Social Practices of Creating and Using UX Artifacts in Agile Organizations

This study conceptualizes UX activities as social practices emerging from how agile software development (ASD) team members create and use UX artifacts in a real-world software development setting. We sought to understand what social practices emerge when integrating UX and ASD activities in an organization. To this end, we observed the use of three UX artifacts: affinity diagrams, personas, and prototypes. Our findings showed that two social practices were established: the creation and use of UX artifacts. We provided insights into how ASD stakeholders possessing different competencies attach meanings to materials (i.e., UX artifacts) and thus form social practices. Also, we found that the two social practices share the same materials, while the stakeholders construct meanings associated with materials depending on their job role

ECOVAL: A Framework for Increasing the Ecological Validity in Usability Testing

The term ecological validity refers to the study of the measurable correspondence between experimental design and ecological setting (i.e., representative users performing real tasks in their natural environment). Therefore, it is important to anyone intending to generalize the conclusions from the particular circumstances of an experiment to wider ecological situations. However, there is no operational definition that enables to objectively quantify the ecological validity of an experimental design. The ECOVAL framework offers a formal starting point to bridge this gap by helping to both define and increase the ecological validity in usability testing. A methodology, a tool and guidelines to increase ecological validity are presented in an industrial case study. The return on investment of increasing ecological validity is examined in terms of user efficiencies and usability practice. Finally, recommendations to increase ecological validity are introduced, contributions discussed, and outlines for future work presented

Toward interdisciplinary practice and increased social ROI: a case study on downstream effects of integrating UX in cyber system design

Cyber ranges (CR) have gained attention from researchers and trainees for their virtualization and replication capabilities. The growing focus on improving the user experience (UX) with CR aligns with the emphasis on software usability and user acceptance in software development. This case study explores the integration of UX activities, namely expert review and prototyping workshops, in a cybersecurity project aiming at supporting the creation of CR scenarios. Survey and interviews allowed us to both assess participants' UX literacy and identify opportunities and barriers to UX integration. Introducing UX activities increased UX literacy and helped foster a productive and collaborative interdisciplinary team environment