Part VI: Process

This section of the User Data Spectrum survey assesses the product development process of the organization as it relates to the user-centered design process and user data.

There are many ways to develop products. The first portion of this part of the survey attempts to collect data about the most popular process types and steps relevant to user-centered design. Asking if the organization does design reviews or requires sign-off from design leaders highlights whether the company prioritizes the design part of product development. Asking if the organization follows a user-centered design process, implements user experience methods, or incorporates a Sprint 0 are all direct questions about how user centered its product development

process is. Finally, asking if the organization follows an agile process is an important general indicator of the product development process.

Whether an organization follows a formal UCD process or uses a more “guerrilla” style, ad-hoc approach, an important indicator the maturity of its practice is the degree to which it finds value in the data generated from the process. In many cases maturity is connected to how much value is placed on the data and the amount of rigor used in the process. In this section of the survey, there are questions gathering data about the perception of rigor in the collecting, interpreting, and implementing of the user data. There are also questions about the value of the data collected and whether the data are used to drive product decision making. The survey asks if respondents have access to data or not. Perception of access could impact how they see their agency or role in the process.

Finally, there are questions that attempt to assess if distance exists between those on the team collecting the user data and those making product decisions. For instance, a user researcher could investigate how a user interacts in a particular context, create the artifact of the findings, hand that off to a development team, and then be removed from the remainder of the effort. Then the development team would take the artifact. If the team has a product owner responsible for making product decisions but removed from direct observation of users’ interactions with the product in context, then distance clearly exists between the point of user data collection and the point of decision.

4.12.2. Goal of the Process Section

The relation of process to the User Data Spectrum is less clear than with other variables collected. Genius and participatory organizations alike may follow an agile process, a user- centered design process, incorporate UX methods, participate in design reviews, and require

sign-off from design leadership. The degree of rigor also does not suggest whether a company will land one side of the spectrum or the other.

When it comes to the degree to which people in the company buy into the UX process and have access to user data, there may be nuances that affect where a company falls between the two sides of the User Data Spectrum. In a UX mature organization, the level of buy-in will be high. However, in a genius company, the source of user data is employees; therefore, the buy-in is more dependent on the people presenting the data. In a participatory organization, the buy-in is more dependent on the process by which the data was collected. Access to the user data also would be high in both types of companies if they are in a mature state. However, that access is more likely to be in the form of artifacts in a participatory company as opposed to oral tradition in a genius company.

Table 4.11. Part VI Questions

No. Question

Q57 Please check all that apply for your organization.

• Our company regularly does internal design critiques and reviews.

• Our company requires sign off from leadership on designs.

• Our company uses an agile development product development process.

• We have a Sprint 0 as a part of our agile process (or a sprint that is

dedicated to user research prior to going into development)

• Our company uses a user-centered design process to develop products.

• Our company implements user experience methods into product

development process.

Q88 The level of rigor for the questions above depend most on

• Who is conducting the method

• The method selected

• Neither of these • Both of these

Q81 Mark your level of agreement.

• The user data collection methods used are rigorous. • The user data interpretation methods used are rigorous

Table 4.11. continued

Part VI Questions

No. Question

Q80 Please check all that apply for your organization.

• The people in the company making decisions about the product(s) are the

same ones collecting data about the end users.

• The people in the company making decisions about the product(s) are the

same ones directly interacting with the end users.

Q87 For your organization, how would you respond to the following sentence: We reflect and improve our product development process

Q89 Mark you level of agreement to the following statements for your organization.

• I buy in to the product development process • I think the user data we collect is valuable

• We make data driven decisions about products we develop

Q90 Mark you level of agreement to the following statements for your organization.

• I have ready access to previously collected user data.

• I have ready access to user data collected from web analytics.

4.13. Part VII: UX Maturity