Agile Methods for UX Design
How This Course Will Help Your Career
What You Will Learn
What agile is, why it was developed, and how it can vary in different companies.
Common team structures and why it’s easier to design within those environments.
Agile-related concepts, terminology and tools including sprints, backlogs, user stories, Scrum and Kanban.
Agile patterns, anti-patterns and variations of agile practices such as Sprint Zero and Dual Track Agile.
How to adjust your design and research processes to work more comfortably and effectively within many different agile environments.
Research and design techniques such as continuous discovery, designing the smallest possible thing and design slicing.
Techniques for better team collaboration and cooperation.
Common agile deliverables and how they differ (and how they don’t differ) from typical design deliverables.
Agile, in one form or another, has taken over the software development world and is poised to move into almost every other industry. The problem is that a lot of teams and organizations that call themselves “agile” don’t seem to have much in common with each other. This can be extremely confusing to a new team member, especially if you’ve previously worked on an “agile” team that had an entirely different definition of “agility”!
Since the release of the Agile Manifesto in 2001, agile methodologies have become almost unrecognizable in many organizations, even as they have become wildly popular.
To understand the real-world challenges and best practices to work under the constraints of agile teams, we spoke with hundreds of professionals with experience working in agile environments. This research led us to create Agile Methods for UX Design.
In this course, we aim to show you what true agility is and how closely agile methodologies can map to design. You will learn both the theory and the real-world implementation of agile, its different flavors, and how you can work with different versions of agile teams.
You will learn about the key principles of agile, examples of teams that perform all the agile “rituals” but aren’t actually agile, and examples of teams that skip the rituals but actually embody the spirit.
You’ll learn about agile-specific techniques for research and design, such as designing smaller things, practicing continuous discovery, refactoring designs, and iterating.
You will also walk away with practical advice for working better with your team and improving processes at your company so that you can get some of the benefits of real agility.
This course is aimed at people who already know how to design or research (or who want to work with designers and researchers) but who want to learn how to operate better within a specific environment. There are lots of tools designers use within an agile environment that are no different from tools they’d use anywhere else, and we won’t be covering how to use those tools generally, but we will talk about how agile deliverables can differ from those you’d find in a more traditional UX team.
Your course instructor is product management and user experience design expert, Laura Klein. Laura is the author of Build Better Products and UX for Lean Startups and the co-host of the podcast What is Wrong with UX?
With over 20 years of experience in tech, Laura specializes in helping companies innovate responsibly and improve their product development process, and she especially enjoys working with lean startups and agile development teams.
In this course, you will also hear from industry experts Teresa Torres (Product Discovery Coach at Product Talk), Janna Bastow (CEO and Co-founder of ProdPad) and Adam Thomas (product management strategist and consultant).
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Is This Course Right For You?
This is an intermediate-level course for people working in agile teams. Specifically, it will be helpful for:
Designers and researchers who have never worked in an agile environment or who have been frustrated by some aspects of working in one.
Non-designers who want to learn how to integrate UX into their agile process.
Business stakeholders and product owners who want to understand why designers might be frustrated or not performing well on a particular agile team.
In order to get the most out of this course, we recommend that you have some working experience on a team within a company, preferably as a designer, researcher, or engineer. You can still take the course if you don’t have this experience, but some of the material may be more challenging.
Learn and work with a global team of designers
When you take part in this course, you will join a global multidisciplinary team working on the course and the exercises at the same time as you. You will work together to improve your skills and understanding. Your course group will be made up of an incredibly diverse group of professionals, all of whom have the same objective — to become successful designers. It’s your chance to learn, grow, and network with your peers across the planet.
Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 19 hours 19 mins spread over 6 weeks .
