Tracing the tensions surrounding understandings of agency and knowledge in technology design

The literature suggests that prevailing understandings of the makeup of design knowledge and agency in producing design knowledge in technology is not helpful for design processes and its practitioners. Tensions arise within processes of designing, when design knowledge is understood as objective, whilst subjectivity is experienced in the research methods employed. In the same time, knowledge production is pursued in an individualist manner, where the situated nature of knowing as an interplay of factors, likely reaching beyond personal traits and human intention, is not acknowledged. In this way, design processes are currently working against their inherent potential with likely effects on designers and subsequently design outcomes. The arising tensions cause issues for practitioners, who are stuck in between an objectivity demand and experienced subjectivity, without an alternative conception of their work. Practice-oriented conceptualisations of social dynamics, how things are, and come to be, as well as existing research in consumption practices and sustainable design, have shown that agency and knowing conceptualised as emerging from practice might reconcile this tension. It is therefore that we argue for a reconceptualization of the makeup of knowledge and agency in knowledge production, so that these advancements in conceptualising practices can be of service to the technology design discipline

User experience design and agile development : integration as an on-going achievement in practice

This research investigates how Agile development is combined with User Experience (UX) design. Agile development and UX design have roots in different disciplines and practitioners have to reconcile their perspectives on developing software if they are to work together. To date, there has been no sustained academic study on how Agile developers and UX designers work together in practical settings on a day-to-day basis. The ethnographically-informed research in this dissertation consists of three studies of teams in organisational settings, combined with an analysis of accounts of Agile development and UX design practice found in the literature. Together, they provide evidence for the complex, multifaceted nature of the work that integrates Agile development with UX design. The studies of day-to-day practice conducted for this research, found the work of the Agile developers and UX designers to be localised, contingent and purposeful. Agile devolopment and UX design integration, as it was achieved in the teams studied, was negotiated and achieved on a day-to-day basis between the developers and designers. The findings from the analysis of accounts of practice from the literature show that integration is achieved with the right tools, techniques and processes that coordinate between the tasks of the developers and designers and establish a focus on usability and on releasing working software. However, the accounts contain little and conflicting evidence for what constitutes the day-to-day work of Agile developers and UX designers in practical settings and as a result the utility of tools, techniques and processes for practice is not clear. Informed by the findings from the accounts in the literature and the studies of practice, five facets emerged as integral to an understanding of how the integration of Agile development and UX design is an on-going achievement in practice. These facets are (1) focus and coordination, (2) mutual awareness, (3) expectations about acceptable behaviour, (4) negotiating progress and (5) engaging with each other. The extent to which these facets enable integration, depend on contextual values concerning the combination of Agile development and UX design endorsed in the organisation. These findings serve to establish conditions which can constrain and enable Agile developers and UX designers in their integration work, while being sympathetic to the values embedded in the settings in which they work

Examining the Conflict Between User Experience and Software Development in Industry

In this age the modern consumer expects a software product to be profusely technically functional with an elegant and intuitive user interface. To accomplish this goal, it has become necessary for software development teams and user experience teams to collaborate on software projects. These two complementary teams often come from different backgrounds, with different technical knowledge, processes, management structures, and deadlines. As these teams continue to collaborate more and more the chance of encountering a conflict also increases. In this research we examine the conflict that can occur between software development and user experience teams and the possible effects on the product quality. This is done by surveying software developers and user experience designers from industry. We collected responses from volunteer participants using an online questionnaire. We examine factors that may make teams more prone to conflict as well as the effect conflict can have on a project. Based on our results we make some suggestions of practices that may lower the likelihood of conflict occurring, and ameliorate conflict that has already occurred

Case Study for Product Development Innovation Based on Design Thinking Approach, Demonstrated by Smart Furniture Project

The paper intends to demonstrate the functional role and application of methods provided by the design thinking mindset when the team should create an innovative product design concept in a multidiscipline environment. First, the essential description and features of a design thinking mindset are significant for the discussed topic are introduced, along with defining the specialties and expected output of the featured smart furniture project. Second, after a clear view of the applicable mindset, the paper aims to sketch the project scope by reasoning the applied design thinking methods and highlighting the product design process’s challenges. Finally, the article makes a definite conclusion for demonstrating the design thinking mindset's experienced application, completed by the detailed evaluation of research questions based on empirical data. The purpose of the article is, on the one hand, to highlight the role and significance of the design thinking mindset in an innovative project. On the other hand, emphasizing that well-chosen methods in the right team composition with a well-defined problem already carries the key to the solution. The paper's novelty is the detailed practical description confirmed by concrete results of successfully applied methods needed to design a clear vision and scope for a multidiscipline team by design thinking mindset

Agile/UX Integration: : how user experience-related practices and processes are integrated with Agile development processes in real-world projects

