Introduction
In this study, presented at the OzCHI 2015 conference, we investigated opportunities for training developers and using them as a resource in the day-to-day working practice to conduct simple usability evaluations. This study is part of a larger research project about including software developers in usability and user experience activities. The goals are to:
- Make the software developers able to perform minor usability and UX tasks themselves, thus reducing the bottleneck of such activities in a development process.
- Support a shared language and understanding within a cross-disciplinary development.
In his study we wanted to:
- Build on existing knowledge about training developers to conduct simple usability evaluations, in this case, a simple AB test.
- Have the developers provide feedback to develop further this approach and the guidelines and templates used. We aimed to identify potential problem areas and success factors and make recommendations accordingly.
The study procedure
As mentioned, this study is part of a larger research project. In this part, we conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews. In between, the participants engaged in a workshop and activities independently. Five software developers participated.
Firstly, we conducted an initial interview about their expectations and thoughts about participating in usability engineering.
Secondly, they participated in a one-day training session. During the session, they received a general introduction to usability and how to conduct a simple AB evaluation. Additionally, they planned and conducted an evaluation.
Thirdly, shortly after the training session, we interviewed them about their participation. This interview was concerned with experiences and issues encountered, how confident they felt about evaluating their own, and their feedback about the guidelines and templates used.
Fourthly, four participants applied the method independently two months after the training session as part of an ongoing Scrum sprint. They planned a simple AB test and recruited participants ad-hoc in the organization.
Fifthly, the four developers participated in post-evaluation interviews about their experiences with conducting a simple evaluation independently. An in-house UX-designer evaluated the outcome of the developers’ evaluation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we intended to contribute to the limited research on how software developers can be active in the ongoing usability engineering and UX design within software development organizations.
The training and involvement provided new competencies and an accommodating attitude towards usability and UX work. It was also noticeable that the participants showed an increasingly positive attitude toward the presented method and confidence in their ability to conduct usability and UX work themselves. Based on this one-day session, the participating developers could plan and implement a simple AB evaluation within a sprint.
An in-house UX-designer found the outcome of the evaluations interesting and valuable. Of limitations, we found that the participants had difficulties conducting a qualitative analysis of the collected data and documenting their observations.
We do not see training and active involvement as a replacement of usability specialists and UX designers. Instead, we see it as an approach for supporting the developers during ongoing day-to-day development by performing limited usability and UX tasks. Additionally, it is an approach for improving cooperation with existing in-house usability specialists and UX designers.
Reference
Øvad, T., Bornoe, N. A., Larsen, L. B., & Stage, J. (2015). Teaching Software Developers to Perform UX Tasks. In Conference of the Australian Computer-Human Interaction. Association for Computing Machinery.