Lesson 0: Welcome to Agile Methods for UX Design
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0.1: Welcome and Introduction (9 mins)
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0.2: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.3: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.4: Expand your network and grow your skills in our online forums (5 mins)
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0.5: Meet and learn from design professionals in your area (1 min)
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0.6: Gain Timeless Knowledge Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.7: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.8: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (8 mins)
Lesson 1: What Is Agile and Where It Came From
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1.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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1.2: A Brief History of Agile (17 mins)
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1.3: Why Is Design Missing in Agile? (25 mins)
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1.4: Common Agile Rituals and Meetings (39 mins)
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1.5: What Does an Agile Team Look Like? (16 mins)
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1.6: Common Agile Practices and Jargon (41 mins)
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1.7: Design Meetings and Practices in Agile (16 mins)
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1.8: Discussion Exercise: What Is an Agile Team (7 mins)
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1.9: Congratulations and Recap (15 mins)
Lesson 2: Agile Patterns, Anti-Patterns and Myths
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2.1: Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
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2.2: There Is No Agile (1 hour 9 mins)
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2.3: Agile Myths (26 mins)
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2.4: Agile Anti-Pattern (29 mins)
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2.5: Agile Patterns in Large Organizations (24 mins)
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2.6: Congratulations and Recap (10 mins)
Lesson 3: How Researchers Can Succeed on Agile Teams
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3.1: Welcome and Introduction (9 mins)
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3.2: Continuous Discovery (40 mins)
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3.3: Innovation vs. Incremental Improvement (29 mins)
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3.4: Quicker and More Targeted Research and Experiments (39 mins)
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3.5: Team Research (19 mins)
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3.6: When Generative Research Gets Done (21 mins)
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3.7: Sharing Research Results in an Agile Way (45 mins)
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3.8: Discussion Exercise: Researching in Agile Teams (7 mins)
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3.9: Congratulations and Recap (8 mins)
Lesson 4: How Designers Can Succeed on Agile Teams
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4.1: Welcome and Introduction (8 mins)
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4.2: Designing the Smallest Possible Thing (26 mins)
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4.3: Designing From the Outside In (20 mins)
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4.4: Design Slices (19 mins)
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4.5: Design Refactoring and Iterating (22 mins)
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4.6: Design Systems (21 mins)
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4.7: Acceptance Criteria (22 mins)
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4.8: Discussion Exercise: Designing in Agile Teams (7 mins)
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4.9: Congratulations and Recap (7 mins)
Lesson 5: How to Design for Experimentation
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5.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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5.2: Don’t Design for Everybody (19 mins)
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5.3: Find the Core (32 mins)
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5.4: Start With One (23 mins)
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5.5: How to Succeed as a Designer on Agile Teams: Embrace Imperfection (50 mins)
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5.6: Congratulations and Recap (7 mins)
Lesson 6: How to Build Products More Collaboratively
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6.1: Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
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6.2: Design for Collaboration (47 mins)
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6.3: Sharing Works in Progress (22 mins)
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6.4: Getting Team Alignment (1 hour 5 mins)
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6.5: Creating Agile Design Deliverables (26 mins)
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6.6: Participatory Design for Agile Teams (19 mins)
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6.7: Planning for the Future and the Problem With Roadmaps (1 hour 7 mins)
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6.8: Discussion Exercise: Collaborating with Agile Teams (7 mins)
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6.9: Congratulations and Recap (8 mins)
Lesson 7: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
Learning Paths
This course is part of 8 learning paths:
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UX Designer Learning PathBecome a UX Designer through 17 courses in 4 parts -
Interaction Designer Learning PathBecome a Interaction Designer through 16 courses in 4 parts
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Visual Designer Learning PathBecome a Visual Designer through 14 courses in 4 parts
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UI Designer Learning PathBecome a UI Designer through 13 courses in 4 parts
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Front-End Developer Learning PathBecome a Front-End Developer through 8 courses in 4 parts
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Product Manager Learning PathBecome a Product Manager through 14 courses in 4 parts
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User Researcher Learning PathBecome a User Researcher through 11 courses in 3 parts
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Executive Learning PathBecome a Executive through 9 courses in 3 parts
How It Works
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Control your learning.
Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline. Learning and life, hand in hand.
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Earn Course Certificates.
Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to show you’ve put in the work.
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Advance your career.
Grow your professional knowledge by watching Master Classes, networking within our UX community, and more.
Start Advancing Your Career Now
Join us to take “Agile Methods for UX Design”. Take other courses at no additional cost. Make a concrete step forward in your career path today.
Advance my career nowFrequently Asked Questions
When I finish a course, do I have to pay extra to get my certificate?
Can I take more than one course at a time?
With a Student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. You can still take as many courses as you would like – free of extra charges – just as long as you finish or drop them so that you don’t have more than two ongoing courses.
I missed the enrollment, and now the course is closed. What can I do?
Don't worry if you missed the course. We will re-run it shortly. One of the reasons we continually open and close courses is in order to control the classroom size.
Networking is a large part of our value proposition, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That is also why we display the "XX % percent booked" on our course icons.
Do I have to be online at an exact time to study?
