Continuous Design: One eye on the horizon and the other on the next wave
Summary
How do you create the conditions for delivering a great customer experience on a rapidly changing platform? In 2016, Norway’s national railway company began building a new technology platform. As designers, we yearned to address the customer’s actual needs and desires, not just a fresh look and technical upgrade. But with no process, principles, tools, or internal design resources, where do you start?
Key Insights
-
•
Privatization forced MSB to relinquish control over ticket machines and IT, compelling a new digital-focused strategy.
-
•
Designers initially faced tension with developers due to different paces and priorities within agile.
-
•
Introducing 'waves' as outcome-focused releases helped align design and development processes beyond fixed sprint durations.
-
•
Design sprints kickstarted collaboration and built shared understanding across cross-functional teams.
-
•
Users prefer familiar interfaces, valuing trust and habit over new designs, complicating redesign efforts.
-
•
Simple, quick feedback tools like a 'give feedback' button can generate valuable and actionable user insights.
-
•
Open access to user feedback motivates developers to solve real user problems proactively.
-
•
Ecological validity in user research is critical—testing must happen in users’ real contexts to be meaningful.
-
•
Continuous learning loops enable teams to adapt products iteratively based on real user data and changing business goals.
-
•
Successful design in agile requires processes that create space for designing great experiences rather than forcing designers to keep up with rapid deliveries.
Notable Quotes
"The starting point was a very technical one: please make the user experience exactly the same a year from now."
"It’s not about old versus new. It’s about trust and deeply rooted habits."
"Designers felt like hamsters in a hamster wheel, always reacting, never exploring."
"Waves are defined by the outcome we want to achieve, not just by time frames."
"Google Design Sprint is the best inception strategy I know for design thinking."
"Giving the whole team access to feedback made them feel responsible and inspired to solve user needs."
"Ecological validity means the test must happen in an environment as close to reality as possible."
"We’re not building to build, we’re building to learn."
"How can developers and designers work together to create great products? That’s the question."
"One eye on the horizon and the other on the next wave is the perspective teams need to deliver quality digital products."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Hugh Dubberly argues we should stop describing design as problem solving and instead see it as engaged conversation."
Daniel GloydDesigning From the Inside Out: How Method Acting Can Inspire Design Research
February 12, 2026
"Inviting leaders to shadow research sessions helped one department hire a client feedback panel representing marginalized voices."
Deirdre Hirschtritt Cesar Paredes Marie PerrotResearch is Only as Good as the Relationships You Build
November 17, 2022
"We were lost in the forest and you come across this compass, maybe all time rusty, but still something a little bit useful."
Benjamin RealMaturity Models: A Core Tool for Creating a DesignOps Strategy
October 1, 2021
"Sometimes you need to view your career like an investor, where you invest your time for the kind of impact you want."
Max Gadney Andrea Petrucci Joshua Stehr Hannah WickesAssessing UX jobs for impact in climate
August 14, 2024
"Ivana will teach you how to scale fast and big from day one through product operations."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 1: Intro
January 8, 2024
"Play is known to create psychological safety, break down barriers, and foster shared alignment."
Feyikemi AkinwolemiwaPlay to innovate: How curiosity and experimentation transform UX
March 11, 2026
"We’re obligated to treat each other with kindness and respect."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
March 29, 2023
"User recordings are your most valuable asset but have become riskier due to biometric privacy laws."
Llewyn Paine[Demo] Deploying AI doppelgangers to de-identify user research recordings
June 5, 2024
"OKRs help highlight intentions to leadership and open up conversations that generate alignment and support."
Bria Alexander Benson Low Natalya Pemberton Stephanie GoldthorpeOKRs—Helpful or Harmful?
January 20, 2022
