Time Estimation for UX

Process & Techniques
#1

I’m trying to convince stakeholders to give us adequate time for UX. On some projects we’re given around five weeks to do all the research, design, and testing. Not only does this lead us to not be able to iterate, it runs our designers and researchers ragged. We’ve tried switching to Kanban, but currently it’s treated as more of a work visualizaiton tool… not as a way to manage the project. Deadlines are still pushed on designers rather than being pulled.

Given these circumstances, does anyone know of any good methods for getting UX to have more time? Bare in mind that while we could do KPIs, we are usually not granted enough time to do so.

#2

hey @redrobinmeyer
this is an interesting topic for me.
In my experience planning a UX activity during a product design process is not an easy task.

Anyway, to me, your question is not 100% clear:

  • in which environment are u working (ex agency, company etc)?
  • I assume you’re working with Agile approach. Who owns the responsibility of the UX deliverables (ex. head of product, CTO etc )
  • Are the UX people involved during the planning phase?
  • do u have a shared product roadmap?
#3

I work with a company. We have a UX team that is separate from the developers (which won’t be changing, so we have worked out methods to collaborate with developers). To be honest, I would not say that we are using Agile even though Kanban has been introduced. The Kanban board is useful, but people are treating it more like a calendar than something that helps to manage the process and they constantly ignore the WIP limits. As for ownership, usually whoever started the project on the business side acts as its owner. However, we also find ourselves answering to other people along the way, and it often escalates the scope. A lot of the problem is, in fact, the project process. Business requirements, scope, and a roadmaps are not often planned. Often things are simply mandated down the line. Or, if we are brought into the project planning, stakeholders tell us they don’t have time for UX.

So this is largely a matter of culture change and project process change. The thing is, I’m not sure what techniques to use to persuade people or guide the project process in a better direction.