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Did you know it takes an average of two to five months to design a website? And at the end of that process, there are probably countless bugs, glitches, and issues that should have been prevented.
Even with so many fantastic design and collaboration tools nowadays, the process can still be lengthy and overly complex. Instead of changing the tools, try changing your approach to a modern one—and use iterative design.
Today, we’ll discuss iterative design—what it is, why it benefits designers, and how you can use it in your team.
An iterative design implies thinking of designs in terms of iterations. Instead of delivering one finished design, designers break a bigger project into smaller pieces and work on them continuously to make changes rapidly.
Imagine that instead of a finished product, you deliver a wireframe and then send it to product/development for feedback. You then work on the wireframe and add the basic design elements, such as the basic brand colors and page elements - keeping those consistent with your logo design and other visuals. Then, you test that part and quickly move on to the next step of the design process.
Think of it as a rapid prototyping method that involves feedback and adjustments based on that feedback—something like an agile methodology but for designers.
The aim of using iterative design is to work in fast sprints, prototype, get feedback, make changes based on that feedback, and treat the design as an ever-changing work in progress that needs to satisfy the needs of your customers throughout the design process.
There are many benefits of iterative design in software development process – but let’s put them into perspective by comparing it with a traditional product design and development approach.
A traditional waterfall design approach involves driving a project through and making changes according to user feedback. This usually means that if there are errors and UX/UI issues, you can only spot them at the very end. At that point, fixing them costs much more time and money than it would if you fixed them early on.
With each new design iteration, your team can collect feedback from customers and other stakeholders in the company. They can apply it immediately and shape the design to meet everyone’s requirements rather than winging it and hoping that the final version is useful. This also facilitates a better customer experience and cooperation within your team.
At any point, anyone from the design, development, or any other team can gain visibility into what you’re currently designing. Since the work is done in sprints, it’s easy to look at the progress in the last sprint plan instead of waiting weeks or months for a finished design.
Iterative design allows more teams to work on different things simultaneously. For example, one designer could work on the UX while another is in charge of adjusting page elements that developers had issues with. Using UX design software will help keep the project organized and simplify collaborations between team members.
No designer is perfect, and even professionals can make errors based on assumptions and things that have worked previously. In iterative design, a product is tested simultaneously as designers work on it. This ensures that even if there are bugs, you can spot them immediately instead of months later in the finished product. For example, if customers reach out and report errors through your call center software, you can edit them quickly.
Iterative design offers significant advantages to businesses across various industries by improving processes, products, and user experiences. Here are a few detailed use cases where an iterative design approach can have a clear impact:
For SaaS companies, improving the user interface through an iterative cycle is critical to keeping users engaged. For example, a SaaS platform offering project management tools can regularly adjust its dashboard based on user behavior. The company avoids adding unused features and refines those that enhance productivity by focusing on user needs. Using wikis to document changes during each iteration allows teams to stay aligned and avoid confusion during product development.
See how actionable insights help optimize SaaS user experience.
E-commerce businesses thrive on a smooth buying experience, and interaction design is key.
Let’s say an online store notices a high cart abandonment rate. Following an iterative development process, the team can run A/B tests on different checkout flows, gathering real-time user data to improve.
After testing with focus groups, they adjust the design to align with key metrics such as lower abandonment rates and higher sales conversions.
This continuous improvement cycle guarantees a better customer experience without adding unnecessary complexity.
Read more on Ad hoc data analysis for better e-commerce insights
Startups need to stay agile, especially those bringing a new product to market.
Imagine a fintech startup launching an app for small business accounting. Using design thinking, they gather early user feedback and quickly tweak features.
This prevents adding scope creep by focusing only on what adds value rather than building out overly complex systems. In this way, the iterative approach helps them refine their product quickly and get it market-ready faster than traditional methods.
Learn more about Agile product development and iterative methods
Marketing teams can also benefit from iterative design to optimize their campaign workflow. For example, a team running a lead-generation campaign can improve landing page designs with each iteration.
