5 Rules for Integrating UX with Agile Scrum | Jeff Gothelf

So then how do we define “done” for our teams? When do they move on to the next initiative? A lack of return on investment is a good place to start but how will we know that the return won’t come? The answer lies with our customers. We measure their behaviour. We listen to their needs, assess if our systems still meet them and what we’re willing to do to meet those ever-changing needs. We call these measures outcomes.

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I have come up with the following 5 rules for product teams to follow to make sure user experience (UX) design is integrated successfully into the agile process:

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A dedicated designer on every team

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Team-wide customer exposure hours

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Design work is a first-class citizen of the backlog

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Outcomes as prioritisation filters for the backlog

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Cross-functional participation in learning activities

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The iterative, retrospective (inspect and adapt anyone?) nature of scrum is a natural fit for UX and Design activities. The integration of customer insight into the process comes directly from the Agile Manifesto (customer collaboration and all that…). UX and Design move us even closer towards Agile’s customer-centric goal of satisfying the user frequently and at high quality.

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Posted on February 9, 2021