The Importance of Identity and Vision to User Experience Designers on Agile Projects

Abstract

User Experience (UX) practitioners and agile practitioners need to understand how user-centred design (UCD) and its techniques can be applied in an agile context. This paper presents the results of a study concerning the role of UX practitioners on agile projects, as perceived by UX practitioners themselves. We interviewed ten UX practitioners in a variety of settings, and following a qualitative approach we identified two main themes that are perceived by UX practitioners to be highly influential in the success of integrating UCD and agile approaches. These two themes are: UX practitioners’ understanding of their job role, and the need to establish, protect and communicate an overall team vision. Techniques for integrating the end user perspective in agile projects are also reported. These results were refined through a short observational study of one of the practitioners.