
A2Agile Inc. provides businesses with workshops, training, and materials on Agile Methodologies.
Kristina Rudolph | Product Design — Ux Research & Design
Helene & Tom | Product Owners/Stakeholders
Duration | Sept. 2019 – Mar. 2020
Software/Materials | AdobeCS, Google Slides, Agile Methodologies

See below for how the full process unfolded
Overview
Why / How / What
- WHY: Product owners wanted a lower cognitive load for workshop participants and training materials and brand clarity.
- HOW: Qualitative Ux research in the field revealed formatting and design improvements for training materials, graphics, and icons.
- WHAT: Product owner & material outcomes (below)

Outcomes
- Raised awareness of potential design and material clarity
- Simplified the “Value Cycle” and developed building block icons transferable to workshop materials and slides
- Formatting improvements were addressed
- Improved cognitive load through simplified materials and slides

Frustration, confusion, and cognitive overload
Discoveries
- Product owners training materials were cluttered, slides and materials were very text-heavy and lacked consistent iconography
- The product owners wanted a consistent look for lecture materials and slides to articulate an efficient flow of their two-day workshop
- The product owners proprietary “value cycle,” infographic was hard to read on slides and overly complex to read on printed materials
Original Layout & Flow
Value cycle infographic

Right: Original graphic with multi-directional arrows and hard-to-read line drawings
Initial product owner meeting
A 5-page report was released and a 2-hour meeting with the product owners revealed:
- Field research gathered from in-class materials and slides
- Field research gathered from workshop attendees
- Formatting issues discovered on slides and materials
- Design and content display recommendations to establish consistent iconography
- Feedback to specific slide content and microcopy opportunities
Research

Pain points of focus

- “Value Cycle” redesign
- How the “Value Cycle” ties in with the SCRUM cycle
- Formatting PowerPoint consistency using templated slides
- New images and icons for slide materials

Interviews / Observations

- No personas were created
- On-site interviews and qualitative feedback were gathered
- Recordings and photographs revealed quotes, questions, and body language discoveries
- 5-page observational research was shared with product owners.
Addressing pain points
- Improvement of the visual identity was requested to help attendees better navigate and retain workshop content.
- The flow of slides and workshop booklet materials and exercises was inconsistent and confusing at times.
- There were issues with consistency on slides and a common brand identity theme.
Design
Below design process shows value cycle training with SCRUM elements. Other information, icons, and slides from training have been omitted.

Process
Agile Scrum sprints were done every couple of weeks dependant on scheduling availability followed by an hour-long virtual review with the product owners.
Feedback and iterations were discussed and elements of the design continued to be carried forward through each sprint.
Initial debrief “low-fi” visuals:

“High-fi”Visuals
Sprint 1:

Notes taken during the first sprint review are written at 45 degrees.
Sprint 2:

Sprint 3:

Sprint 4:

Sprint 5:

Final deliverable & components:
Three experiences were created to be used in different areas of the presentation materials to lower cognitive overload.


Stand-alone icons used as building blocks:
For use in slides to carry through concepts throughout the training, slides, and booklet materials.


For current A2Agile Inc. workshops visit: https://www.a2agile.com