Scrum secrets for integrating UX, design & development

Pieter s
Jongeriu
@pieterj
GET AGILE
Überscrum for UX, design & development

FOUR YEARS SCRUM EXPERIENCE

#TWAB2012 @PIETERJ 2

GET AGILE – PUBLISHED FALL 2012

Check http://fabrique.nl/getagile for details


WE LEARNT THE HARD WAY (1)

We’ve done waterfall for a decade and a half, and still use it regularly


DESIGNERS WITH FOAM BOARDS

We found out in 2008 that waterfall presentations & iterations are not always the way to go.


WE LEARNT THE HARD WAY (2)

Also in 2008, we found out that Scrum is no bed of roses.


Today is about sharing.

What ism? The process Secrets &
Uberscru of scrum lessons
on the way

TYPES OF SCRUM WE DO

Design only Staggered sprints Überscrum

Interaction

Visual DESIGN

development

We do design only scrum (yes really), but only if third party developers can’t scrum with us.
We do staggered sprints where some of the parties involved will profit from a more rigid structure
And then there’s what we have come to call ÜberScrum…


ÜBERSCRUM
Brings together
·  Strategists
·  Designers
·  Developers
·  Copywriters
·  Business specialists
·  Marketing &
communication
·  ..and more

And has them
working in parallel

To create interactive
products such as websites
and apps.


PRETTY CLOSE TO ROCKET SCIENCE


TEAM SETUP
What will the team look like?

13

SMALLER TEAMS WORK BETTER
Ask not how big you can
make your team, ask how
small you can make it!

·  2 designers,
3 developers,
a copywriter,
product owner

But here’s for the
persistent:
·  Max team size around
10-15

Requirements for team members?

NOTHING SHORT OF SUPERHEROES
·  Speak their minds
·  Actively seek feedback
·  Invest in group success

·  Empathic
·  Ambitious
·  Skilled
·  Smart

·  Motivated to do Scrum


NOTHING SHORT OF SUPERHEROES
·  Speak their minds
·  Actively seek feedback
·  Invest in group success

·  Empathic
·  Ambitious
·  Skilled
·  Smart
"Be like water"
-- Bruce Lee
·  Motivated to do Scrym


Product Owner
The toughest job in Scrum.

PRODUCT OWNER
·  Strong-willed
yet open
·  Political sense
yet independent
·  Demanding
yet understanding

·  Have the mandate &
be honest about
limitations

·  Needs to be well trained


DEALING WITH THE PO
We deal with 4 types.
Here’s one.

The Hypercritic
·  Generally enjoys the
process
·  Discusses all details at
length
·  Will not move on
on “good enough”
·  It all has to be perfect.

·  Warning: using flexible
scope in your defence will
get back at you later on.
Ceci n’est pas ce PO


Look your client in the eye and say:
I will always deliver value for money

Flexible scope
also doesn't
protect you
from the
occasional
team pizza.

SECRET: QUALITY IS FLEXIBLE
·  Great designers hate this
·  But it’s true

·  Better is the enemy of
done
·  Takes a lot of skill to
embrace that succesfully

·  Discuss story scores:
7 stories scoring an A or
9 stories scoring a B?
·  Decide which stories
should be top notch


But how to become a team?

Team building is a very delicate process. Scrum is not. This needs attention. It really takes one or
two sprints for a team to become really tight and well-oiled.

WARMING UP GAMES

The Marshmallow Challenge
Check http://marshmallowchallenge.com/


WARMING UP GAMES

Draw the box
All team members draw a packaging as if the product was on sale on a shelf in a store.
You are forced to think in USP’s and get an immediate grasp of individual team members goals & dreams.


LET’S KICK ASS!

The result is a team that kicks ass on a daily basis and just as easily has a couple of beers at the end of the day as
performing a planning poker session on a Monday morning.


SPRINT 0

Also in Scrum you’ll need a solid start before actual sprints, or everyone will sprint in a different direction.
Too often, we made the mistake of starting on just a hunch of what we we’re trying to achieve.
But that’s all in the past.

SUPER SPRINT 0
·  Parallel definition tracks

·  Define strategy


SUPER SPRINT 0

·  Define architecture


SUPER SPRINT 0

·  Do research


SUPER SPRINT 0

·  Do research

·  Get creative!
·  Design a concept…


SUPER SPRINT 0

·  Do research

·  Get creative!

✘
·  Design a concept but
don’t do a BDUF*.
No wireframes in sprint 0!
* = Big Design Up Front


SUPER SPRINT 0

Rule of thumb
Size Sprint 0 to have
as many workdays per team member
as there will be sprints.


design is valuable

The most important thing we create in Sprint 0 is the product backlog. And for this we would like to share an insight.
While design is valuable… (next slide!)

a design is valuable!
waste
It's just a very
expensive way of
communicating

Often necessary, !
but not always

SECRET: STORY TYPES
Not all stories are alike.

·  überstories


SECRET: STORY TYPES
Not all stories are alike.

·  überstories
·  development only
·  design only
·  white page

We specify this during
sprint 0 or backlog
grooming

Here you see a product owner and a developer
doing a development-only story.


