Influences of UX factors in the Agile UX context of software startups

Abstract

Software startups work under uncertain market conditions, constant time pressures, and extremely limited resources. Startup practitioners commonly adopt agile practices and lean development to build and release software quickly. Within this context, User eXperience (UX) work is critical for generating user value and creating a competitive advantage. However, integrating agile and UX remains an open question and little explored in software startups. In this study, we investigate how startup practitioners understand the UX concept and what are the influences of UX factors on the agile context of software startups. To achieve this goal, we surveyed software practitioners from software startups in Brazil. We obtained 97 valid responses from professionals working in different areas, in positions of UX experts, software engineers, and managers. Our findings show that most software startup practitioners understand UX from a perspective that gives value to the user/customer interaction with the product and company, focusing on achieving a good UX. Regarding the influences of UX factors, we found that most selected factors carried the meaning of delivering value to the business and the user for producing successful products. On the other hand, the lack of resources is a factor that significantly hinders UX work in early-stage startups and with small teams. By analyzing our results on four dimensions, covering business & market, product & process, customers & users, and UX work & teams, we provided four takeaways to help practitioners with the adoption of Agile UX in software startups context. • Understanding of UX concept by software startup professionals. • Factors influencing UX work in the agile context of Brazilian software startups. • Reasons for adoption of UX practices in Brazilian software startups. • Factors that hinder UX work in Brazilian software startups. • Takeaways for helping the adoption of Agile UX in software startups.