Integrating usercentered design and software engineering: A role for extreme programming Sharp, H.,

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Integrating user-centered design and software
engineeringA role for extreme
programming?Sharp, H., Robinson, H. and Segal, J.

• Human Computer Interaction
• 2nd May 2007
• Simone Stahel

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Introduction

• Integrating software engineering and HCI
• Both communities concerned
• Agreement about importance of the user
• Disputes about role and level of involvement
• Software engineers solution eXtreme
  programming (XP)
• Focus on customer collaboration
• How does XP compare to the principles of UCD?
• Where could eventually found similarities be
  used?

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eXtreme Programming

• Agile development method
• Devising methods and practices
• Change requirements at any point of time
• Customer onerous role in development
• Generate requirements and acceptance tests
• Answering developers queries, discuss details
• Steering products by setting priorities
• Provide feedback and facilitate
• gt Ideal collaborative, representative,
  authorized, committed and
  knowledgeable

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User-Centred Design

• First reported in the 1980s
• Three principles
• 1. Early focus on users and tasks
• 2. Empirical measurement
• 3. Iterative design
• Key components prototyping and design
• User actively involved in development

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Method

• Two investigations
• Group of agile developers (of an AG Conference)
• Workshop at XP Conference
• Task (AGC)
• Explore, share and reflect practical experiences
• Tasks (XPC)
• Group models to identify commonalities
• Discuss success factors, pitfalls and avoidance
  strategies

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Results ADC

• Trust between customers and developers
• Bridge person who understands both worlds
• Models/modeling as form of a bridge
• Divide customer roles into subgroups
• Access to the (right) customers
• Workshops are effective
• Business and developer coach needed

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Results first task XPC

• Different people act in the customer role

Sharp et al. (2004)
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Results first task XPC

• Main responsibilities of user Requirements and
  Feedback

Sharp et al. (2004)
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Results second task XPC

• Factors are independent of project size
• Key success factor Common vision of customer and
  developer
• Key pitfall Technical misalignment
• Disadvantage Customers interrupt developers
  work
• Proxies instead of real users no problem, if
• Good and experienced
• Agree to represent customers

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Discussion

• Results are not very surprising, but lead to a
  discussion and show different aspects
• Customer collaboration practice in XP has some
  things in common with UCD
• Use of models/workshops, customer drives
  development,
• but also differences
• XP is developer centric, customer has many
  roles,

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Conclusions

• XP practicing software engineers value input, but
  do not utilize customers expertise fully
• They do not use any technique from UCD/HCI
• Although this techniques (e.g. using
  participatory design, including heuristic
  evaluation) may be useful and welcome
• Difficulty to give specific guidance how to
  integrate techniques
• Combination of different methods are needed!