IBM iX – TAMM:
UX Consultation
Program description
TAMM is an initiative by ADSSA (Abu Dhabi Smart Solutions & Services Authority) with the aim of digitising the vast majority of government services provided by the multitude of Abu Dhabi’s government entities.
Interviews & Secondary research
During the preliminary stages of the project, interviews were conducted with key stakeholders and target users to extract business goals to map against user needs. Industry reports and white papers were also used to gather secondary research to back up qualitative data.
Proto-personas
From initial research & interviews, prototype personas were identified. These personas would be referenced consistently throughout the project. Initially, they were used during design thinking workshops whereby they formed the basis for a number of activities during the sessions.
Design thinking workshops
A number of workshops were held throughout the programme. At the beginning of each phase of work, two day sessions would be held with users. During these sessions, activities included empathy mapping with our key users, scenario mapping (As-is, To-be), big ideas, prioritisation grid, experience based roadmapping and co-design of prioritised features.
Experience & empathy mapping
Using outputs from design thinking workshops as well as additional sessions, end-to-end holistic experience/ empathy maps were created. These maps detailed processes and described attributes such as expected user behaviour, thoughts and pain points throughout each step in the products lifecycle.
Paper-prototyping
After workshop participants helped define the core features of the application, they started to explore the flow through some of the key features. With a scenario set, screens were quickly sketched out and ordered, helping to visualise the steps and actions required to complete each task.
Information architecture
Once the core features and pages of the application were identified, the preliminary IA was worked up to establish the hierarchy and ordering of content. A series of card sorting sessions were organised with users and key stakeholders to help identify groupings and feature/ content prioritisation.
User flows
With a draft IA in place, the next step was to take the prioritised features and outputs from workshops to build more precise journeys. Initially these journeys were drafted with text and lo-fidelity sketches and wireframes in order to gather feedback early from users and stakeholders, before increasing the fidelity.
Wire-framing
The fidelity of the wireframes increased incrementally after varying rounds of feedback from key stakeholders and target users on the developing flows. Feature flows were tested regularly using prototyping software such as ‘InVision’, ’Sketch’ and ‘Overflow’. Flows and wireframes were also shared regularly with developers and interface designers for technical feedback.
User interface design
Working closely with interface designers and the DLS (design language system) team, key components were identified which would be independently designed and user tested. Although wireframes and UI were developed independently, UX designers regularly referenced the DLS library for new components. This was a vital exercise in order to check for any inconsistent or duplicated components that could in turn effect the overall user experience.
User testing
Testing sessions were conducted regularly throughout the wireframing and interface design stages. UX team members in each SCRUM team aimed to conduct a couple days testing during each 2 week sprint cycle. During each session, around 3-5 users would be recruited to test set scenarios using either prototyping software or the developed product features in a test environment. The metrics captured during these sessions would be synthesised by the UX team member and communicated back to key stakeholders. Any critical bugs or additional tasks aimed at improving the user experience would be added to the sprint backlog.
Training & mentoring
As a senior team member and the design lead, key responsibilities included not only training and mentoring but also the production of documentation outlining standards, tools and methodologies. These were published on Confluence, the programs document management tool. Any new team member would be on-boarded using the documentation which referenced key material such as the user testing framework and recruitment templates, principles and guidelines as well as the SCRUM design process and deliverable during each sprint.
Sprint planning & backlog management
Another primary responsibility as a senior member of the team and the design lead was to work closely with key stakeholders to manage the sprint backlog for both the interface and DLS team as well as manage the feature backlog for the business vertical SCRUM team. This involved prioritising tasks based on feedback from user testing sessions and stakeholder meetings as well as attending sprint backlog planning sessions with all SCRUM team members.
Responsibilities
Initial responsibilities
As the senior experience consultant & design lead within the business vertical of the TAMM program, initial responsibilities included planning and conducting user research activities such as interviews, workshops, empathy/ experience mapping sessions, proto-personas creation and producing user journeys for use in the development of product features.
Early activities included the planning and running of design thinking workshops with key stakeholders and end-users. Amongst a number of outputs from these workshops, key pain points were identified, personas synthesised, desired features roadmapped and paper prototypes created with the aid of end-users.