Through regular testing, they identify what resonates most with users, adjusting elements like visuals and CTAs based on the feedback loops created by user interactions.
This helps them perfect their campaigns in real time and deliver more efficient, cost-effective results. As soon as a new cycle begins, the team ensures that the digital assets align closely with the business objectives.
Make sure to check How AI analytics tools improve campaign performance.
Tech companies' product teams can leverage an iterative design methodology to streamline their product development process. Imagine a mobile app team working on a new feature that enhances navigation. By conducting early-stage user tests, they can gather feedback on how the interface design performs in real-world scenarios.
This allows them to adjust design elements quickly to better meet user expectations. Each iteration refines the app’s usability, ensuring the final product delivers a seamless experience tailored to the users’ needs.
Get more best practices in interface design for product teams.
You may think this approach is perfect for any design team, but nothing in this world is perfect.
If you’ve never implemented an agile methodology in your business, introducing iterative design could be met with some disagreement. The best approach you can take is to educate design and product team leaders about how to use this approach and have them as your pioneers in the workplace.
To stay informed about ongoing sprints and design projects, you need a capable project manager (or a few) qualified in agile methodology to hold the strings together. Projects continue simultaneously, unlike a waterfall methodology, where one phase starts once the previous phase is finished.
Despite these disadvantages, iterative design is massively beneficial for everyone involved – your team and your customers.
We hopefully have your attention by now, and you want to implement an iterative approach in your design operations. Here is how to get started.
Sometimes, a fresh perspective can greatly improve your design work. You can buy off-the-shelf software and designs that fit into your existing website and product and save time and money rather than going custom. Moreover, those bits of software can easily fit into an iterative design process.
For example, you can get an embedded analytics dashboard from Luzmo instead of building one yourself. It takes days (sometimes hours) to implement, and you can launch it quickly instead of spending countless hours on design and development.
The basis of any iterative development and design process is having different product versions available. If things go south, you can revert to a previous version without losing much progress.
It’s 2025, and design is the work that can and should be done in the cloud. Many apps, such as Figma or Invision, let you design and collaborate with your team online. That way, everyone can work on a project simultaneously and leave feedback in the same document.
Don’t redesign an entire website with an iterative approach as your first project. Think of something small like a landing page redesign that your design, development or product management team can work on. Getting team buy-in is easier if they’ve tried it themselves on a project first. Once your team gains confidence and experience with the landing page redesign, they can explore using the landing page builder to develop future projects.
Before launching into the next iteration, look for features your users aren’t engaging with. You might be surprised how much unused functionality exists, leading to missed opportunities.
Conduct targeted user research to understand exactly what your audience values versus what goes unnoticed. Eliminating or refining these underutilized features can simplify your product, improve usability, and cut down on unnecessary development time, making the entire process more cost-effective.
Why guess when you can know? Usability testing takes the trial-and-error out of your design process by giving real-world feedback on how users interact with your product. Pair this with A/B testing to compare different design elements, allowing you to optimize critical interactions in real time.
It’s a fast way to drive continuous improvement without waiting for a full development cycle, boosting conversions and ensuring that new features enhance the user experience rather – than complicate it.
Design can’t thrive in isolation. Get your development team deeply involved in every step of the feedback loop. Their technical expertise ensures that design decisions align with what's achievable in your product development lifecycle.
When developers are part of the iterative process from the start, you reduce rework and avoid delays, moving from ideation to final product more efficiently. This tight collaboration turns user testing data into actionable improvements, bringing you closer to a polished, user-centered product faster.
Using iterative design in your business can make your designers’ lives easier and your customers happier. And while it may seem like an additional set of steps in your design process, it’s actually far simpler and more intuitive than a more traditional waterfall approach.
We can help you get started today! With Luzmo, you can quickly and easily get an embedded dashboard for your SaaS product. Add it to your software and iterate as your customers and team leave feedback. With Luzmo, you can launch a dashboard in hours—not weeks or months.
Experience the power of Luzmo. Talk to our product experts for a guided demo or get your hands dirty with a free 10-day trial.
