Your team is adopting agile development. How can you make sure UX is integrated into the process?

1 Align UX and agile goals

The first step to integrate UX into agile development is to align the goals and values of both disciplines. UX and agile share a common focus on user satisfaction, quality, and continuous improvement, but they may differ in their methods, deliverables, and timelines. To bridge this gap, you need to communicate clearly and frequently with your team, stakeholders, and users, and to establish a shared vision, roadmap, and criteria for success. You also need to educate your team and stakeholders about the benefits and challenges of UX, and to advocate for user research, testing, and feedback throughout the development cycle.

4 Collaborate with the agile team

The fourth step to integrate UX into agile development is to collaborate closely with the agile team and to participate in the agile ceremonies and rituals. Agile ceremonies and rituals are the meetings and events that structure the agile process, such as daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprint review, sprint retrospective, and backlog grooming. You need to attend these meetings and events regularly and actively, and to share your UX insights, progress, and challenges with the team. You also need to listen to the team's feedback, suggestions, and questions, and to resolve any issues or conflicts that may arise.

5 Test and iterate UX solutions

The fifth step to integrate UX into agile development is to test and iterate your UX solutions based on the user and team feedback. Testing and iterating are essential for validating your assumptions, improving your designs, and enhancing the user satisfaction and performance. You need to test your UX solutions with real or representative users, using methods such as usability testing, user interviews, surveys, or analytics. You also need to iterate your UX solutions based on the test results, the team's feedback, and the sprint goals, and to document and communicate your changes and rationale.

6 Evaluate UX impact and outcomes

The sixth and final step to integrate UX into agile development is to evaluate the impact and outcomes of your UX solutions on the user and business goals. Evaluating is important for measuring the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of your UX solutions, and for demonstrating the value and return on investment of UX. You need to define and track the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that reflect the user and business goals, such as conversion, retention, engagement, or satisfaction. You also need to collect and analyze the data and evidence that support your findings, and to report and celebrate your achievements and learnings with the team and stakeholders.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?