4. Setting the Scene

“COMING TOGETHER IS A BEGINNING. KEEPING TOGETHER IS PROGRESS. WORKING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS.”

—HENRY FORD

Let’s begin our journey into agile by understanding what makes agile different from other working methods and how all of this affects designers.

Success. Now there’s an interesting word. By definition, success means the accomplishment of desired aims or goals. Achieving success is the holy grail of any business or project. The pursuit of success is the reason businesses invest time and money; it’s the reason we take risks. This book is about design and we want to look not only at what makes design successful, but also how the involvement of designers on an agile project contributes to the overall project, and ultimately business success.

In this chapter, we’ll take an initial look at agile project management, communication styles, rituals, processes, and environments and then talk about ways to improve the chances of both design and project success by integrating design and designers into the agile project framework.