Month: July 2015

Reflections on why I love going to the Agile Conference (can’t believe it starts in a few days)

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Every year I look forward to the annual Agile conference. I enjoy going – meeting new friends, catching up with old ones, and learning so many new things. I think I missed a couple of years here and there, and I regretted it. I felt like something was missing that year. Each time I go, I bring back new ideas to work with my clients and ways to be more Agile.

Last year was the first time I got to speak at a big conference – and I was so happy I got to speak at Agile 2014! And I'm feeling so thankful and blessed to be able to present again (Here's my session and here's a blog post about the theme – UX, Agile and Virtual Teams). 

But the learning, friends, and speaking opportunities aren't the only reasons I keep coming back.

It's the personal growth opportunities that come from the energy there. 

Personal Growth Opportunities 

Believe it or not, it was at an Agile conference where I met a woman at a UX vendor booth (my now friend Janet), who later encouraged me to start writing articles and keeping a regular blog. From there, I aspired to speak at Agile and eventually write a book (I hope that dream will become a reality soon). I never viewed myself as a writer before then, and if I didn't attend the Agile conference that year, I may not have started down that path. 

I have also been inspired to experiment with new ideas – learning and using innovation games (which was always a hit! Even on phone calls and in virtual sessions), sketch noting (which has proven to be a great skillset), setups for Agile teams, and ways to better interact with teams and team members. I've implemented these ideas at different client sites and in projects. I am able to stay innovative and current with the flood of ideas at each conference.

And from these experiences, I've been inspired to write new articles and pieces on my blog and stay current on Agile perspectives. And it's from the energy and the ideas that are flowing during those 5 days. 

Energy

There is an air of informality that invites friendship and comradery balanced with an air of formality to learn how to get things done better. You can have conversations that go on for hours about the benefits of Agile, better practices, or the successes and challenges of various Agile organizations – and it's the energy of the participants and their passion for Agile methodologies that keep you engaged, listening and contributing to the conversations.

Last year, I had a great conversation with some guys from Intel, who were using Agile for hardware development. At that time, I wish I knew some hardware guys at HP to share the Intel guys' passion, insights, and knowledge about making hardware products Agile. I also learned how some other software companies implemented Agile, the challenge project managers can face with it from executive structures that just don't understand what self-managed Agile teams are and how a scrum master guides them without an iron fist. And of course, I had some discussions with UX professionals about what their teams face when engaging with the business and developers and being Agile. 

 

I am very thankful and grateful for this conference, the community it attracts, the knowledgeable people who are willing to share their experience, and the friends I met.

I can't wait to see what this year brings!

 

Reflections on why I love going to the Agile Conference (can’t believe it starts in a few days)

Backups are like underwear…

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You don't need to backup your computer, in the same way you don't need to wear underwear. However, there are times that things happen, and you wish you had it.

 

Many people wonder why I get all wound up making sure my computer is backed up.

A few weeks ago, I realized my Time Machine/Time Capsule was on the fritz. In typical Apple product fashion, the device just kinda died a weird, non-working death. It started backing up my computer, but would never finish it. It just wasn't backing anything up anymore. And given my general absent-mindedness, I kept forgetting to look into it – until 3 weeks passed without backups. 

And add to that another 3 days of fiddling with the Time Capsule to "save" it – so it was almost a month with no backup.

Once I finally accepted its death, I panicked. I needed to get new backup setup right away.

I heard from many people, "Everything will be fine, what's the worry? How often does a computer up and die and the hard drive break? You always get a warning sign, right?"

I used to believe that, too.

I have been reluctant to share the story about why I'm so adamant about everyone having some type of backup system. It's not one of my finer moments.

Working for HP Storage influenced me to appreciate backup more, especially after hearing about how a small business could be down for weeks if there isn't proper backup. I tried to find a video that showed this – but sadly, couldn't.

However, here's a different video that addresses the importance of backup and preventing data loss:

 

 

 

One afternoon about 7 years ago, I was using my MacBook at a client site, when out of the blue, it just shut down. Just like that! I thought that was weird, so I tried to turn it on again, and I heard this grinding gear sound. I tried again, same thing. I pondered what to do next, so I called a friend of mine who worked at Apple and he told me to stop. Just stop. Don't do anything else. And he said he's meet me at the Apple store near my house to get a new one.

Come to find out, I was destroying my hard drive and my computer died.

