Understanding what people need


"We must begin digital projects by exploring and pinpointing the needs of the people who will use the service, and the ways the service will fit into their lives. Whether the users are members of the public or government employees, policy makers must include real people in their design process from the beginning. The needs of people — not constraints of government structures or silos — should inform technical and design decisions. We need to continually test the products we build with real people to keep us honest about what is important." - CIO Digital Playbook 

The principals at Agile Six (Ernie, Brian, Edward and I), decided to jump out of rather stable and lucrative jobs to start a company in the service of Veterans.  We saw a hole and we felt an obligation to fill it.   As a team, we are immensely inspired by the USDS and the CIO Playbook because in them we find support and advocacy for ideas we have been espousing for the last several years in the face of many critics. Over the coming months I would like to elaborate on how we read the playbook and why we are so inspired by it.

Play 1 - Understand what people need.

I find it particularly impressive that the USDS chose to make this the first play.  It makes total sense to me that we "begin with the ends in mind".  We should always start with the basic questions:
  •  What gap or need are we filling? 
  • Who benefits from what we are building, and how will they engage with the product of our investment?  
Whenever we bid on a project, we spend time envisioning how our participation in the project will ultimately improve the lives of the user (veterans, their families and/or care providers).  If our participation in a project will not make a veteran or her caregiver, or family member’s life better, then we should not pursue the work. 

Additionally, early empathy with the end-user is critical to designing a great user experience (which, we will discuss in greater depth as we look at Play 2 - Address the whole experience).  It has always amazed me how some software projects will totally neglect the user, and bring them into the project only as an afterthought and even ask the user to reshape how they act around the application.   This leads to wasted investment, as users will ultimately decide to neglect adaptation and actively work around the tools that should provide empowerment.

The principals of Agile Six came together to serve the user (in our case veterans, their families and care providers).  We formed our whole company on the idea that we exist ultimately to serve them.  We have witnessed the power of Agile and user-centric design in service of great user experiences and we are deeply committed to it.

From the Playbook:  http://playbook.cio.gov
Early in the project, spend time with current and prospective users of the service
Checklist
  • Use a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods to determine people’s goals, needs, and behaviors; be thoughtful about the time spent·      
  • Test prototypes of solutions with real people, in the field if possible·      
  • Document the findings about user goals, needs, behaviors, and preferences·      
  • Share findings with the team and agency leadership·      
  • Create a prioritized list of tasks the user is trying to accomplish, also known as "user stories"·      
  • As the digital service is being built, regularly test it with potential users to ensure it meets people’s needs
Key Questions·      
  • Who are your primary users?·      
  • What user needs will this service address?·      
  • Why does the user want or need this service?·      
  • Which people will have the most difficulty with the service?
  • Which research methods were used?·      
  • What were the key findings?·      
  • How were the findings documented?
  • Where can future team members access the documentation?·      
  • How often are you testing with real people?

- Robert  -  (robert.rasmussen@agile6.com) 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Thoughts on the United Airlines Incident by Brian Derfer, CTO, Agile Six Applications, Inc. By now readers have almost certainly heard of United Airlines and the Chicago Police  forcibly removing a passenger , Dr. Dao, from a United Airlines flight in order to accommodate United crew members who needed to be transported to Louisville. Here are a few thoughts that I have had as I think about this incident from the perspective of a software developer: This is not about rights Framing the issue as a matter of rights completely misses the point, in my opinion. It seems pretty clear that United has the legal right to remove passengers to accommodate their employees. On the flip-side, travelers have the right to choose other airlines in the future, and stock-holders have the right to buy or sell United Airlines stock. To me the issue is whether removing Dr. Dao and the other passengers was a decision that was a) ethical, and b) served the best interests of the passengers
Read more

A Discussion of Agile Program Procurement

Image
Having managed dozens of projects over a period of 20 years, it is the opinion of the author that a there are two basic realities that must be embraced to fully benefit from Agile: “Something has to give” - Planning is important, but all successful projects leverage opportunities for elasticity, collaboration and resilience.  “Sharing is caring” - Sharing objectives and risk between a vendor and a client usually facilitate “win/win” relationships leading to great software. We believe that the best way for the Government and vendors to appropriately share risk under an Agile Development framework is to move away from a Fixed Firm Price/ Fixed Firm Scope system altogether, and instead move towards a model where Government buys fixed capacity in advance from a company (i.e. a team of a fixed size) and then assigns that team with tasks as projects arise. Read more in our new white paper  - A Discussion of Agile ProgramProcurement. 
Read more

At Team Six serving together builds purpose.

Image
Thanks to Team Six for Serving our Vets! Friday the 17th of July, the team at Agile Six was honored to pick up trash at the annual Veteran Stand Down in San Diego. Homeless veterans and their families receive food, clothing, showers, medical and dental care at Stand Down, and can take advantage of a special court for the homeless, recovery services, employment referrals, counseling and chaplain services.  Serving the community together, builds stronger teams.  Thanks to our nation's Veterans!  WE'VE GOT YOUR SIX! - Robert  -  (robert.rasmussen@agile6.com)
Read more