Adapting the Agile Agency
to Clients’ Realities
edenspiekermann_
berlin amsterdam los angeles san francisco singapore
edenspiekermann_ @herr_ttz@herr_ttz
guten tag. 

i’m christian.

@herr_ttz
human!
Who is Edenspiekermann?
120 people.
five offices.
one attitude.
(edenspiekermann.com/manifesto)
Heard of our founder?
typomaniac …
We shape brands with user-centric design.
People
Brand
Products Services
The promise
of a social interaction
The delivery
on that promise
of a social interaction
ProductsServices PeopleBrand
+ = Business
What is a great brand experience?
Presentation title here xx.xx.xxxxedenspiekermann_ 15
• Useful
• Easy
• Enjoyable
• Satisfying
What is a great brand experience?
• Useful
• Easy
• Enjoyable
• Satisfying
not useless
not complicated
not frustrating
not depressing
Supervisory Board Meeting 10.06.2014edenspiekermann_ 21
Supervisory Board Meeting 10.06.2014edenspiekermann_ 22
Supervisory Board Meeting 10.06.2014edenspiekermann_ 23
To build a great experience
To build a great experience
put people in the center of what you do.
User testing
User testing
means talking to people.
Building a great experience
@herr_ttz
Building a great experience
Products do not fail because they
are technically broken,
they fail because nobody needs them.
Products do not fail because they
are technically broken,
at home
at Akira’s
place
Tokyo
airport
transfer
Frankfurt
Schiphol
airport
Do we still 

have time to get
something 

to eat?
edenspiekermann_ @herr_ttz
Building a Great Experience
edenspiekermann_ @herr_ttz
edenspiekermann_
edenspiekermann_
The Queen Us
Your Job:

To deal with change.
@herr_ttz
It’s not

complicated.
It’s complex.
Analysis
Concept
Design
Implementation
Go-Live
The Waterfall
The Waterfall
Scrum
The Roles 

In Scrum
The Product Owner
manages the product
The Scrum Master
manages the process
The Team 

manages itself
Why did we go agile?
We want to be the best
partner for our clients’
most exciting projects. 

Exciting projects today:

Complex.
Cross-Discipline.
Cross-Platform.
Long-Term.
Constantly Changing.
No more spec sheets.
If you want to create
relevance in a very fast
changing world, work
agile.
But Christian, why is
this difficult?
We have a client!
Duh!
Every client is different.
Every client is different.
Every project is different.
But we also have to be agile evangelists.
You cannot ignore your clients’
processes, requirements and realities.
1_

Build your 

clients’ trust.
“Communication is key.”
Waterfall Predicts Agile Forecasts
Pretty accurate!“NO”stradamus
The client wants a website.
The client wants a website.
(You should probably build them a website.)
Scope change?
You can handle it.
2_

You need to
operate within
your clients’
budgets.
Fast
Cheap
Good
Pick Two
Budget
Timeline
Features
Pick Two
3_Clients need care.
But they also want a promotion.
Or a bonus.
Or a pat on the back.
(And sometimes you just want to have some fun
together ❤)
Yes, they want a great product…
Nervous about launch deliverables?
The scrum master will walk your client
through the progress.
Scrum
Master
Worried about
the prototype?
Have them come over,

and test it together.
Our clients
Scrum Master 

Andrea
Don’t hide 

progress
Always let your client
know where you stand.
4_
Make your clients part of
the team.
Client
Creative
Client
Team
Dev
Account
UX
Strategy
Waterfall Agile
Two Product Owners = double the fun
Design thinking 

with clients
You’ll gain better insight by
letting clients solve
problems, then analyzing
their solutions.
edenspiekermann_edenspiekermann_ @robertstulle
The clients
edenspiekermann_
The whole team
edenspiekermann_
The CEO
There is no such thing as a dumb client.
5_
Respect your clients’
deadlines.
Deadlines are a reality.

You’ll have to deliver.
But what you deliver
exactly is adapted on a
daily basis.
Work with a transparent
prioritized backlog
Sprint
Release
Future

Releases
Priority
You’ll know early on if
there’s a potential delivery
issue.
Delivery Quality Assurance
Prototype Updates
Daily Rituals
6_
Enforce
interdisciplinary
teams.
A typical project?
Run by IT.
Managed by Marketing.
Requirements 

from Sales.
And HR.
And the London office.
Oh, and the China team.
Launching in two months.
With a global 

brand campaign.
New hosting company.
Develop copy with 

the PR agency!
Make sure 

it’s SEO compatible!!
We need videos!!!
Ugh.
You have to work in teams of
different experts.
You have to work in teams of
different experts.
Or with your clients’ in-house
teams.
Don’t design a
website…
… without a
developer by
your side.
7_
Investing in your culture
will be good for your
client’s bottom line.
An agile mindset is embedded in
company rituals.
Maker Days
Brainfood
Design/Dev Couch
Thrive on your rituals.
Love a good balance of
work and play.
edenspiekermann_edenspiekermann_
edenspiekermann_edenspiekermann_
Working agile means being agile.
As agencies, we must
constantly adapt to our
clients’ realities.
It only works if we stay true
to ourselves. Our
philosophy. Our culture.
edenspiekermann_
Thank you_
604 Arizona Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90401
(323) 373 3533
www.edenspiekermann.com

Christian Titze, "Hello From the Other Side: Adapting the Agile Agency to Clients’ Realities"