Adapting Lightweight User-centered Design with the Scrum-based Development Process

Degif Teka, Yvonne Dittrich, Mesfin Kifle

Research output: Conference Article in Proceeding or Book/Report chapterArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

Abstract

User-centered design (UCD)1 addresses the design of interactive systems placing the users in the center of the design with the aim of improving usability and user experience. Developing economies are in dear need of UCD; low IT literacy, low infrastructure and funds; and heterogeneity in culture and livelihood result in special requirements on usability in order to harvest the possible benefits of IT. Traditional UCD methods, however, are often regarded as heavy-weight and expensive. Agile software development methods are light-weight, flexible and iterative in order to accommodate the changing requirements and unsure funding and are therefore important for IT companies in developing economies. Can we adjust UCD methods to fit the need of developing economies and with agile development while taking advantage of the iterative character of agile development methods? The research appropriated an action research approach called Cooperative Method Development (CMD). Based on the empirical investigation, UCD challenges were identified, innovative use of light-weight UCD methods was deliberated and implemented. The improvements include: working with local IT personnel, light-weight and incremental use of personas, support departments performing acceptance testing on release versions, culturally adapted user testing in pairs and heuristic evaluation as adapted UCD practices. The evaluation together with the involved practitioners shows improvements in the development process including reduced reworks; satisfied users; better collaboration with stakeholders; and a close understanding of users and their needs. The evaluation of the resulting integrated approach with the involved practitioners as well as software engineers not involved in the research indicates that the results are transferable to similar contexts.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 2018 International Conference on Software Engineering in Africa - SEiA '18
Number of pages8
Place of PublicationNew York, New York, USA
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Publication date2018
Pages35-42
ISBN (Print)9781450357197
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-4503-5719-7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
SeriesSEiA '18

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