Focal points for a more user-centred agile development

The integration of user-centred design and Agile development is becoming increasingly common in companies and appears promising. However it may also present some critical points, or communication breakdowns, such as a variable interpretation of user involvement, a mismatch in the value of documentation and a misalignment in iterations. We refine these themes, emerging from both literature and previous fieldwork, by analysing a case study performed in an IT company that adopts both software engineering approaches, and we further extend the framework with a new theme related to task ownership. We argue that communication breakdowns can become focal points to drive action and decision for establishing an organisational context acknowledging the value of user involvement: to this end, we suggest the adoption of design thinking and the active engagement of the customer in embracing its values

A systematic mapping study of HCI practice research

Human–computer interaction (HCI) practice has emerged as a research domain in the HCI field and is growing. The need to transfer HCI practices to the industry began significantly with the works of Nielsen on usability engineering. To date, methods and techniques for designing, evaluating, and implementing interactive systems for human use have continued to emerge. It is, therefore, justified to conduct a systematic mapping study to determine the landscape of HCI practice research. A Systematic Mapping Study method was used to map 142 studies according to research type, topic, and contribution. These were then analyzed to determine an overview of HCI practice research. The objective was to analyze studies on HCI practice and present prominent issues that characterize the HCI practice research landscape. Second, to identify pressing challenges regarding HCI practices in software/systems development companies. The results show that HCI practice research has steadily increased since 2012. The majority of the studies explored focused on evaluation research that largely contributed to the evaluation methods or processes. Most of the studies were on design tools and techniques, design methods and contexts, design work and organizational culture, and collaboration and team communication. Interviews, case studies, and survey methods have been prominently used as research methods. HCI techniques are mostly used during the initial phase of development and during evaluation. HCI practice challenges in companies are mostly process-related and on performance of usability and user experience activities. The major challenge seems to be to find a way to collect and incorporate user feedback in a timely manner, especially in agile processes. There are areas identified in this study as needing more research

Playful interactions with smart and social objects: supporting intergenerational engagement in learning about Cultural Heritage of rural territories

LOCUS proposes de co-design, development and evaluation of an IoT system that incorporates and interconnects smart and social objects, supporting tangible and playful interactive experiences, intended to promote intergenerational engagement in creating and exploring cultural contents and learning about cultural heritage of rural territories from the Centre Region of Portugal, namely Amiais Village, in Sever do Vouga.publishe

Análisis de deuda técnica de UX en repositorios de GitHub

El concepto de deuda técnica se utiliza para denotar problemas de calidad del software que a medida que transcurre el tiempo se hacen progresivamente más difíciles de reparar. Este trabajo consiste en investigar la presencia de deuda técnica relacionada a la experiencia de usuario (UX) en las incidencias (issues) de 8 proyectos de GitHub, con el fin de fundamentar la necesidad de administrar esta deuda de UX, tal como ocurre con otros tipos de deuda técnica. Mediante diferentes análisis, se caracterizaron los issues relacionados a la UX y se identificaron aquellos que pueden contribuir a la acumulación de deuda de UX, para comparar su índice de resolución frente con otros tipos de issues, y así determinar cuanta importancia se le da al tratamiento de la deuda de UX. Los resultados muestran que los issues que generan deuda de UX con frecuencia no se resuelven, o su atención se posterga para priorizar otro tipo de issues.XIX Workshop Base de Datos y Minería de Datos (WBDMD)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informátic

Iot for playful intergenerational learning about cultural heritage: the LOCUS approach

LOCUS is a three-year multidisciplinary project with the goal of co-design, develop and evaluate an IoT system and understand its potential to support playful intergenerational engagement in creating and exploring cultural contents and learning about cultural heritage of rural territories from the Centre Region of Portugal, namely Amiais village, in Sever do Vouga. By implementing a playful and immersive cultural heritage tourism approach to foster Amiais' cultural and socioeconomic development, LOCUS will allow visitors to have immersive gamified experiences, by using a wearable device (bracelet) and their smartphones to interact with augmented everyday things around the village and to collaboratively learn about Amiais' culture and produce and share multimedia georeferenced contents.publishe

