At Deloitte Digital, UX is integral to everything we do—from ideation to delivery—ensuring user needs and business goals align seamlessly. Yet, many organizations treat UX as an afterthought, bringing it in too late. This leads to misaligned priorities, costly rework, and missed opportunities to create truly impactful products.
The UX benefit
This UX disconnect often ties back to UX maturity—the extent to which a company understands, values, and integrates UX into its processes. The numbers speak for themselves: investing in UX from the earliest stages of development and maintaining it throughout the process can make a significant impact. Here are some compelling statistics that highlight its value:
32% faster
A 32% decrease in development time is observed when companies integrate UX into Agile teams.
Forrester Research, “The Six Steps For Justifying Better UX”
$1 → $100+
Investing $1 in UX during early development can save $100 or more in fixing issues post-launch.
IBM Design, “The Business Value of UX
10x cheaper
Iterating on prototypes during the design phase costs 10 times less than refactoring live solutions.
NN/g, “Fixing Usability Problems Saves Money
9,900% ROI
Integrating UX into Agile workflows can boost ROI significantly, with companies investing in UX seeing an average ROI of 9,900%
Forrester Research, “The Six Steps For Justifying Better UX
So, how can you integrate UX into an Agile team? Let’s break it down step-by-step.
CREATING A VISION TOGETHER
Before building any features, the vision must be clear and grounded in both business realities and user needs. UX plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between these priorities by ensuring the user’s perspective is baked into the process.
During this phase:
Business Alignment
UX aligns business objectives with audience needs, ensuring the product vision reflects both. Product Owners, UX Researchers, and stakeholders collaborate to shape a clear and actionable roadmap.
User Research & Insights
UX Researchers uncover user pain points through interviews, surveys, and usability testing. Insights from personas and user journeys ensure the vision addresses real user challenges, not assumptions.
Wireframing & Prototyping
UX Designers create interactive prototypes early, allowing teams to test and refine ideas before expensive development begins.
A Shared Source of Truth
Tools like Figma serve as central hubs for designs, ensuring cross-functional teams stay aligned.
SPRINT REFinement & Planning
Sprint Planning is where the foundation for success is laid. Including UX ensures user needs are prioritized and clearly articulated in user stories, reducing ambiguity and enabling the team to focus on delivering value.
During this phase:
Incorporating User Research
UX ensures that user stories are informed by research. For example, instead of generic user stories, UX helps craft actionable ones: “As a user, I want to filter search results by date to find the most relevant content.”
Linking Designs to Stories
Each user story is linked to wireframes or prototypes, enabling the team to reference visual solutions directly in tools like Jira or Figma.
Clarifying Dependencies
UX Designers outline critical design dependencies, ensuring Developers and Functional Analysts have the context they need. Accessibility requirements and reusable components are flagged early to prevent delays.
Prioritizing Impact, together
UX helps the team focus on features that will make the most difference to users, ensuring every sprint delivers measurable value.
DURING THE SPRINT
The Agile principle of continuous feedback shines during sprints, where close collaboration between UX Designers, Developers, and Testers ensures the product evolves to meet user needs.
During this phase:
Open Communication
Regular stand-ups and quick syncs resolve blockers. For example, a Developer unsure about hover effects can get instant clarification from the UX Designer.
UX Reviews
Scheduled checkpoints verify that designs are implemented as intended. Adjustments can be made on the fly to prevent rework.
Design Adaptations
UX stays flexible, updating designs to address technical constraints or adding instructions where needed.
Early Usability Testing
Mid-sprint tests, such as A/B testing or quick usability checks, identify potential issues before they become costly problems.
User Acceptance Testing
UX and Testers collaborate to ensure usability issues are addressed before the sprint ends, avoiding expensive post-launch fixes.
Sprint Retrospective
Retrospectives are not just for Developers and Scrum Masters—they’re a powerful tool for refining how UX integrates into the process.
During this phase:
Identify Gaps
Misaligned expectations or rushed testing are flagged for improvement.
Improve Handoffs
Setting clearer processes for design and development collaboration minimizes friction in future sprints.
Document Wins
Sharing examples where UX added value (e.g., user feedback on prototypes) reinforces its importance in Agile workflows.
Overcoming Resistance
It’s understandable that teams might hesitate to bring UX fully into Agile workflows—after all, it’s another layer in an already fast-paced process. But the ROI of UX is clear: fewer bugs, less rework, and happier users.
By emphasizing open collaboration and integrating UX seamlessly into sprints, Agile teams can save time and money while delivering a better product. It’s not about adding complexity; it’s about enhancing efficiency.
CONCLUSION
Don’t let UX sit on the sidelines—make it a strategic partner throughout your Agile process. By involving UX early and often, you’ll create products that are not only functional but truly user-friendly. With fewer usability issues, faster development cycles, and happier users, UX delivers results your budget will love.
Ready to discuss how to integrate UX into your Agile team? Connect with us!
Melanie Ada Cosar
Senior UX Specialist
