Angela Martin

User-Centered Design and Agile Methods: A Systematic Review

This paper presents the results of a systematic review of existing literature on the integration of agile software development with user-centered design approaches. It shows that a common process model underlies such approaches and discusses which artifacts are used to support the collaboration between designers and developers.

The XP customer role in practice: three studies

The customer is the only nondeveloper role in extreme programming (XP). The customers explicit responsibilities are to drive the project, providing project requirements (user stories) and quality control (acceptance testing): unfortunately the customer must also shoulder a number of implicit responsibilities including liaison with external project stakeholders, especially project funders, clients, and end users, while maintaining the trust of both the development team and the wider business. In this paper, we report on a series of case studies of the customer role in XP projects. We have found that customers have a pressured and stressful role, leading to issues of sustainability.

XP Customer Practices: A Grounded Theory

The Customer is a critical role in XP, but almost all XP practices are presented for developers by developers. While XP calls for Real Customer Involvement, it does not explain what XP Customers should do, nor how they should do it. Using Grounded Theory, we discovered eight customer practices used by successful XP teams: Customer Boot Camp, Customer’s Apprentice, Customer Pairing, and Programmer’s Holiday support the well-being and effectiveness of customers; Programmer On-site and Road shows support team and organization interactions; and Big Picture Up Front and Re-calibration support Customers steering the whole project. By adopting these processes, XP Customers and teams can work faster and more sustainably.

The XP Customer Team: A Grounded Theory

The initial definition of XP resulted in many people interpreting the on-site customer to be a single person. We have conducted extensive qualitative research studying XP teams, and one of our research questions was “who is the customer”? We found that, rather than a single person, a customer team always exists. In this paper we outline the different roles that were typically on the team, which range from the recognized “Acceptance Tester” role to the less recognized roles of “Political Advisor” and “Super-Secretary”.

When XP Met Outsourcing

Outsourcing is common for software development, and is the context for many projects using agile development processes. This paper presents two case studies concentrating on the customer role in projects using outsourcing and extreme programming (XP). The studies follow an interpretive approach based on in-depth interviews, and suggest some tensions between some contractual arrangements in outsourcing, and the XP process. In particular, one suggests XP worked well in the context of their particular outsourcing arrangements, and the other study suggests difficulty in aligning XP with a different set of outsourcing arrangements.

Being jane malkovich: a look into the world of an XP customer

One of the pivotal roles in XP is the customer, but little guidance is provided in the literature on the practicalities of succeeding in this role. We used an interpretative in-depth case study to explore a successful XP project. We obtained multiple perspectives on the implementation of the customer role, and this paper includes excerpts from interviews with the customer and other development team members. We found that the interviewees provided a consistent picture of the XP customer role and they agreed that the XP customer role, especially for larger organisations, is very demanding. It requires preparation, skills, attention to detail, and the ability to make critical decisions.

An Ideal Customer: A Grounded Theory of Requirements Elicitation, Communication and Acceptance on Agile Projects

This chapter explores the reality of the customer role – a critical, complex, and demanding role on agile teams. Despite initial difficulties, customers love agile development and would not do it any other way, but they also encountered many difficulties in their day-to-day work. In this chapter we describe the practices that have emerged to ensure the role works effectively and sustainably, and how the role has evolved from an individual to a team. We hope customers will find this chapter helpful in performing their role, and programmers will find it useful to understand the complexities of customer’s role on the project.

Programmers are from Mars, customers are from Venus: a practical guide for customers on XP projects

Extreme Programming and other Agile methods have a dedicated customer role that acts as the interface between development teams and their clients, sponsors, and end-users. The customer is critical to agile projects, but there is little research, experience, or advice about effective practices required to fill that role. We present a set of patterns describing the key roles on a customer team, and the practices that enable customers to fill those roles. By adopting these roles and practices, customers and development teams can increase the velocity and reliability of their projects, and ensure all participants in a project, not just the developers, can work at a sustainable pace.

XP/Agile education and training

XP/Agile education and training remains a challenge from the perspective of determining relevant content; identifying effective methods for delivery; and maintaining the focus and motivation of students. This panel brings together academic and industry professionals to share their perspectives and experiences. Anticipated points for discussion include: education/training delivery strategies, curriculum definition, certification challenges, marketing issues, collaboration strategies to engage industry sponsorship, value assessments for students and sponsoring organizations, and program success stories. This will be a highly interactive panel and the audience should come prepared to both ask and answer questions.

The XP Customer Role

One of the core XP (eXtreme Programming) practices is that of the “on-site customer”. In the words of Kent Beck (2000) in his book “eXtreme Programming Explained” the intent is that a “real customer must sit with the team, available to answer questions, resolve disputes, and set small-scale priorities” ... “someone who will really use the system when it is in production”. This panel brings together practitioners and researchers to discuss and offer wisdom on the challenges and opportunities inherent in the practice.