Yes, iterative design is possible. Here’s how to get your engineers and product managers on board.

We recently conducted research to determine the best practices for integrating UX methods with Agile development projects. We focused the research on techniques that successful UX practitioners use to support Agile teams. The findings in the latest Agile UX report 3 rd edition are based on research with product managers, designers, UX researchers, and software engineers. The research was conducted in in the U. Overall, for this new round of Agile research, respondents participated in our surveys and 24 more professionals were part of in-depth interviews and case studies. UX has made strides in infusing Agile processes with user-centered design approaches.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution and every organization is different.

4 Best Practices for Integrating UX with Agile - User-Centered Agile Methods [Book]

However, Agile adoption is prevalent enough that UX practitioners have had time to learn from past failures and work out many kinks. The respondents in our study report that 69 percent of the projects they support are Agile. This is a significant increase compared to years past. For example, Waterfall might be used for requirements and design phases and Agile for implementation. This shows that Agile is far from perfect, and product teams are still struggling to make Agile work for their organizations.

Findings from our research indicate that UX processes and Agile development methods, when applied thoughtfully, can result in improved user experience AND business value. Compared to Waterfall, Agile is gaining success. Issues are identified sooner and features are delivered faster. Gone are the days when developers and designers spent months and months cranking away, working independently, and only identified issues after the product went live.

Many of our respondents report combining Agile and UX practices has reduced last-minute surprises and has allowed teams to make adjustments as needed after each iteration.

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Garnering sufficient UX resources is still a struggle for many organizations, and onboarding is continuous. Setting proper expectations makes communication and transitions run smoother. The takeaway from this finding is that if your organization just recently adopted Agile, you should a expect some teething pains, and b not let these early problems discourage you, because success may well lie ahead after a few more years of organizational learning.

The increase in UX investment shows that more organizations see user experience as important for business.


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The average team size is 10 and includes about two UX professionals. Note, the respondents in our study mostly comprise of people who attended the UX Conference and work in organizations that support UX training. The actual ratio for Agile teams in general might be lower. Keep in mind however, that having more UX professionals does not automatically guarantee success. Corporate Agile UX maturity levels along with other factors such as company culture and structure can impact success.

People who are happy with their work environment report working in organizations who support a healthy, collaborative culture with clear roles and responsibilities. Everyone on the team including developers and stakeholders have a responsibility to produce useful, quality products. The trend is increasing for UX professionals to work closely with product managers , to discuss strategy, and prioritize work.

UX can provide useful data to inform the direction of projects and help teams maintain a coherent vision of the bigger user interface architecture. Similar to the earlier years, many UX Agile teams reported still preferring to conduct UX activities ahead of development sprints. Scrum masters, or project managers, are necessary to help run the project.

We recommend having people in these roles on both the agency and the client side. Among other things, they oversee a risk register and help mitigate risks accordingly. When combining agile and UCD approaches, we find it best to start with a user-focused research sprint, which we often refer to as sprint zero —unless the client already has a relevant brand and solid user-centric research. Unlike other sprints, for which software is the output, the purpose of sprint zero is to define the user experience requirements and, if necessary, design a new brand and preliminary style guides and marketing messaging.

Doing typical user, stakeholder, and market-based UCD research during sprint zero ensures that all requirements are evidence based. The team also produces branding assets, when necessary, that they can use to help propel future sprints. For us, sprint zero usually includes a series of high-level epics, comprising bundled stories or spikes—research-driven stories or tasks—to which we allocate effort points.

In all other aspects, we manage sprint zero just like any other sprint, with a cross-functional, collaborative team coming together for daily standup meetings to resolve any issues and keeping very open lines of communication with the client stakeholders.


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This may mean conducting usability testing with fewer participants, testing low-fidelity mockups, or streamlining some planning processes. Nielsen Norman refers to these as discount usability methods. Again, all team members should be involved in deciding on the output of each UCD activity and translating insights into realistic, actionable tasks. To keep a record of deliverables and decisions, we use high-level documentation that is concise and actionable.

Examples include creating visual presentations instead of lengthy documents or providing light-weight summaries of research insights and a list of the resulting actions. Whenever possible, we also use tools such as Basecamp that provide integrated revision control and collaborative features that save more time.

Agile User Experience and UCD

Otherwise, UX designers may be forced to rely on assumptions rather than evidence, or they may end up creating a patchwork user experience that addresses each individual requirement, but overlooks the bigger picture. In my opinion, allocating sufficient time for research and doing it properly is the biggest challenge in combining agile and UCD approaches.

When necessary, we overcome this issue by having our designers work on core features a sprint in advance, giving them time to solve the big issues and ensure a holistic user experience. That said, when doing this, you have to be extremely careful not to silo design work and ensure that all team members are still collaborating on and solving problems together. In combination, agile and UCD approaches really can offer the best of both worlds, resulting in the rapid delivery of digital products that users love.

The trick is in making it really work because, despite sharing philosophical elements, the approaches are radically different in practice. Nevertheless, the strength of this combination does not make it right for all projects.

User-Centered Agile Methods by Hugh Beyer

Every project is different. Inspired by his goal of fusing creative, technical, and marketing expertise into the creation of superior user experiences, he established the agency in In his leadership role at Cyber-Duck, he continues to refine their accredited design process, drawing on both the Lean and agile project-management methodologies, along with creative research and development.

Numerous publications, including UX Magazine , Econsultancy , and Smashing Magazine , have featured his digital insights. Sprint Planning For larger and more technical projects, we recommend a four-week sprint. A Research and Planning Sprint When combining agile and UCD approaches, we find it best to start with a user-focused research sprint, which we often refer to as sprint zero —unless the client already has a relevant brand and solid user-centric research.

To Conclude In combination, agile and UCD approaches really can offer the best of both worlds, resulting in the rapid delivery of digital products that users love. Join the Discussion Full name. The Elements of Content Strategy.