Developing responsibilities
Alongside everyday activities as a senior user experience consultant & design lead, it also become a personal endeavour to help develop, implement and uphold user experience and design standards across the entire program. This included the synthesis of existing industry standards that were customised to fit the bespoke needs of the program.
These standards were then used during on-boarding of new team members and also referenced when mentoring junior, mid-weight and senior design team members across all program verticals. This was also taken on as a personal responsibility.
Other holistic program responsibilities that followed included building the information architecture models for key areas of the product such as search, navigation, forms and user profiles.
Managing and delegating
With the addition of these program wide responsibilities, it was important to manage and delegate some of the decentralised business vertical tasks by recruiting and assigning additional team members to fill the gap. At this point in time, design backlog management and task assignment became a primary responsibility as the sole design lead for the business vertical. This included assigning tasks to a number of senior user interface designers and scheduling regular alignment meetings.
As personal tasks and responsibilities became more centralised and interaction with the business vertical waned, it became pivotal to maintain a close relationship with the lead developers and key stakeholders of the stream by attending daily stand-ups and planning meetings. Any findings from the centralised team would be relayed within these meetings and workshopped to determine if there would be an effect on the prioritisation of features within the sprint backlog.
On-going responsibilities
With the addition of increased management tasks, it remained a personal responsibility to work closely with designers and developers alike to help conceptualise, prototype, test, iterate and deploy features and functionality within the decentralised business stream sprint backlog.
The production of prototypes for user testing, scenario building, session preparation and conducting user testing sessions also remained key on-going responsibilities due to the vital function and importance of these activities to key stakeholders.
As part of the centralised design team, it also remained a key responsibility through-out, to work closely with front-end developers to help establish and maintain the core design language system – the programs user interface component library and global standards portal.
Key learnings & progression
International team
Working with an international, multi-functional and diverse team from all corners of the globe bought with it increased complexity with difficulties such as language barriers, cultural differences and the complexities that come with managing remote workers. A key learning that came from this experience was the importance of maintaining and expanding our design language system by having concise, appropriate and clear global standards for all to follow.
Agencies & entities
Another complexity that came with the scale of the project was the number of individuals across multiple government agencies that needed to be involved in the everyday decision making within the team. Strong organisation and planning skills were required in order to make sure the right individuals were in the right meeting at the right time.
It was also pivotal to remain flexible in order to extract and absorb as much information from these individuals as possible. This remained an important factor throughout and was vital in order to land on the right decision – or a middle-ground – that would cater for everyones needs.
Management & mentoring
As the role grew into a more managerial one, additional responsibilities including task delegation and team mentoring became a more prominent focus. Although not the first engagement where these skills were required, the size and advanced skills of the team bought new challenges.
The key to success laid in effective planning and the delegation of tasks whilst managing ones own workload. This enabled time to be dedicate to additional managerial responsibilities such as alignment meetings, recruitment tasks and on-boarding.
Patience
Probably the most important skill to have on a large-scale governmental program is patience. The patience to let the product grow at its own pace and to not hastily rush into poor decisions due to internal and/ or external pressures. The achieve this, it was necessary to disconnect oneself from the situation by taking a regular step back to view the program from a holistic viewpoint and understand where real impact was being made – as at a given time it was not always immediately obvious.
Technical skills
Technical skills progress naturally during the course of any program of work. However, it’s remained important to constantly push the boundaries and explore and experiment with both hard and soft skills that may be considered outside of ones personal discipline. In particular, discovering new research and analysis techniques used in other fields of study that could be adapted for use in the UX field.
Along with the more experimenting aspects of technical development, it also remained important to reference more official, industry renown material. Material such as articles related to industry standards and principles, new information architecture modals, wireframing best practices and templates, new testing techniques and interface design materials and trends.
New tools & workflow
Although it’s important to master hardware and software in order to increase efficiency, it’s also vital to experiment with new tools and software in order to optimise workflow and maximise ones efficiency. Discovering software such as Overflow – used in parallel with Sketch – drastically reduced the turnaround time for a major deliverable at a pivotal point in the program. This highlights the importance of remaining open to using new software and acquiring new skills.