The rest of the day, I just wrote paper notes and sketched, and put my computer safely away. I was worried – really worried! Random thoughts raced through my mind all afternoon:

  • What if everything was gone?
  • What if I forgot to manually backup my computer on the external hard drive?
  • The work that I'm doing technically isn't owned by me – it's owned by my clients. What does that mean if I lost their work?
  • Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.

After we went to the Apple store and bought a new computer, we went to his house to move files from my old computer to my new computer. The transfer didn't work, like didn't work at all.

My friend told me my files were gone. Totally gone. 

If I wanted them back, I'd have to spend minimally $2-5K for a computer forensics company to see what they could salvage from the drive. They would need to determine if it were possible to retrieve the files.

Possible. Not likely. Not definitely. Like kinda maybe not likely.

And I didn't have a complete, current backup.

Before this happened, my clients were asking me frequently about my backup strategy for the files I was working on. Client work is owned by a client if you are a contractor. They wanted to be sure their work was somewhere just in case. I told them I would take care of it.

Dozens of times.

And I was working on a plan to automate the process rather than me manually updating an external hard drive each week, but I didn't make it a priority because "things like this don't happen to most people."

If the files were gone, not only would I have had to admit that I lost the files, but I would need to admit that I didn't place backups as a priority for "what if" scenarios.  What would happen then?

I was certain my clients would fire me on the spot. I basically lost their property.

I cried. And cried. My friend went to fencing and I stayed at his house, crying, because that's useful in times like this when there is nothing else that can be done.

Luckily, at fencing one of the guys suggested putting my hard drive in the freezer. Sometimes, computer guys would do that to cool down the drive and allow the ball bearings to work. At this point, there was nothing to lose. My friend gave it a try.

Irish Luck was on my side. After an hour in the freezer, my friend was able to transfer the files from the disk onto my new computer. It all died immediately after the last file was transferred.

I was a lucky, lucky girl.

The next day, I bought a Time Capsule and Time Machine. I made sure everything was backed up in in the next 2 days. 

 

Lesson learned:

  • Backup is a cheap and easy way to have insurance in case something really bad happens. And if you own a Mac – there is no excuse. And be sure to get online backups too – they are cost efficient and effective. Things happen even to a Time Capsule. Having 2 backup plans is better than one.
  • Company operations are just as important as completing client work. You need to take care of your business. 

Not having a backup system is a SERIOUS problem, especially in this information economy. Your documents, spreadsheets, and notes are valuable in this information economy, and if your computer dies without backup, you would need to recreate these materials. That may sound easy, but it's really not.

We will often admit that we have files we never reference, and it's true – there are some files that could be discarded for good. But what about that most recent project you are working on? What if you were working on a book, were half-way done writing it, and it just vanished?

And the file vanishing could have been prevented. 

The next time you see someone freaking out about not having backup, don't belittle their worries. Maybe you should be a little worried too.

Again, backups are like underwear. You don't plan on bad things happening when you don't wear it, but it can.

 

Backups are like underwear…

Experiences are a series of decisions. And we make decisions using a 3-step process.

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Let's say you and your friends want to go to dinner. Typically, one of you would browse through a list of restaurants and look for new or familiar options as suggestions for the group. You would send that list out. Then you would discuss those options with those who are going to dinner to decide what to do.

Some of the group would look at Yelp, Zagat, restaurant reviews, or the restaurant Web sites to get more information before making the decision, "Where do we go to dinner?" In this process, the list may get more focused and include fewer options, or expand to include more options.

Many times, some of the group may want to broaden his or her research and talk to colleagues and friends who aren't invited about about the choices in the list, asking them to share opinions and experiences. You may use online chat to virtually discuss reviews and options. You may text others in the group about their thoughts. In these discussions, you may even chat about the best way to get the decision made – use online voting or possibly a group chat.

After some time, the restaurant decision is made, and someone makes reservations online or on the phone. 

At the restaurant, everyone in your group looks over the menu and decides what to eat. Some may have reviewed the menus before dinner. Either way, everyone discusses the options. There may even be a discussion about how the dinner will go – group apps and shared dinners or individual entrees. 

When the waiter comes everyone makes a decision and then waits for it to be delivered.

The group experiences:

  • the research process
  • the conversations before going to the restaurant
  • ordering
  • the menu (another decision)
  • the food
  • the decor
  • the conversation with others at the table
  • the wait staff and service

All 5 senses would be engaged. I forgot to include – there may even be entertainment – a 4-piece band, jazz or blues, dancing. 

Most of the dining experience was spent making decisions. And there was an experience to make the decisions.

