Merging UX with Agile Scrum: Incorporation, Integration, Benefits & More.

undefined

This blog is your sure-shot guide towards achieving the benefits of both the user experience and Agile Scrum under a single roof. Yes!! When technology is at the heart of a global corporation, it thrives. The idea behind merging UX with Agile Scrum will be such an advancement. Because agility and novelty are essential components of technology, most organizations worldwide are taking recourse towards new and innovative ways to create, validate and render an exceptional user experience.

The relevance of a flexible approach to software development services has been emphasized by continuous developments and advances across the many aspects of the software. This is where the agile software development technique shines. Adopting an agile approach has several benefits, including the ability to provide seamless and adaptive solutions in an ever-changing corporate context. Furthermore, sprint-based development enables organizations to evaluate user experience and give it much-needed attention.

Because UX is essential for companies to succeed in a competitive environment, the majority of firms in the market aim to weave in a top-notch user experience for their software product. Irrespective of such business goals and robust systems, it may happen that some UI elements fail to perform as expected. Hence, it becomes necessary to inculcate a testing phase that facilitates QA executives to regularly check, validate, and even detect errors, if any. This is where agile methodology, which encourages an experimenting culture, comes into play. It allows the UX team to be more flexible in their experimentation and development of novel solutions.

Now, the question arises: What drives the expected results when it comes to software development? Well, the answer is simple: Combining the agile scrum method with user-friendly designs provided by UX professionals. This includes an array of elements while also guaranteeing a smooth flow across the entire UX process comprising everything from research to testing.

Effective Ways for Merging UX with Agile Scrum Process:

https://www.trootech.com/backendundefined

Based on the years of market study and experience in designing, directing, and advising product teams, the following 5 guidelines rightly stand to ensure that the user experience design is properly incorporated into the agile scrum process:

The Design task is an inevitable part of the backlog

Whether it’s about development tasks, design tasks, QA tasks, or research tasks, they’re all composed under one backlog, prioritized together, with a single same team handling it all. When the project is segregated across many backlogs, the team will arrange them as per the requirement and timeline.

Every team has a specialized designer

There is no room for dissent here. Without a specialized designer on the scrum team, you have a software engineering team, and although that team will undoubtedly produce a customer experience, it will not be of the very same quality.

Customer-exposure hours for the entire team

This concept was coined by Jared Spool, who conducted research demonstrating that teams that spent at least 2 hours for every person each six weeks “connected” with consumers by way of answering support calls, chatting to users, and likewise generated more profitable projects.

Participation in learning activities across departments

Many different sorts of learning activities are introduced by user experience and design. These activities may be led by designers, but they must be performed and addressed by the entire group. The more and more teams can engage together, the less time is spent discussing and disputing the learning and more emphasis is placed on choosing what to do with what we’ve learned which is a far more productive dialogue.

Outcomes as backlog prioritization filters

This context of outcomes as prioritization filters for the backlog emphasizes that every backlog item must be vetted via the team’s result targets. If the process of a task does not get even a single step nearer to the predefined goals, one should modify that process or have to work out to find a new way to complete the task.

We already have integrated UX with Agile Scrum in various software development projects.

Scrum’s continuous, retrospective nature lends itself well to UX and Design efforts. The Agile Manifesto clearly inspires the incorporation of consumer input into the workflow. UX and Design get us ever nearer to Agile’s customer-centric objective of regularly and satisfactorily pleasing the users.

Get Case Studies

Why do so many businesses struggle to deploy real-world agile methods?

Management is in charge of developing projects

Teams should include both business executives and developers, as per the Agile manifesto. It also contends that team members should be self-organizing, with everyone agreeing on a course of action. This, however, is unlikely to happen. Typically, UX designers are rarely engaged in determining whether tasks should or should not be undertaken. Furthermore, they do not specify which initiatives should be prioritized. In such an early stage of a project, the user is rarely ever considered.

