How to Do User Research in Agile Teams - Nearsoft + Atlassian

PRESENTER

Misael LeonProduct Designer at Nearsoft

@misaello

PRESENTER

Georgie BottomleySenior UX Researcher at Atlassian

@bottomley_g

HOST

Kim LantisContent Coordinator at Nearsoft

@kimlantis

+

Misael

Design teamGeorgie

January, 2017

How to do User Researchin Agile teams

Or… busting the myths of user research with a practical guide

Agenda1. Common misconceptions2. Integrating user research + agile3. Create your own research lab4. Remote teams5. How it benefits the team6. Q & A

#NearsoftUXwebinar

Wait but… what is User Research?

User ResearchA series of techniques that focus on understanding user behaviors, needs, and motivations through observation and measurement.

Types of research activities you can do

● Interviews● Usability tests● Contextual● Generative exercises

● Surveys● Analytics● A/B testing

Qualitative

Quantitative

Where does UR fit in Agile?

?? ?

? ?

“Very expensive”

“Going in depth takes too long”“It’s somebody else’s

work”

“It’s very difficult” “We’re an Agile team”

Common misconceptions

Let’s bust the myths!

Integrating UR + Agile

Validate the idea● No matter the stage you can

test your idea

● As soon as you have an idea you should test it — even if it’s on paper!

● At every stage of the development

Test small hypothesis

● Evaluate small portions of your product

● Formulate a hypothesis on how new design will “perform better”

Make validation work visible

● Assign the validation work

● Make it visible in the backlog

● Re-phrase the goals for each sprint

● Prioritize learning above shipping

● Continuous learning spirit

Involve the whole team● Build a shared understanding by

inviting others to witness and take notes

● Instruct other members of the team so they can run the sessions themselves

Where does UR fit in Agile?

How UR fits into Agile

User research in practice when you are

on site

Build your own research lab

1. Find a Space

Nice to have :)1. Find a Space

2. Invite participants

3. Create your discussion guide

Research sessionstructure

● Introduction (10 mins)

● Warm-up questions (10-15 mins)

● Body of the session (20-30 mins)

● Reflection questions (5-10 mins)

● Incentive + goodbye (5 mins)

4. Test your work

5. Analyze and communicate your findings

How to build your own lab

1. Find a space + equipment

2. Invite participants

3. Create discussion guide

4. Test your work!

5. Analyze and communicate findings

User research in practice with

distributed teams

1. Remote usability tests through video calls

2. Affinity diagrams using virtual sticky-notes

3. Recruit using public screeners

4. Use online research tools for card sorting, tree test, surveys, etc

Tips for distributed teams

Usability Testings With 8 UsersThis is the user

Wait but… what’s in it for the team?

Benefits of UR for PMs

Build the right thing

Save time Save money

Benefits of UR for Developers

Learn from watching

their work in the wild

Ideate other solutions based on what they

see

Develop empathy for

users

Benefits of UR for Designers

Confident about design

decisions

Better understandin

g of the problem

Validate assumptions

Takeaways ● Not expensive

● Do it small and often

● Get everybody

involved

● Make it visible

“Seeing users confused was somewhat frustrating, but I saw the value in our assumptions failing ―

better to fail while prototyping than in production.

You gotta get excited about hearing things you don’t want to hear.”

― Atlassian Developer

Thanks!

Contact Georgie

gbottomley@atlassian.com

Want to know More?

bit.ly/atlassian-atlab

Want to know More?

Contact Sandra at (408) 890-2115

ux.nearsoft.com

ux-team@nearsoft.com

Thanks!