Agile Software Development Meets User-Centered Design

Last night, I had the opportunity to hear Pete Gombert (CEO), Shane Vaughan (VP of Marketing), and Kevin Donaldson (VP of Product Management) of Balihoo speak at the Boise Young Professionals Lounging Series.  The talk had a threefold focus: to briefly discuss the history of Balihoo; to provide some insights into their product development process; and to highlight the importance of leadership in a rapidly adapting small business.

During the product development portion, Kevin discussed how Balihoo has incorporated agile principles, not only into how they develop their technology, but also as a foundational element of how the business operates.

This discussion reminded me of several resources I’ve read regarding the “marriage” of usability / user experience / user-centered design with agile software development, some of which include:

• “Adapting Usability Investigations for Agile User-Centered Design” (.pdf)
• “Agile Development Projects and Usability”
• “An Agile Approach to User Experience and Design”
• “Can UX Be Agile”
• “Towards Extreme(ly) Usable Software: Exploring Tensions Between Usability and Agile Software Development” (.pdf)
• “Working in Harmony: Integrating the efforts of usability engineers and agile software developers” (.pdf)
• “Working in Harmony: Integrating the efforts of usability engineers and agile
  software developers” – Presentation (.pdf)

While I believe there are several potential benefits to incorporating agile principles into software development, we have to remain vigilant that usability isn’t sacrificed on the alter of rapid development and deployment.  Doing so decreases the user experience, which in the long run will ultimately prove detrimental to business success.  As in all things, it’s a balancing act.

BTW, in case you’re new to the concept of agile software development, check out the Agile Manifesto and their 12 principles to learn more.