts

Proto-personas created by our mobile team Storyboard of a morning commute scenario

Sample Artifacts

User interview using Google Hangout

Our Product Manager collecting anecdotal feedback at a local coffee shop

Sample Artifacts

sketches created in 6-8-5 exercise Team + stakeholders sketching together

Sample Artifacts

screen storyboard with notes from critique

Quick InVision prototype to test swipe visual cue

Sample Artifacts

In-person moderated usability test in session Usability test observation room

Usability Test Driven Development

Usability Testing: DE Tasks

Task 1 - Authentication

Task 2 - Selecting + Downloading Issue

Task 3 - Discovering Content

Task 4 - Reading Settings

Task 5 - Review Bookmarks

Task 6 - Listening

Task 7 - Creating Playlist

Task 8 - Subscribing

Task 9 - Adjust Settings

Task 10 - Others

Validating with Users

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

Mitigating risks and identifying gaps throughout the production process.

Risk Level:

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Questions?twitter: @dsetia_1

site: www.dsetia.com