Each time you visit a restaurant, you may notice that the process of the experience is the same all the time:

  1. You inform/educate yourself about the options available
  2. You communicate with others about what decision to make
  3. You decide and experience your decision

This process applies to most decisions. 

Let's say you are contemplating how to make a word bold in Word. Ok, maybe you don't call people to discuss that decision, but you may have had a conversation with someone about how to use that feature long ago, or you read help documentation to figure it out. Now you know how to use it and it becomes a tool in your back pocket. You only decide to experience the feature when you need it. 

You could also apply this process to making a decision to travel – you may decide to stay in one hotel versus another, or take the museum tour rather than the walking tour because it is summer. You make decisions that will define your experience, and the experience making decisions is almost part of your trip.

Decisions and experiences go hand in hand.

 

The 3-Step Process

Step 1: Inform/Educate

Goal: research to understand what's you are considering doing and consider all the possible options 

We need information to understand the decision we will (or will not) be making:

  • what the decision really is
  • pros and cons
  • expectations we should or shouldn't have about it
  • what else should we expect from that decision

Usually we want to know what we are getting ourselves into, and sometimes we want to do this alone. We want to read or watch a video or two to understand what options we have available and what's possible. 

Who creates the content:

Primarily the company or organization offering a product or service. However, one could also read content generated by users of the product/service, or third-parties.

What is this content:

It ranges from brochures to videos to white papers to instruction manuals. It could be FAQs or support forums. It could be reviews that live on a third-party web site. Basically, it's information related to what you are looking to do. 

Where it "lives"?

It can be printed or online at:

  • The company's Web site
  • YouTube
  • A blog
  • A forum
  • A review site
  • An online magazine
  • Social media

 Emotions it can raise to the user:

Anticipation, excitement for what is to come

 

Step 2: Communicate

Goal: Listen to others' experience of what you are planning to do. Hear the thoughts, opinions and experiences of others and learn how their experience applies to what you want to do. Discuss options in your frame of reference.

We never make decisions alone. We talk to others about their experiences and what they learned. We exchange information, hear opinions, listen to stories about other's experiences. Most decisions include a component where there is a conversation, but the conversation is based on how their experience could be similar and compared to yours. 

Conversations also make an idea "real." By verbalizing what you are considering, you are taking a step towards making a final decision. Until you talk about what you are considering, your idea that you are researching is a passing thought and fantasy. However, when you start talking about it and give it more attention, you are bringing your idea to life – it is becoming a possibility for action. 

Who participates in these conversations:

The company, current customers, people who experienced what you are looking to experience recently. 

What are these conversations:

These conversations are usually specific to your situation – what exactly are you looking for? Will this product or service or experience meet your needs?

Where it happens?

  • In person
  • On the phone
  • Online chat
  • Texting 

 Emotions it can raise to the user:

Anticipation, excitement for what is to come

 

Step 3: Act

Goal: Take the plunge and live the experience.

We feel that we have enough information to make a decision and take action. This step includes the experience of the app or event or restaurant or whatnot – and it includes support and service that comes with that item. So for an online app, it includes the experience of the app and support or help text. For a trip, it may include conversations with the concierge or help from the front desk regarding bags, parking, etc. For a restaurant, it includes interactions with the host or hostess, owner, wait staff, bartender, etc. 

And during the experience, you may need to make other decisions and experience this process again. 

 

Looking at the process to make a decision – to use an app, experience a new place or food, etc. –  most of someone's time is spent figuring out if the decision is right for him or her. Typically, we leave those interactions to marketing and support teams, and have UX focused on the app experience itself. However, I believe we need to merge UX and CX together to create an experience process that bridges the gap between marketing and product/service.

A user's experience of an app is no longer limited to being in the app itself.

  • The content about an app that a user reads or watches before using it contributes to the app experience.
  • As does the conversations he has about it on social media.
  • As does the live conversations about it with friends.
  • As does reading reviews and forums about it.
  • As does the conversations with support before and after purchase of the product.

Today, users experience an app as soon as they start considering using it. This is why an app is as strong as its community's experience – from what they learn about it to how they talk about it to how they use it. Users connect with others through forums and reviews and share these experiences. It's no longer company to user communication, or pure marketing. 

Further, the user understands the sales process and using the product as an entire experience – he doesn't necessarily separate the experience as we do in companies by department, marketing and product (ux). 

Neither should we as UX/CX professionals. We need to unite our experiences.

Experiences are a series of decisions. And we make decisions using a 3-step process.