Inadequate Integrative Vision

The second issue with merging UX with Agile Scrum is a feature of Agile itself, as Agile is a development technique. Agile emphasizes on releasing new functionalities at a quick pace. As a result, sprints and work packages are emphasized. UX designers, on the other hand, must think holistically. They must evaluate the entire experience as well as the larger context, such as a more in-depth understanding of the user. So, it becomes difficult for one to discover a way to address such issues.

Sprints emphasize speed

Many management teams ’embrace’ Agile because it promises quick delivery. However, it also emphasizes quality, which is often disregarded. Instead, most sprints prioritize speed above anything else. As a consequence, teams are under pressure to complete tasks so quickly that there is no time for validation or iterations, even though the quality is a basic objective of Agile.

MVP Takes on the Role of the Final Service

Continuous delivery is another essential feature of Agile. This notion implies that the initial revision of a digital service is frequently the minimum viable product, with the purpose of iterating on it to enhance it over time. When the wider organization, nevertheless, fails to adopt Agile, there is tremendous pressure to move on to the next project in the backlog. As a result, the MVP becomes the final service. This is due, in part, to the fact that there is no framework in place to analyze the worth of possible initiatives.

Projects seldom take into account user requirements

The Agile methodology also states that “our ultimate goal is to please the client,” although the scope and nature of projects rarely include extensive user research. They are instead motivated by internal politics and commercial strategy. Instead of focusing on ‘user stories,’ as described by Scrum, they are frequently driven by features.

Imbalanced Project Teams

Another difficulty brought on by real-world Agile and the incorporation of User experience design is that most service teams are imbalanced. This issue emerges as a result of an incorrect developer-to-UX designer ratio. Because most firms have many more engineers than UX designers, anyone UX designer will be dispersed across numerous teams. Because there aren’t enough UX designers, they aren’t usually considered during the early stages, and the user isn’t well addressed during development.

Include UX Designers when Merging UX with Agile Scrum

One is unlikely to be able to employ a slew of additional UX designers, thus each team has a full-time designer. Many software development firms rely on one UX designer for many teams which results in poorly designed products. So it is surely possible UX designers will not always be there. They also do not include the UX designer at the starting phase, which could lead the team into an undefined scenario and it would take much time to find a solution.

Allow for iteration

In most sprints, the team agrees to provide too much in a single sprint. This over commitment eventually leads to testing and iteration being pushed out of the sprint, despite the fact that these are core Agile concepts. To merge UX with Agile Scrum, it becomes essential to commit less in any specific sprint. Moreover, the concern stretches itself over the requirement of iteration, which does not cease with the introduction or initiation of the service.

Management is in charge of developing projects

Teams should include both business executives and developers, as per the Agile manifesto. It also contends that team members should be self-organizing, with everyone agreeing on a course of action. This, however, is unlikely to happen. Typically, UX designers are rarely engaged in determining whether tasks should or should not be undertaken. Furthermore, they do not specify which initiatives should be prioritized. In such an early stage of a project, the user is rarely ever considered.

Inadequate Integrative Vision

The second issue with merging UX with Agile Scrum is a feature of Agile itself, as Agile is a development technique. Agile emphasizes on releasing new functionalities at a quick pace. As a result, sprints and work packages are emphasized. UX designers, on the other hand, must think holistically. They must evaluate the entire experience as well as the larger context, such as a more in-depth understanding of the user. So, it becomes difficult for one to discover a way to address such issues.

Sprints emphasize speed

Many management teams ’embrace’ Agile because it promises quick delivery. However, it also emphasizes quality, which is often disregarded. Instead, most sprints prioritize speed above anything else. As a consequence, teams are under pressure to complete tasks so quickly that there is no time for validation or iterations, even though the quality is a basic objective of Agile.

MVP Takes on the Role of the Final Service

Continuous delivery is another essential feature of Agile. This notion implies that the initial revision of a digital service is frequently the minimum viable product, with the purpose of iterating on it to enhance it over time. When the wider organization, nevertheless, fails to adopt Agile, there is tremendous pressure to move on to the next project in the backlog. As a result, the MVP becomes the final service. This is due, in part, to the fact that there is no framework in place to analyze the worth of possible initiatives.

