This document discusses how Design Thinking and Agile can be integrated. It provides tips for combining the two approaches, including investing in user research, basing user stories in user needs rather than implementations, using a Sprint 0 to build empathy, integrating designers into sprint teams, transferring knowledge between teams, and testing ideas with customers throughout the process. The goal is to apply human-centered design to problem solving while also adopting the Agile approach of iterative development.

1. Eryk Korfel | March 2019
Intersection of
Design Thinking and Agile

2. I’m here to discuss and share
experiences with Design Thinking and Agile
Hi!
I’m Eryk Korfel
eryk@iaccelerated.com
linkedin.com/in/eryk-korfel/

3. Technically, they’re mindsets!

4. What is Agile?

5. What is Agile?

6. What is Agile? A set of values and principles
Practices
Principles
Values
Agile
(mindset)
Source: Red Agile

7. The Agile Manifesto
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

8. Source: https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/
The 12 Agile Principles

9. There are a variety of Agile practices
Source: https://www.visual-paradigm.com/scrum/what-is-agile-software-development/

10. Why is agile so popular?

11. Quickly push out new features

12. It’s all about reducing risk

13. What happens when you do Agile without Design Thinking?

14. Kaching for Facebook

15. What is it?

16. The hype

17. Reality was solution was a failure and was turned off within a year
https://gfycat.com/fantasticcoolbluebottle

18. What went wrong?

19. What is Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is a human centred approach to problem solving starting with a
deep understanding of customer needs with the goal to create desirable
customer solutions that challenge and improve the status quo
It starts with Desirability.
Design Thinking ensures that the solution has the user needs
considered from the outset.
What makes it different?
Traditional business thinking usually focuses on a single
solution to a defined problem. Design thinking frames the
problem from a broader perspective and develops several user
insights from which to generate ideas. This results in a larger
volume of creative ideas from which to prototype to test for
desirability.
19

20. Everyone has their adaption
Source: Slide image courtesy of Richard Banfield, C. Todd Lombardo, and Trace Wax

21. How could have Design Thinking helped?

22. 5 tips to integrate Design Thinking with Agile

23. The Agile Manifesto
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

24. Tip 1: Invest in user research
Research with real customers and fall in love with the problem

25. Tip 1: Invest in user research
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Applied-design-thinking-and-agile-development-methodology_fig4_328861078
Research with real customers and fall in love with the problem

26. Source: Academy Xi
Discover Describe Design Define
Released
Solution(s)
Diverging
Converging
Reasoning
Problem/
Opportunity
Description
Concept/
Feature
Definition
Develop Deliver
Prototype
&
test
Build
&
test
Foundational Exploratory Explanatory IterativeGenerative Evaluative
WHAT TO SOLVE FOR? WHAT TO CREATE? HOW TO CREATE IT?

27. Source: http://siliconvalue.nl/portfolio/design-thinking-consulting/

28. D
iverge
C
onverge
D
iverge
C
onverge
Define Empathise Frame Ideate Prototype Test
Build Measure
Learn
One way to smooth the transition
Solve the right problem
Build the
right solution
Build the solution the right way
Feature
Breakdown
Refine
Product
Backlog
Sprint
Planning
Sprint
Review /
Demo
Sprint
Retro
Sprint
Delivery
Release
Shippable
Increment
Business
Case
Measure
Learn

29. Tip 2: User stories to be grounded in user research
Define Motivations, Don’t Define Implementation
Job Stories are great because it makes you think about motivation and context and
de-emphasizes adding any particular implementation. Often, because people are so
focused on the who and how, they totally miss the why. When you start to
understand the why, your mind is then open to think of creative and original ways to
solve the problem.
Source: https://jtbd.info/replacing-the-user-story-with-the-job-story-af7cdee10c27

30. Tip 2: User stories to be grounded in user research
Source: https://jtbd.info/replacing-the-user-story-with-the-job-story-af7cdee10c27
An alternate format

31. Tip 2: User stories to be grounded in user research
USER STORY (POOR):
As a student, I want to click through an image carousel so that I can see many pictures of the
prospective campus.
USER STORY (GOOD):
As Mark (persona), I want to see what the campus looks like virtually so I can envision myself
walking to class or studying on the grass.
JOBS TO BE DONE VARIATION (GOOD):
When I’m looking at prospective campuses, I want to see what the campus looks like virtually
so I can envision myself walking to class or studying on the grass.
Sources: https://medium.com/@himeag/job-stories-vs-user-stories-fb161221536c
https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/user-stories

32. Tip 3: Use Sprint 0 for building empathy
● Help the team fall in love with the problem and really understand the
customers/employees they will be solving for
● Use artefacts created earlier to tell the story of the customers: customer
journey maps, service design blueprints, personas, prototypes with testing
feedback, etc
● Use this time to conduct ‘Design Spikes’, which are all about answering
open questions we may have about the customer/employee or the
proposed solution.

33. Tip 4: Integrate designers into the sprint teams

34. Tip 4: Integrate designers into the sprint teams
● They should attend sprint planning
● They should attend stand-ups to see if any blockers need attention
● They should assist with pairing with the developers to provide clarity
around the user, their problems and their needs.
● Designers can use the demos (typically before a retro) to share prototypes

35. Tip 5: Transfer knowledge

36. Tip 5: Transfer knowledgeEffort
Time
Service
Designer
Product Owner

37. Tip 6: Test early and learn often!
● Talk to your customers! Try to do it at least once a sprint
● Use the opportunities to learn and answer open questions, especially risky
hypotheses
● Plan ahead to recruit and lock in customers for
testing
● Involve, if possible, the whole team so they
hear/see what the customers are saying
themselves
BONUS

38. D
iverge
C
onverge
D
iverge
C
onverge
Define Empathise Frame Ideate Prototype Test
Build Measure
Learn
One way to smooth the transition - recap
Feature
Breakdown
Refine
Product
Backlog
Sprint
Planning
Sprint
Review /
Demo
Sprint
Retro
Sprint
Delivery
Release
Shippable
Increment
Business
Case
Show
case
Prototype
Identify
w
hat you
need
to
learn
Opportunity
to
learn
Measure
Learn

39. Questions?

40. Hi!
Please connect
if you would like
to learn more
eryk@iaccelerated.com
linkedin.com/in/eryk-korfel/

41. Let’s do it!