Agile product-development offers opportunities for overcoming issues that traditional development methods introduce. However, incorporating user experiences (UX) practices to an Agile framework is a major challenge in many organizations.

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 (3rd edition) are based on research with product managers, designers, UX researchers, and software engineers. The research was conducted in in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Singapore, and it involved a combination of surveys and in-depth interviews and case studies. Overall, for this new round of Agile research, 356 respondents participated in our surveys and 24 more professionals were part of in-depth interviews and case studies.

Agile Adoption

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. 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.

Interestingly, of the professionals who practice Agile, 22% admit that their teams take a hybrid approach and do not stick to pure Agile practices. 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.

Agile Success

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.

In general, people agree that the Agile framework facilitates transparency and iteration. 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.

What Agile UX Teams Look Like

Significant Agile experience

On average, the number of years organizations have been practicing Agile is 2.9 years.

When we looked at professionals who rated their Agile projects as being highly effective (scored 6 or 7 on a 1–7 scale with 1= least effective and 7=most effective), we found that highly effective projects usually belong to organizations that have practiced Agile for over 3 years on average.

Less successful teams (scored 1-3 with 1= least effective and 7=most effective) tended to have less experience with Agile, almost 1 year less.

Successful Agile processes take years to perfect, and, even so, they’re not perfect. Garnering sufficient UX resources is still a struggle for many organizations, and onboarding is continuous. It’s important to educate clients, new team members, and outside teams on the adopted Agile UX processes. 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.

Investment in UX

On average, 17% of members on teams were UX professionals (compared with 10% from past years). The increase in UX investment shows that more organizations see user experience as important for business.

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.) 17% might seem like a luxury, but this data provides evidence that obtaining adequate UX resources is possible, and gives hope to those who haven’t reached that point yet.

Keep in mind however, that having more UX professionals does not automatically guarantee success. The percentage of UX members was about the same (17%) in both successful and less successful teams. Corporate Agile UX maturity levels along with other factors such as company culture and structure can impact success.

Collaborative culture

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.

UX work ahead of development sprints

Similar to the earlier years, many UX Agile teams reported still preferring to conduct UX activities ahead of development sprints. Staggering the UX/UI and the development work so that research and design are completed at least a sprint ahead of the implementation work gives designers time to think through and test their assumptions. The big difference now, however, is that mature teams have better-choreographed processes for collaboration and hand-off points. There is clarity in roles and responsibilities. Members know what is expected and what falls within their realm of influence.

Proactive UX professionals

Our respondents reported that UX practitioners involved in highly effective projects apply research and design-thinking techniques to inform product design, and lead activities that foster team cohesion and collaboration. They conduct both generative and evaluative research to identify feature gaps and examine both long-term and short-term solutions. Rather than just waiting for feature requests to come from product managers and stakeholders, UX people proactively reach out to end users, discovering opportunities for their products to fill unmet user needs and stand out in crowded markets.

Institutionalized process to protect user-centered design

Some of the respondents involved in highly effective projects shared that their teams have a formalized process for approving user stories to minimize disruptive requests from management or outsiders who swoop in without proper context or knowledge of the situation. Appropriate training of new hires ensures that employees company-wide (including management and stakeholders) are familiar with established rules and abide by them.

UX Influence

While Agile UX teams experience greater levels of success today than 7 years ago, UX influence still has room to grow. On average, practitioners scored UX influence on their Agile projects only 4.0 out of 7 (1= low influence, 7=great influence).

The Agile method was originally conceived as a method for programmers to improve their implementation practices. Software projects obviously rely on more skillsets than purely programming, and software success is not just a matter of implementation, but also depends on design. Such broader understanding takes some time to be reflected in process practices, but is happening.

As Agile UX evolves, so does the role of the UX practitioner. In modern software-development environments, UX helps define how products and services are developed. As such, the role of UX has expanded to leadership and communication. Effective UX practitioners are proactive and involve team members in UX-related activities early. They translate user needs into business needs, and communicate them convincingly to stakeholders.

For more techniques and detailed explanations on best practices for Agile UX, download the full report Effective Agile UX Product Development or attend the full-day course Lean UX and Agile at the UX Conference (also available as an in-house event at your company.)