At Onvi, the product development team utilized the "Shape Up" methodology. Feature teams containing design, engineering, and quality resources are given a "pitch," which includes the problem space and a possible low-fidelity solution that aligns with the business. From there, the team has a strict six-week deadline (plus a 2-week cooldown) to execute and deliver as much value reasonably in that time.
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As the Head of Design, it was one of my highest priorities to set and document expectations for individual designers participating inside of bathes. My efforts aimed to ensure that the overall design process could be effectively executed within the time constraints of the Shape Up cycle.
Below is a breakdown of a six-week Big Batch cycle with a 2-week cooldown. This list is designed to set some expectations and suggested deliverables. However, the designers always have the autonomy to decide the best course of action for themselves to ensure the team can deliver value to customers quickly.
The first week's goal is to gather data, reach out to the available users for interviews, and lead the team through collaborative exploration. Designers are responsible for running a kickoff workshop with the team after receiving the pitch.
While each project is different, a good goal would be to walk out of this week with a breadboard fidelity solution demonstrating a general user flow and helping engineers understand the data needed.
Working off the breadboard, craft UI wireframes that help the team understand the broad strokes of each page in the user's journey. Then, partner with the rest of the batch team to create documented scopes in the Hill Chart and the "Scopes" page in Notion.
During the third week, you should convert the wireframes to high-fidelity designs and prototypes. While we should focus on utilizing the components in the design system, there are always unique situations that require novel solutions. If you run into this, please ensure to document this so we can add it to the overall library.
It would be best if you also drafted an initial plan for an unmoderated usability study to ensure users can successfully identify the data presented in the UI and complete related tasks.
At the beginning of the week, we should execute the usability study. Given the unmoderated panel, results should be available within the next few days. Keep an eye on them to ensure the participants match our user base and that the test is running smoothly.
During week four, you should also be wrapping up your final UI prototypes and sharing them with the broader company. In addition, we will host a company-wide design critique, so make sure to prepare a brief walk-through. In this walkthrough, call out new interface moments or additional components to get feedback on the overall usability and alignment with the brand.
Week five should focus on synthesizing the research data as quickly as possible. You'll want to coordinate with your team based on the results. Is there a term in the interface that users stumbled over? Was the overall flow very confusing to them?
It's essential to get this information to your team as quickly as possible so they can use the time in the next two weeks to figure out what adjustments they can make now and what needs to be pushed to the KanBan board.
At this point in the cycle, a majority of the design needs are resolved. After the high-pressure weeks, it's good to allow yourself time to slow down and relax.
In week six, most of your effort should be enabling your engineers by answering their questions, quickly reviewing their implementations, and ensuring a smooth rollout.
The cool-down phase of the cycle is a great time to revisit some of the cycle's missed opportunities, help with testing the new features and interfaces, and help the broader team cool down.
Now is also the perfect time to share design learnings, document new design patterns, refine the library components, and partner with engineering to make updates to the Onvi Design System.
The Hill Chart is an integral part of the Shape Up process. All the scopes identified in the first two weeks should live on the hill chart based on their level of done.
A lot of the work for design will happen on the left side of the Hill Chart, working from complete uncertainty up to about halfway up the hill. The remainder of the upward part of the hill is a collaboration with engineering to ensure the goal, design, and technical requirements are all known.
This chart also acts as a great visual tool for reviewing with leadership and the broader team, enabling you to identify where the status of scopes lies easily. As the cycle moves forward, the goal is for everything to crest the top of the hill and make its way to the bottom right when it's built and ready to ship.
