HCD Agile AI

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HCD Agile Process Phases ​

Overview ​

The HCD Agile process follows a cyclical pattern that combines the depth of Human-Centered Design with the speed of Agile development. Unlike traditional waterfall or pure Agile approaches, HCD Agile emphasizes continuous learning and validation throughout the development lifecycle.

The Five Main Phases ​

mermaid
graph LR
    A[DISCOVER<br/>Understand<br/>Users] --> B[DEFINE<br/>Identify<br/>Problems]
    B --> C[DESIGN<br/>Ideate<br/>Solutions]
    C --> D[DEVELOP<br/>Build<br/>Increment]
    D --> E[DELIVER<br/>Use<br/>Validate<br/>& Measure]
    E -- Iterate --> A
    
    style A fill:#e1f5ff,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px
    style B fill:#fff4e1,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px
    style C fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px
    style D fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px
    style E fill:#e1fff4,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px

Phase 1: Discover ​

Objective ​

Deeply understand users, their needs, pain points, and the context in which they operate.

Key Activities ​

1. Stakeholder Alignment ​

  • Define project goals and success metrics
  • Identify key stakeholders and users
  • Establish constraints and requirements
  • Align on vision and scope

2. User Research ​

  • Interviews: One-on-one conversations with users
  • Contextual Inquiry: Observing users in their environment
  • Surveys: Gathering quantitative data
  • Analytics Review: Understanding current behavior patterns
  • Competitive Analysis: Learning from similar solutions

3. Continuous Discovery ​

  • Rolling research program
  • Hypothesis generation
  • Assumption mapping
  • Ongoing market scanning

Deliverables ​

  • Research report with key insights
  • User personas (2-4 primary personas)
  • Current state journey maps
  • Raw data repository

Duration ​

  • Initial discovery: 1-2 weeks
  • Ongoing research: 10-20% of each sprint

Team Involvement ​

  • Lead: UX Researcher, Product Owner
  • Support: Entire team observes research sessions
  • Outcome: Shared understanding of users and context

Phase 2: Define ​

Objective ​

Synthesize research insights and define clear problem statements that will guide solution development.

Key Activities ​

1. Synthesis & Sensemaking ​

  • Review all Discovery phase research
  • Identify patterns and themes
  • Create affinity diagrams
  • Distill key insights
  • Validate findings with stakeholders

2. Problem Framing ​

  • Write problem statements
  • Create "How Might We" (HMW) questions
  • Frame challenges as opportunities
  • Define problem scope and boundaries
  • Validate problem statements with users

3. Prioritization ​

  • Evaluate opportunity areas
  • Assess impact vs. effort
  • Align with business objectives
  • Get stakeholder buy-in
  • Create prioritized roadmap

4. Success Definition ​

  • Define success metrics
  • Identify key performance indicators (KPIs)
  • Establish baseline measurements
  • Set goals and targets
  • Create measurement plan

Deliverables ​

  • Problem Statement(s)
  • How Might We Questions
  • Design Principles
  • Success Metrics and KPIs
  • Prioritized Opportunities
  • Project Brief

Duration ​

  • 1-2 sprints typically
  • Revisit as needed when new insights emerge

Team Involvement ​

  • Lead: Product Owner, UX Lead
  • Support: Stakeholders, Tech Lead
  • Outcome: Clear direction and prioritized problems to solve

Phase 3: Design ​

Objective ​

Generate, prototype, and validate solutions that address identified user needs.

Key Activities ​

1. Ideation ​

  • Brainstorming sessions with diverse perspectives
  • Design studios for collaborative sketching
  • Exploring multiple solution directions
  • Divergent thinking exercises
  • Building on user insights

2. Concept Development ​

  • Sketching low-fidelity concepts
  • Creating user flows
  • Mapping interactions
  • Defining information architecture
  • Exploring multiple alternatives

3. Prototyping ​

  • Low-Fidelity: Paper prototypes, sketches
  • Medium-Fidelity: Wireframes, clickable prototypes
  • High-Fidelity: Interactive mockups with realistic content
  • Progressive refinement based on feedback

4. Early Validation ​

  • Guerrilla testing with quick prototypes
  • Concept testing with target users
  • A/B testing different approaches
  • Gathering qualitative feedback
  • Iterating rapidly

5. Design Refinement ​

  • Incorporating feedback
  • Creating design specifications
  • Building component libraries
  • Ensuring accessibility standards
  • Documenting design decisions

Deliverables ​

  • Multiple concept options
  • Validated prototypes
  • User flows and wireframes
  • Design specifications
  • Interaction patterns
  • Visual designs
  • Component library (if needed)
  • User testing results

Duration ​

  • Design sprint: 1-2 weeks
  • Ongoing design: Running parallel with development

Team Involvement ​

  • Lead: UX/UI Designers
  • Support: Product Owner, Developers (technical feasibility)
  • Validation: Users (testing), Entire team (feedback)

Phase 4: Develop ​

Objective ​

Build working software incrementally while maintaining focus on user needs and quality.

