Collaborative Events and Shared Artefacts

Transcription

1 Collaborative Events and Shared Artefacts Agile Interaction Designers and Developers Working Toward Common Aims Judith Brown Gitte Lindgaard, Robert Biddle Department of Psychology and School of Computer Science, Carleton University, Canada

2 Interaction Designers on Agile Teams Agile teams are increasingly multidisciplinary Problem Multidisciplinary collaborations are not taught Result: culture clashes, miscommunications Research Questions How do successful collaborations occur in real agile teams? What purposes do these collaborations serve? How can these collaborations be supported? Research focus The positive, effective, artefact-rich collaborations between the two team members whose task is to generate executable software, i.e. interaction designers and developers Judith Brown 2

3 Agile Teams in our Study Org Size Team Size Num Des. Num Dev. Product Market Process 15, Network service configuration Software 1, Consumer calculator 1,000+ > 5 3 > 3 Business analyst s tool Global Learning games Canadawide Canadawide Global Agile techniques Scrum XP Scrum Observation period: 85 days 18/85 days observing 11 interviews, 368 photos, 7 videos Judith Brown 3

4 Tensions in Designer-Developer Interactions are Inevitable 1. An implementable design is a necessity for a successful outcome, therefore designer-developer work is intertwined 2. The control of the user interface design terrain seems like the designer s role, but 3. The control of the user interface implementation terrain seems like the developer s role, but 4. A unified process for creating software is not easily arrived at 5. Communication through artefacts is problematic in both directions 6. Lack of knowledge and understanding of each other s disciplines is common Judith Brown 4

5 Two Modes of Work Working Alone Collaborating Judith Brown 5

6 Three Types of Collaborations Scheduled Impromptu Work-related chats 6

7 Gap between Ideals and Reality Designers and developers will use all three means to collaborate, if able. How do the physical attributes or the systemic rules (overt or implicit) of your workplace facilitate or impede these three types of collaborations? Judith Brown 7

8 What happens when interaction designers and developers collaborate? Collaborations Observed by Type Org A Org B Org C % Scheduled Des + Dev % Planning % Alignment % Impromptu Des + Dev n/a % Planning n/a 0 0 0% Alignment n/a % Work-Related Chat Des + Dev n/a % Planning n/a 0 0 0% Alignment n/a % 8

9 Designerdeveloper collaborations: Opening the Meeting opening or closing may move to any meeting phase not disorderly or chaotic, but a series of common steps Assessing the Project Presenting Simulating Enacting Exploring Winding dow n resuming Closing the Judith Brown Meeting 9

10 Opening the Meeting opening or closing may move to any meeting phase Alignment work is pervasive in all steps Assessing the Project Presenting Simulating Enacting Exploring PROJECT-level alignment work Winding dow n resuming PRODUCT-level Judith Brown Closing the Meeting alignment work 10

11 Alignment of Project and Product Aims Authenticity Complexity User ability/ needs Playability Usability Gameiness Fun factor Learning implementability Client requirements Ability to integrate content, code, art, graphics Workload/profitability Judith Brown 11

12 Artefacts Tools used to advance joint work Support planning and alignment work Ubiquitous in the workplace The same types of artefacts were used in all workplaces we observed Artefacts support the achievement of aims In one two-hour meeting, with 3 designers and a developer, 150 artefacts were used Judith Brown 12

13 Artefacts: Audible, Visible or Experiential Let s organize all the buttons in an array. If our doctors see all relevant conditions they ll be overwhelmed. They need to be able to see a subset. Judith Brown 13

14 4 most commonly found artefact types Exercise: Recall one artefact of each type used to collaborate in your workplace as we go through the following 12 slides Judith Brown 14

15 Design Idea suggestions for evolving the interface or application We need a new type called the Are you feeling lucky type. We re going to have to remove this facilitator idea [from the game]. We should model it the way the consumer would expect it to be. Positive Negative Constraining Judith Brown 15

16 Design Question a potentially challenging inquiry about the interface or application Is [keeping track of everything] part of the game? You re teaching [our users] to tie actions to employees, is that [what we want]? Judith Brown 16

17 Interface Proxy represents look, feel, navigation or flow of the future software A sketch of two linked web pages. A powerpoint deck conveys look and feel A screen shot of a developer-built game widget A drawing of the user interface.

18 Interface Proxy (cont.) A designer presents three paper sketches of the UI design and his rationale Judith Brown 18

19 Story a narrative that binds together a character, action, and setting So let s say I m at the very beginning of the game and I m going to select the create button Human actor So if your [software] manager managed more than one object type, then. Software actor Story card Stories in tabular form A dramatic enactment of a game

20 There are fewer of these next 8 artefact types (Fewer does not mean less important) Judith Brown 20

21 Computational Proxy a stand-in for the computational back end of an application Which variables to use in our game? What are the steps in our computation? Exactly how should the back end compute the final value for these cases? Judith Brown 21

22 Context Proxy provides access to the product environment (when, where, how and by who the product will be used) a textual description a depiction of a work context Judith Brown 22

23 Context Proxy (cont.) provides access to the product environment Previous versions of the software in purpose-built labs were used by designers and developers to understand contextual issues. The context of the users experiences can be identified through site visits, which becomes the topic of discussions. 23

24 Exemplar another artefact that is like the software being designed in some way Windowing mechanism like in Eclipse Like tech trees in Civilization Standardized designs for common tasks like searching Like the previous non-web version of the product 24

25 Framework a digital artefact that supports the development of other software A UI framework A set of HTML templates for web pages A CSS stylesheet an API

26 Model knowledge of a thing, a process or a representation of such A model of learning A model of flow A software model Judith Brown 26

27 Plan a statement about intended future work Judith Brown 27

28 Software under development an intermediate version of the software A functional prototype treated as though it was the software under development Judith Brown 28

29 Stipulation a comprehensive description of something Requirements, detailed designs, or content documents An XML specification for a game Judith Brown 29

30 Steps and Artefacts Product or project tension triggers Opening the Meeting opening or closing may move to any meeting phase Ideas Presenting generates Simulating organize Stories Assessing the Project uses Enacting raises or resolves Exploring Project Tensions Product Proxy or Computational Proxy Plans Ideas generates clarifies Winding dow n Closing the Meeting resume uses Elements of the Context Proxy organizes Context Proxy 30

31 Takeaways The agile team: a system of people, things, events Designer-developer interactions: an essential aspect of this system because their joint work produces welldesigned executable software Common steps: for planning and aligning joint work Project and product alignment work is pervasive in all collaborative events Optimal work conditions support scheduled and impromptu collaborations and work-related chats Improving the quality of the artefacts has the potential to improve collaborative processes and ensure aims are achieved Judith Brown 31

32 Collaborative Events and Shared Artefacts Agile Interaction Designers and Developers Working Toward Common Aims Judith Brown: Gitte Lindgaard, Robert Biddle Department of Psychology and School of Computer Science, Carleton University, Canada

33 Backup Slides Judith Brown 33

34 Photo Credits Impromptu meetings: Scheduled meetings: Doctor s office: Documents: To do lists: Office enactment: Computer room: Site visit: Gui interface: Standardized Search: 10-MySQL-GUI-Tools.htm CSS Style sheets: A framework: Java AWT API: Judith Brown 34

35 Cultural-Historical Psychology An 80-year old psychology: many theories to explain the development of individuals and group activities Value: Theoretical underpinnings for this study Focus on important elements, relationships, and processes that contribute towards the achievement of group aims through a combination of individual work and group interactions Judith Brown 35