Challenge
- Each team will receive a framework/process.
- Your team is a local agency that helps design and build digital products. Pick a name for your agency, design your logo, and define roles in the team (10 minutes)
- Research more about the framework you were given (20 minutes)
- Discuss in the team what you found out in your research (10 minutes)
As a team, propose a plan using your given framework to tackle the following challenge (20 minutes):
After having a crash course in the different methodologies for UX practice, we were put into groups of 4 to consider a redesign of the Metlink website, with a methodological parameter; in our case, it was Sprint. Thankfully, I had a copy of the Sprint book in my bag.
Coming up with an identity and logo within the time frame wasn’t the easiest, as one of the team was battling with the parameters of the project and needed to reread the brief a few times. That was fun!
We settled on the name 180, kind of taken from whiplash, and each came up with a logo based on that. Only 2 of our 4 came up with a logo, with one persona still deciphering the brief…this was defo going to be fun!
We voted on the 2 logo’s, and one was selected.
The roles were divided up as follows:
- Scarlett: Scrum Master
- Jem: Project Manager
- Natalie:
- Hamish:
The Metlink website is massively problematic, and was covered by a range of people in the UX Case Study. In our case, the angle was taken to look at the app and the problems we all had were all laid out on post-its, and then as an affinity map.
We then dot-voted on the immediate issue we wanted to solve. Prompts for first-time users won.
Design Sprints have a formula for getting to the solutions needed, so we decided to do the first day of the Sprint.
On Monday, you’ll kick off your sprint by sharing knowledge, understanding the problem, and choosing a target for the week’s efforts.
https://library.gv.com/sprint-week-monday-4bf0606b5c81
We listed out end-goal, to resolve the lack of prompts problem, and mapped the current barriers to this success.
The user/actors would be first-time users, obviously, and we would need Metlink’s software developers onboard as well, as they could provide information answering the why behind the problem.
The steps we decided on were:
- A Heuristic analysis
- A case study
- A competitors analysis
- Street testing
- And an answer to the overarching question “What is the goal of the app?”
We brainstormed some of the current problems we had with the app, and decided some simple questions when you logged in would help provide answers for the lost user.
These questions were:
- Where do you want to go? Do you want to type the address or use auto-fill? (currently, the system assumes you know what bus stop number you want…like really? How is that helpful to anyone who only has an address? The Journey Planner on the website works better than the app, why isn’t this feature integrated?)
- How would you like to pay? (Snapper and cash are the only 2 options for bus services, cash or a ticket are the only options for the train services, but if you’re a first-time user of the Metlink services, how would you know that?)
Our tutor, Lockie, played the role of the expert (for the photos).
There were time constraints in the original brief. These were not met or measured. I thought it would be better if someone was timing the steps to ensure we stayed on track, ad stop us from running 1/2 hour over time! Anyway!
The class presentations were fun. Each team really backed their process, aside from the poor dears who got waterfall! Waterfall is fine for construction, but for development, it’s pretty useless and old-fashioned.
Looking through the range of methodologies that UX uses, there are good and bad points in each. At some stage, when I have a greater understanding of them, I’ll list them. But being the person I am (ALWAYS trying to find solutions to complex problems that make everything easier, not harder), I’m toying in my head with “Clean UX”, a new methodology that has a pick-and-choose approach, a combination of all the methods.
One of the issues I’m having in terms of comprehension of the various methodologies is around role definition. Each has these cool terms for who does what, but as yet, I’m still pretty fuzzie about how it all goes together.
Jeremiah Boniface 