No. You can set your own study schedule. There are no "live sessions" since we have members from all timezones around the world. We are a truly global community.
Thus, once you are enrolled, you can take all the time to complete a given course. Every "classroom" in each course will never close, so you’ll have permanent access to your classmates and your course material (as well as your own answers).
Will I receive a Course Certificate?
Yes. You will get a digital industry-recognized course certificate every time you complete a course. Certificates never expire and can be saved as a .jpg file, so it's easy to be shared. Also, there is no limit to how many certificates you can earn during your membership.
You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue.
I have answered questions in a lesson; when will they be marked/graded?
I have updated my name, but my course certificate is not updated — how can I change it?
Don't worry; once you change your name, your certificate will be updated automatically in the next 48 hours.
I have started my course later than the specified date, are my answers still going to be marked?
Sure! We will be marking all your answers for as long as you are an active member.
How are courses graded?
For how long will I have access to the course materials?
You will have access to the course materials for the entire duration of your membership. So, if you pay for a one-year membership, you will have access for one year. Renewing your membership for a second year means you will have access to one more year, and so on.
New lessons are starting before I have completed the previous lesson(s). Am I going to be locked out of these unfinished lessons?
No, you will not be locked out of any lesson or course. You will have access to all course materials throughout your membership, so there is no pressure to keep at the same pace as the specified lesson release dates.
All we recommend is that you try to stick to the same schedule as other participants. The reason is they may have moved on to other lessons, thereby meaning you could miss out on the social aspects of the course(s).
Do I have a specific date to award my certificates?
No, you can generate your certificate as soon as you score at least 70% of the total course points.
When will I receive my Course Certificate?
Course certificates will be given to participants when they have scored more than 70% or more of the total course points. For example, if a course contains ten lessons each with ten questions, you will receive a course certificate when the instructor has awarded you at least 70 points (70% of the total course points).
There is no specified time that certificates will be awarded — instead, they are given to participants as and when they have answered all questions, even if this is long after the official end date.
How do I add my Certificate to my LinkedIn profile?
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
Below your profile description, click on the button Add profile section, choose Recommended and then select Add license or certification.
3. In the following fields add:
Name – Course name
Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
Check the field “This credential does not expire”
Issue date - Input the date written on your certificate (e.g., May 2021)
Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your course page
4. Click the Save button.
Congratulate yourself! Earning the certificate is a great accomplishment and now you can share it with the world!
How do I add the Interaction Design Foundation Membership Certificate to my LinkedIn Profile?
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
Below your profile description, click on the button Add profile section, choose Recommended and then select Add license or certification.
3. In the following fields add:
Name – Membership Certificate
Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
Check the field “This credential does not expire”
Issue date - Input the date when you joined our community (e.g., May 2019)
Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your profile page
4. Click the Save button.
It is as simple as that. Now, anyone who visits your profile can see your certificate!
How much will I have to pay for the courses?
After you pay for your membership, you can take as many courses as you want with no additional costs. There are no further charges on top of the membership fee.
Do you provide mostly beginners' or more advanced courses?
How long does it take to complete a course?
You will need approximately 5-8 hours to complete one lesson. Each course has between 3 and 16 lessons.
Once enrolled in a course, you will gain access to a new lesson each week, which you are free to complete without any deadlines and no end date, either.
I scored less than 70% in a course, so I didn't qualify for a certificate. Can I try again?
Yes! Everyone's learning journey looks different, and we'd never stop our members from trying again. To retake a course, just follow these steps:
1. Go to your profile and click on the relevant course you'd like to retake.
2. Underneath your progress bar, you'll see a phrase "UX Courses" with an arrow (>) pointing to a clickable landing page of that course. Click on that link.
3. Once on the landing page, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. You'll see a red button, which you can simply click to drop the course.
4. Head back to our main list of UX Courses, and re-enroll yourself in the course. You'll all set to try again!
Please note that when you drop a course, you will lose any answers and progress you submitted. We advise that you screenshot or save any answers you'd like to reuse.
In some cases, we can open up lessons for members who are retaking a course, so that they don't have to wait for familiar lessons to unlock each week. If you'd like us to do this for you, please get in touch with our support team at hello@interaction-design.org, and we can help you out.
How do I drop a course?
To drop a course, the following should be done:
1. Visit your profile page and click the 'continue lesson...' button for the course you want to drop.
2. Click the course name link breadcrumb near the top of the page that opens
3. Click the red 'drop my course now' button at the bottom of the page that opens
