With the introduction and popularization of Agile methods of software development, existing relationships and working agreements between user experience groups and developers are being disrupted. Agile methods introduce new concepts: the Product Owner, the Customer (but not the user), short iterations, User Stories. Where do UX professionals fit in this new world? Agile methods also bring a new mindset -- no big design, no specifications, minimal planning -- which conflict with the needs of UX design. This lecture discusses the key elements of Agile for the UX community and describes strategies UX people can use to contribute effectively in an Agile team, overcome key weaknesses in Agile methods as typically implemented, and produce a more robust process and more successful designs. We present a process combining the best practices of Contextual Design, a leading approach to user-centered design, with those of Agile development. Table of Contents: Introduction / Common Agile Methods / Agile Culture / Best Practices for Integrating UX with Agile / Structure of a User-Centered Agile Process / Structuring Projects / Conclusion
Interactive art has become much more common as a result of the many ways in which the computer and the Internet have facilitated it. Issues relating to Human-Computer Interaction are as important to interactive art making as issues relating to the colours of paint are to painting. It is not that HCI and art necessarily share goals. It is just that much of the knowledge of HCI and its methods can contribute to interactive art making. This paper reviews recent work that looks at these issues in the art context. In interactive digital art, the artist is concerned with how the artwork behaves, how the audience interacts with it and, ultimately, in participant experience and their degree of engagement. The paper looks at these issues and brings together a collection of research results and art practice experiences that together help to illuminate this significant new and expanding area. In particular, it is suggested that this work points towards a much needed critical language that can be used to describe, compare and discuss interactive digital art.
