How designers work in agile development

What is it about?

Little is known about designers’ experience in fast-paced sprint work. This article draws on case work research within consulting and in-house design teams that sheds light on this important topic. The findings indicated differences in digital designers’ practices and occupational experiences. Designers reported stress in working in extreme agile delivery teams and struggles in maintaining design integrity in scrum development. Resilience strategies that habituate designers in work contexts were also identified from the research. These stratagems combined remediating methods together with principled practitioner resistance. In the final inquiry, fifty-seven participants from in-house and consulting design teams were surveyed. The results indicated significant differences between the cohorts including higher levels of job satisfaction for consultants. This group also applied the remediating practices and positive resistance strategies to a greater extent than their in-house peers. These differences suggest that the occupational context of design is a fundamental influence on real world practice.

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Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This is the first research into digital designers' occupational experiences of agile.