Projects seldom take into account user requirements

The Agile methodology also states that “our ultimate goal is to please the client,” although the scope and nature of projects rarely include extensive user research. They are instead motivated by internal politics and commercial strategy. Instead of focusing on ‘user stories,’ as described by Scrum, they are frequently driven by features.

Imbalanced Project Teams

Another difficulty brought on by real-world Agile and the incorporation of User experience design is that most service teams are imbalanced. This issue emerges as a result of an incorrect developer-to-UX designer ratio. Because most firms have many more engineers than UX designers, anyone UX designer will be dispersed across numerous teams. Because there aren’t enough UX designers, they aren’t usually considered during the early stages, and the user isn’t well addressed during development.

Include UX Designers when Merging UX with Agile Scrum

One is unlikely to be able to employ a slew of additional UX designers, thus each team has a full-time designer. Many software development firms rely on one UX designer for many teams which results in poorly designed products. So it is surely possible UX designers will not always be there. They also do not include the UX designer at the starting phase, which could lead the team into an undefined scenario and it would take much time to find a solution.

Allow for iteration

In most sprints, the team agrees to provide too much in a single sprint. This over commitment eventually leads to testing and iteration being pushed out of the sprint, despite the fact that these are core Agile concepts. To merge UX with Agile Scrum, it becomes essential to commit less in any specific sprint. Moreover, the concern stretches itself over the requirement of iteration, which does not cease with the introduction or initiation of the service.

Additional Resource

An effective sprint backlog management can lead to successful product development. We have highly curated guide on ” What are the Best Ways to Manage Sprint Backlogs?”

Let’s checkout

Agile UX, Product Design & Their Vital Concerns

Scrum adoption

When businesses adopt Scrum, it is frequently to accelerate the Agile Transformation process, resulting in a slew of rigid process standards, sophisticated jargon, and other obstacles to agility and adaptation. The traditional Scrum approach frequently fails to pursue excellence in people.

Lack of comprehension

Most UX designers agree that it is more difficult for them to execute their jobs when managers and leaders in their business do not grasp what UX is and how this user-centered approach can bring value to revenue and brand value. A lack of awareness, as well as a failure to emphasize the necessity of research and development that extends beyond A/B testing, might offer the approach an advantage.

Cooperation

Some of the challenges in bringing agility to UX and product design can be attributed to the team’s lack of collaboration. UX specialists may lack a sense of ownership of the project due to a lack of communication and inconsistent project goals. To be successful, developers and UX specialists must work together to achieve greatness.

Quantitative Data

In most firms when Agile and UX are inconsistently integrated, quantitative data takes precedence. Qualitative insights are given less weight. Companies that stress qualitative insights, on the other hand, frequently offer more value to their process. In such a case, blending UX with Agile Scrum has every chance of succeeding and producing the intended benefits.

Takeaways to Run Smooth UX Agile Teams

UX Designers Should Stay Ahead of Sprint:

UX designers must plan their activities ahead of the sprint with mockups for better tracking. Activities like product backlog grooming, planning, wireframing, and user research should be done well before the sprint. This ensures the development team gets proper designs for their development process before starting their work.

Team Consistency

Organizations should maintain their team consistency by avoiding reorganizing, shuffling, etc. By doing so, teams will stay together and allow them to lean and push their boundaries.

Be Proactive Instead of Reactive

There should be proper collaboration among the team with seamless communication and transparency for successful product development. This enables them to be proactive and share their ideas among them.

Dedicated Scrum Master

Having a dedicated scrum master for the development will ensure a smooth development process. Also, it eliminates the risk of the team going wrong and prevents team members from getting disappointed and annoyed whenever any obstacles happen during the process.

Tips to Integrate UX in Agile Product Development Process:

Sprint Zero Before First Sprint

The average duration of an Agile sprint is around 2 weeks, and thus, it is feasible to do research work, wireframe creation, and design along with development within that defined duration. The agile team must keep their design backlogs and development processes separately for smooth project development. However, all necessary design work can’t be done before the development process; in some cases, the design and development should run simultaneously to easily identify potential issues and mockups.