The research presented in this thesis provides empirical data on how work practices and processes related to user experience (UX) are integrated with Agile software development processes in real-world projects. Agile processes do not inherently provide rules or guidelines for how or when UX-related activities should be conducted, and the Agile/UX integration field of study investigates how the two may best be combined. Five case studies have been conducted as part of the research. Two of the cases focus on integration in Scrum projects, two focus on integration in Kanban projects, and one focuses on integration in a "general Agile" project. All of the cases involve multi-year projects with mature Agile teams. As the Kanban process is fairly new in a software development context, little empirical research exists in this area in general, and previous empirical studies of Agile/UX integration in Kanban projects have not been found. Detailed descriptions of all the cases are presented in the Results chapter. A systematic search of relevant literature shows that suggested approaches to Agile/UX integration mostly follow the "parallel track" model, in which developers and UX designers work in separate, parallel tracks. Designs and specifications are created one or more cycles/sprints ahead of development, and completed features are validated and tested one or more cycles/sprints after development. A short up-front analysis/design phase is usually recommended. Effective use of the model requires using "lightweight" UX techniques like paper/low-fidelity prototype testing, RITE testing, lightweight Personas and informal cognitive walkthroughs. The study results suggest that the parallel track model is better suited to describe integration in settings where fixed time boxes are used, as in Scrum, than in settings where time boxes are flexible, as in Kanban. Future work in this area may benefit from developing and using additional, alternative models to describe and study integration. A set of general advice targeted at process designers based on study results is presented in the last chapter. An important element to be considered when designing an Agile process is to allow for design iteration based on feedback from UX testing and evaluation. Ideally, the process should have a built-in loop at regular intervals for gathering feedback and for acting on the results

Design as a thing: how designers make up design as an object in human-centred design practices

Design as a thing: how designers make up design as an object in human-centred design practice

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

HIS Development with the Participation of Medical Practitioners in Design Applying Agile Principles: A Case Study for Occupational Health Management Service

Department of Biomedical Engineering (Human Factors Engineering)This case study illustrates the early development process of an OHS manager-centered healthiinformation system (HIS) with multiple agents and end user groups, including company managers and employees. This study aims to suggest an approach to encompass the non-designer into the design process, especially medical practitioners, as a critical role for a highly changeable and complex healthcare project. Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management is the practice of an organization to provide work and working conditions free from the recognized hazards for their employees. The health institute entrusted for OHS management dispatches the medical and occupational professionals to the workplaces. The management through health counseling, monitoring, and advice to the companies and the employees. Therefore, this study discussed the design process to improve the work of entrusted OHS practitioners, which focused on employee health consultation at the most. As a result, an iterative framework adopting Agile principles is suggested to encourage frontline medical staff and stakeholders to collaborate in decision-making and ideas. As the result, the occupational health management information system is designed its user experience (UX) and interfaces (UI) based on the findings obtained from the iterative and incremental design process. The participation of frontline OHS practitioners of Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, and Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) Psychiatry participated to the interview and activities in the workshops. Although this is a case study conducted on the OHS management of a commissioned hospital, the approach and strategies would available to apply on the other HIS project or healthcare.ope

An exploratory study of experiences of design at hackathons

Hackathons are popular events where participants “hack” together a project, from ideation through to the final presentation, in 24-48 hours. It is typical for hackathons to be tech-centric; therefore, the attendees tend to be mostly computer programmers, designers, and engineers. Hackathons have been hosted by communities, corporations, and educational institutions with goals of producing artifacts or products, networking, and learning. Hackathons are inherently collaborative, as attendees typically work together in small groups. The participants depend on team skills to complete their projects in the short event time frame. Hackathons hold a lot of potential for design research; however, the community has been slow to recognize the potential research opportunities. The existing research on design at hackathons is limited, despite the consideration of hackathons as a setting where participants engage in design activity. Motivated by the popularity of hackathons and the lack of significant research on design at hackathons, this thesis presents an exploratory research of hackathon participants’ experiences of design at these unique events. The research is motivated by three main research questions: 1) what are the characteristics of the design process followed by hackathon participants, 2) how does the design process at hackathons differ from more typical design projects, and 3) how does team composition impact the design experience at hackathons? To answer these research questions, 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who had collectively participated in 65 hackathons. The transcripts of the interviews underwent a thematic analysis, a methodology that identifies themes in the dataset. Codes were assigned to interview transcripts, resulting in 90 codes on 684 excerpts. The codes were then clustered thematically to identify five major themes: the typical hackathon experience, design at hackathons, collaboration, evaluation of hackathons, and miscellaneous. These themes informed the findings of the study and their presentation in this thesis. Interview results suggest that the main stages of the design process at hackathons are ideation, building, and pitch preparation and delivery. While some research, including user research, and design iteration activities may occur, the short time frame of the hackathon severely limits these activities and forces participants to instead prioritize the building phase. Further, due to the continuous nature of the event, participants are not able to take significant breaks from their design tasks, thus not benefiting from potential incubation periods. It is concluded that while hackathons share many characteristics of the design process with more typical design projects, the nature of these events causes the design processes to be adapted in significant ways. Team composition is found to be highly influential in the projects and processes of hackathon teams. Participants’ motivations for attending hackathons - to win, network, learn, or have fun - play a role in what activities they participate in at the events and how they approach their hackathon design project. Motivations for attending, along skills and interest are an important factor considered in team formation. Hackathon teams tend to comprise of three roles: developer, designer, and business analyst, which are determined based on knowledge and experience. The interviews reveal conflict between developers and designers based on their desired approaches to the hackathon design process. Whereas developers are eager to begin building almost immediately, designers encourage a more thorough progression through the design process. The contributions of this thesis hold implications for hackathon participants and organizers, design researchers, and design educators. The research frames hackathons as design-centered settings that generate rich data. As an exploratory study, the research builds a foundational understanding of design at hackathons, offering a new direction for design research and prompting a number of future research opportunities