Adopting an agile mindset is essential for driving successful project outcomes in today’s fast-paced tech landscape. Whether your company relies on Agile, Lean, design thinking, or a hybrid approach, the right development methodology can make a significant difference.
With nearly 70% of projects falling short of customer expectations, embracing an agile approach, coupled with principles from Lean and design thinking, becomes crucial for aligning products with user needs and achieving project success.
Source: Mendix
1. Understanding the Agile Mindset in Software Development
An agile mindset is central to the Agile design methodology, a responsive software development approach that allows organizations of all sizes—from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies and even the FBI—to adapt to change efficiently. Gartner describes Agile as a “development approach that delivers software in increments, guided by the principles of the Agile Manifesto,” emphasizing flexibility, iteration, and continuous feedback.
Source: Gartner
Agile frameworks, such as Scrum, Crystal, the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), and Feature-Driven Development (FDD), all follow Agile’s core principles. These principles prioritize collaboration between business and IT, focus on the people doing the work, and seek ongoing feedback to refine outcomes.
In Agile, early stages involve defining business goals, writing user stories, and creating backlogs. Regular demos and feedback loops enable teams to stay aligned with user needs, gathering insights directly into the development environment for constant iteration. Low-code platforms enhance this process, allowing developers to adjust software effectively, creating a product that aligns with both user and business objectives.
2. The Role of Lean in the Agile Mindset and Design Thinking
A strong agile mindset incorporates the principles of Lean, which is foundational to Agile’s evolution. Originating in manufacturing, Lean is a production methodology that aims to eliminate waste, foster innovation, and streamline processes. Though it dates back to the 1450s in Venice, Henry Ford was the first to apply Lean in a modern production line in 1913.
In software development, Lean and Agile share key principles, such as rapid, iterative development, short feedback loops (often called “sprints”), and disciplined processes to minimize errors. Lean’s emphasis on efficiency and value-driven approaches aligns perfectly with Agile and design thinking, creating a robust framework that supports continuous improvement and responsiveness to user needs.
3. Agile Mindset vs. Design Thinking: Complementary Approaches in Development
An agile mindset focuses on effective problem-solving, while design thinking emphasizes problem-finding. Although Agile and design thinking both rely heavily on feedback, they differ in their core approach: Agile addresses how to solve problems efficiently, while design thinking identifies and redefines the right problems to solve.
Design thinking is an iterative process that involves generating innovative ideas, challenging assumptions, and redefining problems with a strong emphasis on design empathy and understanding the end user. When combined with an agile mindset, these two frameworks create a powerful synergy that guides both the discovery of user needs and the efficient development of solutions.
4. The 5 stages of design thinking
The goal of design thinking is to identify alternative solutions that might not necessarily be apparent. There are five stages of design thinking.
Source: Mendix
4.1. Empathize
Understand people, their behaviors, and their motivations. People often don’t know or can’t articulate these things explicitly. Understanding emerges through viewing users and their behaviors in context to identify patterns, ask questions, and challenge assumptions.
4.2. Define
Create an actionable problem statement to define the proper challenge to address. Define the set of needs that are important to fulfill based on the organization, its goals, and the perspective of end users.
4.3. Ideate
Leverage brainstorming, mind mapping, sketching, or paper prototypes to step back, go wide, and create innovative solutions.
4.4. Prototype
Bring ideas to life by showing instead of telling. Quickly create working prototypes to get something into users’ hands and begin to collect real-world feedback.
4.5. Evaluate
Learn from users’ experiences, iterate, and repeat the process as needed until reaching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
5. Agile Mindset and Design Thinking: A Powerful Combination
Combining an agile mindset with design thinking fosters a user-centric environment focused on rapid, iterative improvements. Design thinking helps teams identify the right problems, while Agile provides an efficient framework for building solutions in increments. Together, these methodologies keep user needs at the heart of both the design and development processes.
For teams new to integrating Agile and design thinking, here are three key recommendations:
- Start small: Begin with high-value, low-risk projects to gain experience, then scale up as proficiency in combining these approaches grows.
- Build cross-functional teams: Create diverse teams that collaborate to ideate and develop solutions. Ideally, the team works closely with end users to ensure continuous feedback.
- Balance design and development: Agile teams may be eager to dive into coding, but balancing design thinking phases—like empathy, ideation, and problem definition—ensures solutions align with user needs.
Blending an agile mindset with design thinking enables teams to uncover new insights, redefine problems, and develop solutions with a clear purpose.
