Go of Perfection: Developing IA Agility As information architects we are passionate about creating great user experiences and we want them to be perfect. In a traditional “waterfall” design and development model, we are able to completely design an experience before development becomes fully engaged. Many IAs are now or may soon be part of an Agile process where development must begin with less fully formed designs. This requires a different approach and mindset. Starting with an incomplete picture is difficult for us by nature, but in Agile we MUST do so while refusing to sacrifice quality and usability. In our presentation, we intend to share tips and strategies we have learned for building great user experiences in layers by delivering just enough, just in time.

1. Letting go of perfection: Developing IA agility IA Summit 2011Denver, Colorado Chris Farnum, Joanna Markel, Serena Rosenhan

2. Background – UX at ProQuest Build search applications for academic and corporate users Translate business requirements into user experiences that can be implemented by development Sit within development group Have shifted from traditional (waterfall) to agile development processes Work on large scale agile projects Global Multi-year

3. IA - Traditional development cycle Business Case Functional Design (prototyping, JADs usability testing ) Business requirements Technical Design Functional requirements Implementation Design documents Test IA processes Release

4. IA - Agile development Core IA Processes Design Prioritized requirements Develop/Test Planning Iteration release Product release

6. Cannot do all research up front.

7. Smaller deliverables produced much more frequently

8. Coding begins before design is finished – inevitably has to be re-worked. Working in Waterfall Define site/application systems (navigation & labeling, metaphors etc.), resulting in a comprehensive and scalable user experience Use upfront research to inform designs Provide detailed and elegant deliverables to developers Save money and development effort by reworking and testing designs before one line of code is written

9. How can IAs be successful in agile? Let’s try a quick exercise!

10. Agile development exercise Make a paper airplane Requirements: Must be made out of paper Must fly 5 feet before dipping Must fly straight Must have IA summit logo Must have stripes on wings

11. Agile development exercise Mini-development cycle Three 45 second builds “Story cards” for each build will appear on screen Team A – left side Team B – right side Pairing is optional * Plane patterns adapted from www.funpaperairplanes.com

12. Agile development exercise – Build 1

13. Agile development exercise Make a paper airplane Requirements: Must be made out of paper Must fly 5 feet before dipping Must fly straight Must have IA summit logo Must have stripes on wings

14. Agile development exercise – Build 2

15. Agile development exercise Make a paper airplane Requirements: Must be made out of paper Must fly 5 feet before dipping Must fly straight Must have IA summit logo Must have stripes on wings

16. Agile development exercise – Build 3

17. Agile development exercise Make a paper airplane Requirements: Must be made out of paper Must fly 5 feet before dipping Must fly straight Must have IA summit logo Must have stripes on wings Plane patterns adapted from www.funpaperairplanes.com

18. How can IAs be successful in agile? Let go of old ideas of perfection and . . . Change how you think Change how you work

21. User personas and use case scenarios

22. “What’s the simplest thing that could work?”

23. Remember that it’s a moving targetChange how you think

25. Elaborate designs do not always create the perfect UX.

27. Change how you work An example… Goal = A pyramid for the Pharaohs tomb Pyramid example courtesy of John Mayo-Smith, Two Ways To Build A Pyramid, InformationWeek, 22 Oct 2001 http://www.informationweek.com/news/development/tools/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6507351

28. Change how you work Approach 1 – Build the foundation Pyramid example courtesy of John Mayo-Smith, Two Ways To Build A Pyramid, InformationWeek, 22 Oct 2001 http://www.informationweek.com/news/development/tools/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6507351

29. Change how you work Approach 2 – Build up the pyramid Pyramid example courtesy of John Mayo-Smith, Two Ways To Build A Pyramid, InformationWeek, 22 Oct 2001 http://www.informationweek.com/news/development/tools/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6507351

30. Change how you work General requirement: Users must be able to save and organize articles they find on your site into a personal account space. Attach the whole article as a PDF Place in multiple folders Email multiple articles Ratings Search saved article full text Share notes and ratings with others Save articles to folders Add/edit notes Auto-fill search box Email a link to an article. Create a personal account Search saved article titles Add / delete articles to a list Customize colors and layout Change password Business Requirements Allow users to add notes Create a personal account Ability to find saved articles Ability to email articles Ability to save articles