Benefits and challenges of a role of full-stack designer in agile development

Diplomityön tavoitteena oli selvittää full-stack -suunnittelijan roolin hyötyjä ja haasteita ketterässä ohjelmistokehityksessä. Full-stack -suunnittelijan rooli oli työn toteuttamisen aikaan vielä melko tutkimaton, eikä roolin termi ja määritelmä olleet vielä vakiintuneet. Työn tarkoituksena oli myös kerätä mielipiteitä full-stack -suunnittelijan roolin hyödyistä ja haasteista sekä ratkaisuehdotuksia rooliin liittyviin haasteisiin. Lisäksi työssä oli tarkoitus selvittää työn aloitushetkellä roolista käytössä olleen termin ja määritelmän paikkansapitävyyksiä. Diplomityössä toteutettiin tutkimus kirjallisuusselvitysten, verkkoaineistoanalyysin ja kyselyn avulla. Kirjallisuusselvityksellä perehdyttiin aiempiin tutkimuksiin käyttäjäkokemussuunnittelijoiden työstä ohjelmistokehitysprojekteissa. Verkkoaineistoanalyysin avulla etsittiin tietoa full-stack -suunnittelijan roolista, sen termistä sekä määritelmästä. Verkkoaineisto piti sisällään ammattilaisten blogeja aiheesta sekä aiheeseen liittyviä muita keskustelupalstoja ja verkkosivuja. Kyselyn avulla kartoitettiin ketteriä menetelmiä käyttävien suomalaisten ohjelmistoyritysten työntekijöiden mielipiteitä käyttäjäkokemussuunnittelu- ja ohjelmistokehitysprosessista tutkimushetkellä, yleisesti full-stack -suunnittelijan roolista, sen hyödyistä ja haasteista, sekä kerättiin ehdotuksia sille, kuinka esiin tulleita haasteita voitaisiin ratkaista. Eräs tutkimuksessa esiin nousut asia oli se, että kyselyyn vastanneet työntekijät kokivat, että full-stack -suunnittelijan roolin määritelmään sopivia ihmisiä on vaikeaa löytää. Kuitenkin saman kyselyn tutkimuksessa myös selvisi, että suuri osa kyselyyn vastanneista toimi täysin tai osittain full-stack -suunnittelijan roolin määritelmän mukaisesti projekteissa. Kirjallisuuden ja kyselyn pohjalta on esitetty tutkimuksessa selvinneet full-stack -suunnittelijan rooliin liittyvät hyödyt ja haasteet sekä yrityksen että työntekijöiden näkökulmasta. Lisäksi työ esittää ratkaisuehdotuksia tutkimuksessa olennaisimpiin löytyneisiin haasteisiin

A model for integrating user experience into Agile software development

The Agile software development methodology has progressed over time and has become the most popularly used methodology for many projects owing to its adaptable and advanced nature. Agile is an iterative and incremental method that supports project teams to maintain the growing demands of present-day organisations. In software development, it is imperative to build software that ensures a holistic user experience and meets requirements. Software Developers and User Experience Designers focus on users’ preferences and requirements while navigating an application through an approach called user-centred design (UCD). The purpose of Agile user-experience (UX) methods is to build user-centric software solutions using the Agile methodology. Literature indicates a scarcity of Agile-UX models to integrate user experience design processes effectively within Agile software development. Hence, the motivation for this study was to create a practical model for integrating user experience design processes into Agile software development for implementation by software development teams. Initially, the study defines the problem that formed the basis for the initiation of this research, followed by the research questions and objectives that are the fundamental portion of the development of this study. This study highlights the benefits and challenges of Agile-UX methods through a case study of Agile software development teams in South Africa. Furthermore, additional best practices are recommended. A survey questionnaire was distributed to software development teams to identify the various factors that lead to implementing Agile-UX methods. The distribution of the survey questionnaire supported the theoretical perspective of this study. Furthermore, Agile development (AD) and UCD are not easy to combine as UCD aims to understand users before software product development, and no activities are performed before development starts in AD. Lastly, a significant benefit is that user-centred software systems create and promote team collaboration and communication and, ultimately, successful software projects.Thesis (MIT) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, School of Information and Communication Technology, 202

A model for integrating user experience into Agile software development

The Agile software development methodology has progressed over time and has become the most popularly used methodology for many projects owing to its adaptable and advanced nature. Agile is an iterative and incremental method that supports project teams to maintain the growing demands of present-day organisations. In software development, it is imperative to build software that ensures a holistic user experience and meets requirements. Software Developers and User Experience Designers focus on users’ preferences and requirements while navigating an application through an approach called user-centred design (UCD). The purpose of Agile user-experience (UX) methods is to build user-centric software solutions using the Agile methodology. Literature indicates a scarcity of Agile-UX models to integrate user experience design processes effectively within Agile software development. Hence, the motivation for this study was to create a practical model for integrating user experience design processes into Agile software development for implementation by software development teams. Initially, the study defines the problem that formed the basis for the initiation of this research, followed by the research questions and objectives that are the fundamental portion of the development of this study. This study highlights the benefits and challenges of Agile-UX methods through a case study of Agile software development teams in South Africa. Furthermore, additional best practices are recommended. A survey questionnaire was distributed to software development teams to identify the various factors that lead to implementing Agile-UX methods. The distribution of the survey questionnaire supported the theoretical perspective of this study. Furthermore, Agile development (AD) and UCD are not easy to combine as UCD aims to understand users before software product development, and no activities are performed before development starts in AD. Lastly, a significant benefit is that user-centred software systems create and promote team collaboration and communication and, ultimately, successful software projects.Thesis (MIT) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, School of Information and Communication Technology, 202