Why skipping research isn’t “moving fast” it’s moving blind.
Everyone loves to say they’re agile.
They’ve got stand-ups, sprints, backlogs, demos, and maybe even a kanban board with emojis.
But let’s be honest:
You're not agile if your UX research only happens once a quarter or worse after a feature’s shipped. You’re reactive.
1. The Myth of “Fast” Teams
Too many teams claim speed as their superpower. They ship fast. Iterate fast. Pivot fast.
But ask them when the last research session happened, crickets.
Or worse: “We did a survey six months ago. People loved the idea!”
Speed is meaningless if you’re racing in the wrong direction.
Shipping without user input isn’t agile. It’s expensive guessing.
2. What Real Agile Teams Do Differently
Real agile teams treat research as a continuous conversation, not a box to tick after launch. Here’s what that looks like:
They involve researchers from day one, not week five.
They run lean studies between sprints, not six-week research phases.
They test ideas early before a line of code is written.
They prioritize learning, not just delivery.
This doesn’t slow down the process. It sharpens it. It also prevents teams from building beautiful features nobody needs.
3. Research Is a Sprint Activity, Not a Luxury
Agile is supposed to be iterative. Then why do we treat research like a waterfall left over?
Research can be:
A 20-minute unmoderated test on a prototype
3 quick user interviews to double-check an assumption
A Slack poll to validate the direction
A usability test before a sprint review
When done right, the research fits inside the sprint, not outside it.
4. Stop Treating Research Like QA
This is one of the biggest missteps: Teams bring in researchers after the build like they would QA to “make sure it works.”
By that point, it’s too late. The design is approved, the development is done, and nobody wants to go back.
Here’s the harsh truth:
If research only happens after decisions are made, it’s not research; it’s damage control.
5. What Needs to Change
If you want to be truly agile:
Make research part of the sprint planning
Let insights drive the backlog—not assumptions
Build lightweight research into your velocity
Empower designers and PMs to run scrappy studies
Stop waiting for perfect research. Start learning fast.
6. Final Thought
Agile isn’t about speed. It’s about learning fast so you can build the right thing, not just build quickly.
You’re not agile if you skip research or treat it like an afterthought.
You’re just making noise.