Design Thinking and Agile: The Truth
Since its release in 2001, the Agile Manifesto has grown rapidly as an innovative and efficient way to approach the development of software. So much so, Agile methodology has grown in popularity across the world and has been adopted into contexts far outside the tech sector.
Equally important is Design Thinking, which also continues to trend in the UI/UX space and product development. Key to the conversation is how the two methodologies work together. How do the fit? To a large extend, Design Thinking is compatible with agile development and the two can coexist effectively and support each other. On the other hand, there is some tension between the two ideas.
First, Design Thinking focuses on the importance of prototyping quickly, failing quickly, and redesigning constantly. With this speed, designers can better adopt, get to market quicker, and create an authentic user experience.
Agile development also heavily emphasizes iteration, working prototypes and MVPS, and individuals and interactions over processes. Both cut through the noise that often complicates projects and frustrates individuals. Both Design Thinking and Agile Development focus on really listening and connecting with the end users instead of checking the box of requirements.
Second, Design Thinking highlights the importance of transparency and communication. Story telling using post-it notes and whiteboards are essential to keeping the team on pace and creating cohesiveness among the team. The organization style is very compatible with Agile Methodology with its Kanban boards and scrum process. Both methods underline the importance of open communication and physically displaying tasks, ideas, and plans to the group.
Now, Design Thinking and Agile do live in a world with some tension.
The two often have different timelines. Design thinking highlights the importance of extensive research, ideation, and prototyping while agile aims to shorten development cycles as much as possible.
Agile methodology emphasizes building working software and features to perform testing and validation. On the other hand, Design Thinking leans heavy to non-functional prototyping, wireframing, and validation before anything is programed.
Furthermore, Agile teams can potentially be resistant to change if Design Thinking is being strongly incorporated, which can cause tension and roadblocks to progress.
In conclusion, it is important to know the similars and difference of the two approaches and how you might best leverage them for your team.
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