Iterative working style

STATS

Suggested Reading Time

45 min.


Suggested Implementation Time

Throughout the whole development process


Role of Participants involved

Interdisciplinary team; one team member should take the lead in regard to document the lessons learned; team should decide on when to go a step back and when to go a step ahead


Materials

Enter your text here


Templates/Printouts

Design sprint – The wallet exercise



Description:

Iteration is one of the core elements of an agile organisation. Implementing an iterative working method is extremely relevant to address users’/customers’ needs when developing new products, services, solutions. From the feedback received while working and interacting with the user/customer you receive valuable new information which needs to be integrated into your further product/service development.

Working iteratively offers you a greater ability to incorporate changes in the further development of your product not only at the end of your development phase but already during development cycle. In addition, it allows you to constantly learn on your customers’ needs and on how to generally further improve your own processes, services and products.

Stages:

  1. To let your team better understand the iteration cycle let it experience all phases in a kind of design thinking sprint (Empathise – Define – Ideate – Prototype – Test …), (see “The wallet exercise” on the right).
  2. Discuss in the team how they feel about this process and how you can realise it in your daily work.
  3. Let your team set up a schedule on how to implement the iteration cycle in the overall product development cycle and distribute the different roles within the team.
  4. Set up a pool of potential users you can easily involve in the testing phase.
  5. Plan & organise concrete feedback loops with potential customers/users during the whole development of your digital business model.
  6. Make the improvements as well as the failures and lessons learned visual to your colleagues and the management.
  7. Communicate to the management the improvements made based on the results from the continuous feedback loops.