31. Change how you work Back to the pyramid Embellishments Enhancements Basic Functions

32. Change how you work It’s tempting to build requirements vertically... Share notes and ratings with others Customize colors and layout Attach the whole article as a PDF Edit, Move, Rename Folders Auto-fill search box Embellishments Ratings Change password Email multiple articles Save articles to folders Search saved article full text Enhancements Basic Functions Add/edit notes Register for a personal account Email a link to an article Add / delete articles to a list Search saved article titles Business Requirements Allow users to add notes Personal account Ability to find saved articles Ability to email articles Ability to save articles

33. Change how you work Good layering creates a fully functional system more quickly. Share notes and ratings with others Customize colors and layout Auto-fill search box Attach the whole article as a PDF Edit, Move, Rename Folders Embellishments Email multiple articles Save articles to folders Enhancements Ratings Change password Search saved article full text Basic Functions Register for a personal account Email a link to an article Add / delete articles to a list Search saved article titles Add/edit notes Business Requirements Allow users to add notes Personal account Ability to find saved articles Ability to email articles Ability to save articles

34. Change how you work Starting basic is also important at the next level of granularity. Share notes and ratings with others Customize colors and layout Auto-fill search box Attach the whole article as a PDF Edit, Move, Rename Folders Embellishments Email multiple articles Save articles to folders Enhancements Ratings Change password Search saved article full text Basic Functions Register for a personal account Email a link to an article Add / delete articles to a list Search saved article titles Add/edit notes Business Requirements Allow users to add notes Personal account Ability to find saved articles Ability to email articles Ability to save articles

35. Change how you work Layered design example 1st layer – Saved list of articles

36. Change how you work Layered design example 2nd layer – Add navigation, article details, sorting

37. Change how you work Many of these are familiar, but how you produce them may change. Personas Use cases Sketches Wireframes User stories Process flow Prototypes -and- Ad hoc – what the project needs now.

38. Change how you work Deliverables– think lightweight! The Agile Manifesto “Working software over comprehensive documentation” Austin Govella “There’s a dangerous, anti-deliverable meme lurking about that damages good teams.” Anders Ramsay “UX designers continue to struggle with letting go of the deliverables mentality, the idea of UX being one of creating pretty-looking design artifacts before starting to create software.”

39. Change how you work Try using “dirty deliverables” for some situations. A basic site map – post its on butcher paper (courtesy of FatDUX)

40. Change how you work User stories – keep them short and precise. Link to details Title: Article list view User statement: As a researcher, I want to see a list of articles that I have selected during my session. Acceptance criteria: 1. The page appears as in the wireframes. 2. The titles of all articles the user has selected during the session are listed in alphabetical order. 3. The articles are numbered. 4. Each article can be deleted from the list. Wireframes: http://www.mywireframelink.com Owners: JMarkel – IA JJones - DEV SSmith– QA Related Stories: 1287 Link to article list from utility nav. History/notes: 1. 1 Apr 2011, JMarkel- Story created

43. By date published – reverse chron

46. Number in list

47. Citation – in same style as in search results

48. Date added – DD Mon YYYYFIG 2: My Saved Articles 1 2 4 3 5 6

49. Change how you work Choose a wireframe style that suits your task, team. Try low-fi greyscale wireframes. Try mashing up screen clips with drawings. Highlight what’s important.

50. Conclusion Do you really have to let go of perfection to be Agile? It’s not about perfect deliverables, it’s about working toward a highly usable product. It’s a goal, not an end-state. It’s a lesson we’re all still learning.

51. Bye Questions? Contact info: Chris.Farnum@proquest.com Joanna.Markel@proquest.com Serena.Rosenhan@proquest.com Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/ChrisFarnum/letting-go-of-perfection-developing-ia-agility Special thanks to Carissa Demetris! without whose Agile know-how this presentation would not have been possible