Continuous Design: One eye on the horizon and the other on the next wave
Summary
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
"The rebrand caused our NPS to plummet and freaked out our executives — that was the trigger to get serious."
Shipra KayanHow we Built a VoC (Voice of the Customer) Practice at Upwork from the Ground Up
September 30, 2021
"We often use radio buttons when check boxes or sliders would reveal the truth."
Peter MorvilleThe Architecture of Understanding
May 13, 2015
"Don’t just run away from something. Make sure you are running towards something."
Renee ReidBecoming a ResearchH.E.R (Highly Enterprise Ready)
June 3, 2019
"Language can be vague, imprecise, and even contradictory, but the body can be a bridge to understanding."
Dane DeSutterKeeping the Body in Mind: What Gestures and Embodied Actions Tell You That Users May Not
March 26, 2024
"Avoid strictly timed interactions because they stress everyone, especially people using screen readers or with cognitive disabilities."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
October 3, 2023
"Balance UX and CX—making the site work technically is not enough if the content or experience isn’t meaningful."
Andrew Custage Michael MallettThe Digital Journey: Research on Consumer Frustration and Loyalty
March 29, 2023
"Zoom fatigue is real, people are not necessarily keen to go into another Zoom meeting even if they think it’s valuable."
Shelby SwitzerMaking Space for Community Knowledge-sharing in a Distributed World
December 10, 2021
"If we are haphazard about AI adoption and trust marketers over rigorous testing, it looks like all our hand wringing about research accuracy was just gatekeeping."
Llewyn PaineCoexisting with AI: A practical guide for researchers to navigate tools, ethics, and integration
March 11, 2025
"Learning is the new knowing, and researchers are catalysts of organizational learning."
Robin BeersNavigating organizational systems: Rethinking researcher’s role in driving change
March 13, 2025
