A Framework Based on UCD and Scrum for the Software Development Process

Abstract

This paper proposes a framework that successfully includes UCD techniques and roles into Scrum. A systematic literature review was previously developed with the purpose of defining the most relevant methodologies and techniques to overcome the challenges of integrating Scrum and UCD. Afterwards, the information gathered was complemented by interviews with HCI experts, designers and developers. The most relevant methodologies and techniques reported were further analyzed through a comparative analysis, after which one methodology and nine techniques were selected to be included in the Scrum-UCD framework. A first version of the proposal was developed, detailing phases, activities and roles that would work as a guide towards the development of small and large software development projects. This proposal was tested in a small software project that involved the redesign and improvement of a banking system, and results regarding the team experience, final product usability and resource efficiency were evaluated against previous projects’ results of the same institution that followed Scrum without the integration of UCD. This comparison demonstrated that following the proposed framework improved the overall software development process, and the first version of the proposal was updated to solve the problems identified during the different stages of the project.