This is Part 1 in our blog series on how the design process works alongside Agile methodology to produce results within an integrated team.
Updated 2/5/2026. Originally published 2/2/2024
When it comes to developing new software, not every designer approaches the task the same way. While some use a design thinking approach, looking at the tasks from a user perspective, others use Agile methods, approaching it from an iterative project management standpoint. However, the two approaches are not mutually exclusive.
The most successful designers approach their tasks using design thinking which helps inform prioritization within the Agile methodology. High performing teams delivering outcomes through the agile methodology do so with confidence when they know solutions are informed by the voice of the user.
Working with Design Thinking and Agile Timelines
Designers who’ve worked alongside Agile methodologies have likely felt the pressure of Agile timelines conflicting with the need for comprehensive design. While the approaches may feel conflicting at first, it’s important to remember that both design and Agile methodologies emphasize the importance of working in small iterations to develop products that constantly evolve— focusing on the smallest modifications that lead to making valuable products and building upon them.
However, with its need for preliminary research, I’ve observed that user experience (UX) design can give Agile practitioners the impression of a waterfall process. Agile teams want to deliver quickly and continue iterating on the project after receiving feedback. As a UX designer, it is my responsibility to establish and fulfil the human need by talking to some users and conducting competitor research before we dive blindly into development.
Working as a UX designer in this environment can feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. You have a client who cares about the bottom line and wants to get to market quickly and a development team of Agile evangelists who fulfill those desires by working immediately and incrementally. But a designer needs time for research to understand and empathize with the needs of the people the product will serve while also meeting the needs of the client organization.
This issue is eloquently described by design leaders Maria Giudice and Christopher Ireland below:
Agile started as a pure development process, which has made it difficult to weave in traditional design processes, like big picture strategic thinking and up-front research that may not fit nicely into a sprint cycle. It requires flexibility and adaptability to incorporate those elements into the process. Without experienced guidance, it can easily spiral into chaos.
From Changemakers: How Leaders Can Design Change in an Insanely Complex World by Maria Giudice and Christopher Ireland
To avoid this chaos, your team must become integrated and collaborative. It is more than possible for the design process to work alongside Agile methodology to produce results in tandem with development and product team members.
Becoming an Integrated Team
What seems like tension between Agile development processes, user experience needs, and a sustainable business is actually a representation of the three design thinking ingredients for any successful product: feasibility, desirability, and viability. All three must be considered in the product’s design to avoid the risk of failure; it can’t be implemented (unfeasible), the market rejects it (undesirable), or the business tanks (unviable). In other words, the differing concerns and expertise within your integrated team actually better position you to build something great!
Therefore, design isn’t a waterfall process, but a cross-functional practice that your whole team participates in, whether they know it or not.
→ For a tangible example of how this balance can be achieved, take a look at our work with the Royal Academy of Arts. This project exemplifies how thoughtful UX research, combined with Agile development, can lead to exceptional results that serve both the client's goals and the users' needs.
Involve Your Agile Team in Design Activities
The design process could be described as a wheel turning along a track — and much like the Agile methodology, it advances in iterative cycles.
A cycle can be split into three categories Find Out, Translate, Create. Each category describes the activities that take place within that spoke of the cycle, and activities in each category inform the next.
Design is more than just an upfront investment. A UX professional engaged throughout the entire design through delivery cycle helps the team work in a more iterative and Agile manner by testing each new iteration in a controlled, low-stakes environment. Each new cycle validates team assumptions and dives deeper into understanding a user’s desires, the problems they want to solve, and how they expect to solve them. This results in a higher degree of confidence that the solution is a product market fit.
The involvement of developers and stakeholders to Find Out, Translate, and Create positively influences the design direction and challenges and redresses viability and feasibility hypotheses.
→ Interested in seeing the power of this approach in practice? Check out our team’s full-service approach on Axus Travel — from initial concept through brand development to the creation of user-friendly interfaces packed with extensive functionality.
Collaborative Activities for Each Design Spoke
It’s not always practical to occupy your development and product teammates’ time in every design activity. However, it is imperative that your findings inform each others’ work. The following list of activities are ones I recommend collaborating on to reach deep levels of productivity, together.
- Find Out
- Stakeholder interviews
- Competitive analysis and analogous research
- User interviews and testing
- CI tools for accessibility
- Analytical tools
- Translate
- Presenting synthesis and insights
- Communicating product service
- Create
- Interview and user testing moderation guides
- Ideation
- Building prototypes
- Creating a user interface (UI) library
By viewing design as an opportunity to join forces and include the entire team’s expertise on feasibility, desirability, and viability, teams can enjoy the creation of a successful product on a much deeper level.
To learn more about how your team members can collaborate on each of these activities, be sure to check out Part 2 of this series. And if you’re wondering how a design-led, Agile approach could revolutionize your projects, give us a shout!
