Integrating usability work into a large inter-organisational agile development project: Tactics developed by usability designers

Abstract

In this paper we examine the integration of usability activities into a large inter-organisational agile development project. Inter-organisational agile projects possess unique attributes. They involve multiple stakeholders from different organisational contexts and are thus characterised by competing priorities. Team members also lack a mutual awareness of what constitutes work. These issues make the collaboration between project teams challenging. Meanwhile collaboration between usability designers and agile project teams is an integral part of the integration of usability activities into agile development projects. We carried out an interpretive case study on a large inter-organisational agile development project to examine how usability designers and agile project teams collaborate in this project type. Results showed integration goals were achieved through five tactics deployed by the usability designers. These tactics were negotiating inclusion; upward influencing, placating expert users, establishing credibility and diffusing designs. The implications of these findings are summarised in the form of three propositions that pertain to how usability designer–agile project team collaborations might be organised in agile development projects. Further, the role of the usability designer in ensuring the integration of usability activities is also emphasised.