More often than not, the means to completing a project with the ideal outcome consists of working with a team. Collaborating can help the process along and help ease ‘stuck spots’ that are bound to arise. Building a team with a variance of individual talents will not only assist in the initial idea creation process, but will allow for specific stakeholders to be accountable for the areas of the work that they most align with.
Believe the hype.
Though it may feel overused, it should not be underestimated – taking a more agile approach to business is no longer a choice, it’s a necessity of staying with the competition. Developing an agile culture could have the biggest impact on the success and longevity of a company and one that requires a dedicated and disciplined approach in it’s implementation.
In a competitive environment, the ability to adapt is a essential quality for a company. For that reason, many companies have started to embrace the agile approach for designing their websites and apps. With most creative teams working on projects ranging from UI/UX to content strategy, the process of agile design lends itself to an elastic, fluid journey to the end product.
How does an agile approach work?
Teams meet on a very regular basis, conducting ‘sprints’ or ‘huddles’ to align on messaging, design review, client feedback and implement a strategy of constant optimization. A combination of feedback, analytics and metrics can be used to learn what needs to be changed and have that information quickly communicated to members of the team that can make the necessary adaptations and improvements.
Failures can be quickly overcome, campaigns can be precisely optimized and the strategy can be easily restructured. While agile design may not be appropriate for a companywide implementation, it is ideal for smaller teams and specialized projects that require continual optimization.
When working with larger projects such as ecommerce, agile design may be applied to portions of the project that need greater attention to specific details. Collaborating with a dynamic set of designers will build an atmosphere of open communication and idea generation, allowing the creativity to flow and bounce from person to person – the user will be led to the ideal experience.
There are many project management routes to take when working collaboratively, but the format should ideally frame around a specific co-working methodology. Many new implementations have arisen as collaboration becomes more and more prevalent in both small scale and enterprise companies. Trying out each style or cherry picking from each method to form a new working style is advised to fit the project it will develop with.