STORY TEMPLATE

We use a custom made story template to accommodate for documenting the type of the story:
the disciplines involved are checked. Again: we decide on this BEFORE we start the sprint.


SECRET: SPECIAL OPS STORIES
·  backend
·  documentation
·  generic functionality

·  rework after demo
·  polishing

Anything to bundle additional work, other than for specific end user benefits, into convenient chunks.
Don’t let Scrum dogmas prevent you from tweaking the way you define your stories.


I SHOULDN’T BE SHOWING YOU THIS

Some teams even prefer to use simple functionality stories. It saves them from the semantic layering of traditional
user story syntaxes. Big alert: stay user centered and and keep an eye on the total solution space!

Again, the lesson here is that you have to change the rules to accommodate teams and projects.


Team ready, sprint setup ready, backlog ready, …

SECRET: LET’S GET PHYSICAL

We are REALLY religious about making & keeping stuff physical
and not letting it sink onto networked hard drives.


DRAW YOUR PROJECT GOALS

Strategic PowerPoint presentations in project folders will NOT be looked at.
Word documents will not even be remembered to have been made at all. Seriously.


KEYWORDS ON THE WALL

Discuss your work. Point at keywords on the wall. It keeps you on track.


WHO & WHEN

Oh, don’t use Excel either :)
(and gDocs is no better, really avoid hiding stuff in computers)


TASK PERSONALIZATION

Physical task claiming tags help team members maintain that sense of responsibility.
My task! I’ll finish it!


MORE FUN USING FACES


TOO MESSY?

So can Scrum rooms get too messy? Maybe.
But we’re fine with it as long as it works for the team!


TOO TIDY

They can be too tidy though. This sitemap is so beautifully crafted
that no-one will dare altering it. Not really agile, is it?


POLE OF QUOTES

The weirdest things get said during sprints.
It’s a lot of fun writing the best quotes down.


#DUBSTEPFRIDAY

All work no play makes Jack a dull boy. To lighten things up a little, some teams use theme days.
Like Dubstep Friday! Formal Thursday has also been spotted, as is a regular wakeboard training on the rug.


OWN THE PLACE

It’s basically a matter of owning the place, feeling almost at home.
Here you see Danny and Nils in their little SuperTrash shrine, being all feminine and independent.
It makes things even more fun, and it keeps the product personality on brand!


SPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES

No, it’s not just mayhem. While one of the agiletime >
principles is that the team should be self-organizing,
we can provide a little structure. Especially for beginner teams.



Please keep in mind while I build this up,

Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
design Test &
spikes

time >



…that it’s just A way of providing some structure in überscrum.
Providing it WITH the team. Not TO the team.
Templates
visual Modules & states
design Test &
Des-only stories

Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
design Test &
spikes

time >



Dev-only
front-end stories
Implement design
development Test &
spikes
You might see this chart as a mere starting point.

Templates
design Test &
Des-only stories

Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
design Test &
spikes

time >


Objects & data
Admin section
back-end Controllers, flows
development Test &
spikes

Dev-only
front-end stories
Implement design
development Test &
spikes

Templates
design Test &
Des-only stories

Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
design Test &
spikes

© FABRIQUE
time >


Challenng : SPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES
ge
Starti
quicklyback-end
development
Objects & data
Admin section
Controllers, flows
Test &
spikes

Dev-only
front-end stories
Implement design
development Test &
spikes

Templates
design Test &
Des-only stories

Sketch &
Challeg goe:
n
interaction
design
discuss
Flows & states
Test & Movin men
time >
spikes
in ti

ADVANCED DELIVERABLES
Preventing us from cutting corners

CODE OF CONDUCT

The code of conduct is a set of rules, created and used by developers. It can be about all types of behavior,
such as using dedicated refactoring time, testing including unit tests, environment use, commits and more.


DOUBLE DEFINITION OF DONE

The consequence of differentiating into story types, is that you’ll have to have a differentiated, or double DOD,
with split requirements for instance for design, development and customer acceptance.


DEFINITION OF READY
In some Scrums, stories
often yield unexpected
impediments

·  Business rules
·  Required content
·  Technical complexity

DOR is a set of
requirements that helps
making stories ready
before you sprint.
Use only when you really
need it.


DEMO: THE STAKEHOLDER TEST

When the product permits, you might NOT demo it, but have it user tested by the stake
holders at demo time. Give them assignments, have them use it. They’ll love it!


RETROSPECTIVE
·  Address human to human
issues!

·  When all fails, no
worries, fall back to
staggered sprints.
Try again next time!


SO HERE’S HOPING…

If there’s one thing I would like you to take with you, its that Scrum is about people, their skills, wishes and dreams.
It is about end users; about the customer and their stakeholders; it is about the team.
If you put them first, I promise, you’ll have a great time!


Pieter
Jongerius
@pieterj

All images copyright of their respective owners

Get Agile, the book Scrum Academy by Fabrique & GIFT

Published fall 2012 Training for Scrum Masters & PO’s

Follow @getagilebook or check TWAB €100 discount, use code “TWAB”
http://fabrique.nl/getagile Offer ends November 12, 2012

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