Skimping on user research has no meaning when working in Agile development. Designers can test assumptions with actual users by working before the development sprint. At this time, they can easily review mockups and identify issues before moving ahead.

No Handoffs

The designer’s job doesn’t end when they complete designs before sprint development. They should sync with the development team throughout the development process. When it comes to the agile methodology development process, it is essential for both designers and the development team to be collaborative with transparent communications.

The shared vision of the development team helps the designer to get a more holistic view of the project, and thus, the designing team can easily prioritize user stories to create the right trade-offs. In addition, involving developers in the designing process can help understand design feasibility and technical limitations. Also, the development team feels involved and knows upfront what’s to be built and how. Moreover, the designing team also should be part of daily standups to make sure the project progresses from the design perspective.

Developers & Product Owner’s Involvement is Must

Designers should conduct user testing right before the development team and product owner. This ensures projects move forward with a smooth flow without much time and resources used. This will help developers and product owners to become more receptive to design decisions, as it is quite challenging to refute complex data. Moreover, if the mindset of designers, developers, & product owners should be the same, it will help achieve common goals.

Fail Fast, Fail Often

In the Agile development methodology, frequent test design ideas and low-fidelity prototypes should be implemented based on user feedback. This helps identify the design flaws and rectify them before entering the development stage.

Be Proactive with Process

Fluid and flexibility are the important takeaways from the characteristics of Agile development. These characteristics encourage self-analysis to develop ways of working more effectively and adapting to better processes. In Agile development, a perfect amalgamation of UX design and development process allows the team to grow, continue & mature. Designers should be involved in the development process, and the developers should welcome their involvement in agile methodology development.

To sum it up, merging UX with Agile Scrum needs mutual understanding from designers, developers, and project owners to create a perfect architecture.

Any project development process works better if everyone feels ownership and we follow it passionately!

Spotlight on – Benefits of adopting Agile UX using Scrum tools

Enterprises gain various benefits by adopting the Agile UX using the Scrum tools, and these include

Frequent Iteration and improvement

The primary focus of any project should be the user experience. As users evolve quickly, how users interact with the product or how they need a product to run may change over time. The Agile approach to UX design allows the designing team to enhance the product frequently.

Increase value and reduce wastage

Along with increasing customer satisfaction, it is essential to minimize production time to achieve the ultimate goal. No matter what the methodology is, whether it is Scrum, Kanban, or Agile UX, it is a must to focus on the actual goal, i.e., maximize value and minimize waste. So, get ready to adopt any methodology and adapt it to your industry and team.

Enhance rollout estimates

As the new products launch all the time, it enables the team to estimate a portion or patch to be delivered. Customers’ involvement in reliable rollouts, as a result, the product improves continuously.

Mitigate Risk

With consistent testing, you can easily validate your ideas and concepts behind the project. It helps to save big bucks that are spent on coding and labor-intensive work. If you are not doing so, it will increase the risk of getting everything wrong, leading to time and money wastage and the launch of a faulty product.

Merging UX with Agile Scrum – Worthwhile Or Not?

Helping teams overcome excessive costs and scope creep, agile methodology delivers numerous advantages to an organization. Agile Scrum helps designers get out of their shells and mingle with other processes. Merging UX with agile Scrum will enable everyone in the team to be on the same page and work towards the same goal with excellent collaboration.

More About Author

https://www.trootech.com/backendundefined

Vishal Nakum

Vishal Nakum is a tech enthusiast with a passion for exploring the latest developments in the world of technology. He has a keen interest in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Blockchain, and enjoys keeping up-to-date with the latest trends and advancements in these fields. Vishal is an avid learner and is always on the lookout for new ways to expand his knowledge and skills. He is also a creative thinker and enjoys experimenting with new ideas and concepts. In his free time, Vishal enjoys playing video games and reading books on technology and science.