Key Activities ​

1. Sprint Planning ​

  • Selecting validated designs for implementation
  • Breaking down into technical tasks
  • Estimating effort and complexity
  • Planning validation activities
  • Setting sprint goals

2. Development ​

  • Writing clean, maintainable code
  • Following coding standards
  • Implementing responsive designs
  • Building accessibility features
  • Creating automated tests

3. Continuous Integration ​

  • Code reviews with design context
  • Automated testing (unit, integration, E2E)
  • Design QA sessions
  • Bug fixing and refinement
  • Performance optimization

4. In-Sprint Validation ​

  • Quick usability checks on working features
  • Developer testing with real scenarios
  • Edge case validation
  • Cross-browser/device testing
  • Accessibility testing

5. Collaboration ​

  • Daily designer-developer sync
  • Design reviews of implemented features
  • Technical spikes for complex interactions
  • Pair programming on UX-critical features
  • Knowledge sharing sessions

Deliverables ​

  • Working software increment
  • Automated test coverage
  • Documentation (code, API, user)
  • Bug and refinement backlog
  • Deployment-ready release
  • In-sprint validation results

Duration ​

  • Development sprint: 1-2 weeks
  • Typically follows design by 1 sprint in dual-track

Team Involvement ​

  • Lead: Development Team
  • Support: Designers (implementation guidance)
  • Quality: QA, Accessibility specialists
  • Product Owner: Acceptance and prioritization

Phase 5: Deliver ​

Objective ​

Launch the solution, monitor performance, gather feedback, and iterate based on real-world usage.

Key Activities ​

1. Pre-Deployment ​

  • Final testing in staging environment
  • Security and performance review
  • Deployment plan creation
  • Rollback plan preparation
  • Communication plan to users and training materials

2. Deployment ​

  • Deploy to production environment
  • Execute deployment plan and monitor process
  • Validate deployment success
  • Enable monitoring and alerts
  • Communicate release to stakeholders

3. Post-Deployment Monitoring ​

  • Monitor system health
  • Track success metrics and KPIs
  • Gather user feedback and usage data
  • Respond to incidents
  • Analyze usage patterns

4. Continuous Improvement ​

  • Review metrics and feedback regularly
  • Prioritize improvements
  • Implement enhancements
  • A/B test variations
  • Address technical debt and optimize performance

Deliverables ​

  • Production release
  • Deployment and rollback plans
  • Release notes and user documentation
  • Monitoring dashboard
  • Incident response plan
  • Iteration roadmap

Duration ​

  • Release: Varies (Continuous Deployment preferred)
  • Monitoring: Ongoing
  • Learning: Continuous feedback loop

Team Involvement ​

  • Lead: DevOps, Product Owner
  • Support: Development Team, UX Researcher (feedback analysis)
  • Outcome: Validated value in the hands of users

Continuous Activities Across All Phases ​

User Engagement ​

  • Regular user testing sessions (weekly or bi-weekly)
  • Continuous feedback collection
  • User advisory board meetings
  • Beta user community management

Team Rituals ​

  • Daily standups with user focus
  • Sprint reviews with user insights
  • Retrospectives with HCD lens
  • Show-and-tells with stakeholders

Documentation ​

  • Decision logs (why we chose X)
  • Research repository
  • Design system maintenance
  • Technical documentation

Quality Assurance ​

  • Automated testing
  • Accessibility compliance
  • Performance monitoring
  • Security reviews

Phase Transitions and Decision Gates ​

Moving from Discover to Design ​

Gate Criteria:

  • [ ] Clear user personas defined
  • [ ] Key pain points identified and prioritized
  • [ ] Problem statements articulated
  • [ ] Success metrics defined
  • [ ] Stakeholder alignment achieved

Moving from Design to Develop ​

Gate Criteria:

  • [ ] Design concepts validated with users
  • [ ] Technical feasibility confirmed
  • [ ] Design specifications complete
  • [ ] Acceptance criteria defined
  • [ ] Team understands the "why" behind design

Moving from Develop to Deliver ​

Gate Criteria:

  • [ ] All acceptance criteria met
  • [ ] User validation completed (if possible pre-release)
  • [ ] Quality standards satisfied
  • [ ] Accessibility requirements met
  • [ ] Deployment plan approved

Re-entering Discover Phase ​

Triggers:

  • Major user feedback or insight
  • Significant change in user needs
  • New user segment or market
  • Strategic pivot or new opportunity
  • Low adoption or satisfaction scores

Adapting the Process ​

For Small Projects ​

  • Compress phases into shorter cycles
  • Combine activities where appropriate
  • Use lighter-weight methods
  • Focus on core user validation

For Large Enterprises ​

  • Run multiple parallel streams
  • Extend phases for complexity
  • Add governance checkpoints
  • Increase documentation rigor

For Mature Products ​

  • Emphasize Deliver phase learning
  • Lighter discovery (incremental research)
  • Focus on optimization and refinement
  • Maintain design system

For New Products (0 to 1) ​

  • Extended Discover phase
  • Multiple design iterations
  • Phased development approach
  • Careful measurement of adoption

Success Indicators by Phase ​

Discover Success ​

  • High-quality user insights
  • Team alignment on problems
  • Clear prioritization rationale
  • Validated opportunity areas

Design Success ​

  • Positive user testing results
  • Technical feasibility confirmed
  • Stakeholder approval
  • Clear implementation path

Develop Success ​

  • High code quality
  • Passing all tests
  • Design fidelity maintained
  • Performance targets met

Deliver Success ​

  • Smooth deployment
  • Positive user feedback
  • Metrics trending positively
  • Low critical issues

This document outlines the structured yet flexible approach to executing HCD Agile projects.

Released under the MIT License.

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