# Agile vs. Design Thinking: Which is Better? **URL:** https://www.kablooe.com/agile-vs-design-thinking-which-is-better/ **Author:** Kablooe **Published:** October 27, 2026 > I was recently at a conference that was ‘innovation central’ for medical devices and had the privilege to see more new innovative technologies on the cusp of  greatness than I can mention in this short article. --- ![Agile vs. Design Thinking: Which is Better? ](https://www.kablooe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/3ed05de4-d124-4cb5-bcc0-bf71f36603b5.png) Walk the floor at any medical device innovation conference, and you will find more technologies on the cusp of greatness than I can mention in this short article. ## Two Camps in Medical Device Development Look closer, and a tension between development philosophies shows up in many of these projects. It comes down to two main camps. The first camp sees the possibility in a new technology and gets fired up about testing whether it may work. [Feasibility models](https://www.kablooe.com/design-driven-development/feasibility-modeling/) are built, tests are conducted, and so on. These folks tend to have a more scientific or academic background, but not always.  The second camp starts by looking for a need to meet. When they find one, they vet it, then search for technologies that could become a device to meet it. It would be too simple to say that the first camp practices agile and the second practices design thinking. Still, a few major principles from each methodology dominate each camp. ## What Is the Difference Between Agile and Design Thinking? Agile is about testing things quickly, learning from that, and testing again. That means you have to make something, and it is the thinking that is driving the folks in the first camp.  Design thinking is about meeting users’ needs and believing they will adopt your device solution into their lives. That thinking drives the second camp. ## Three Things Every Team Needs, Regardless of Approach Both methodologies have qualities that are useful at the right times. But three practices belong in either approach, and they improve the odds of product success.  ### Start With User Research [User research](https://www.kablooe.com/design-driven-development/human-factors-consulting/) should come first. In design thinking, it is all about discovering key stakeholders’ needs. In agile, there still needs to be a [vetting process for the idea itself](https://www.kablooe.com/breaking-down-the-5-steps-of-product-evaluation/), including whether the target user actually needs or wants the product.  Knowing a user wants their problem solved is not the same as knowing they want your specific device. One easy way to test that is the Five Whys, a technique where you keep asking “why” until you reach the root of an issue. It makes you consider the other possible solutions, and not just the one you are focusing on.  ### Test Concepts More Than One Way Concepts can be tested in many ways. Most people think that in agile you need to build a working prototype before testing a concept, but that is not always the case. There are many things you can test with a sketch, and a sketch takes only a portion of the time. Testing those things first can help you eventually test prototypes that are more “on target.” The goal is to learn and improve, and both methods support that ideology. Design thinking uses low-fidelity concepts to [test early](https://www.kablooe.com/blog-iterative-design-benefits/), then moves to higher fidelity as learning progresses. Agile prioritizes the most important features first and defines the lesser ones later.  ## It’s All About How You Start If you plan on learning about user needs from the start and stay focused on improving concepts as you progress, you may find yourself using a hybrid methodology that is more robust.  ## So, Which Is Better? Neither one wins on its own. Think of design thinking as the compass and agile as the engine. Design thinking keeps you from building the wrong thing, and Agile keeps you from taking too long to find out. Used together, they help teams reach the right solution faster and with fewer surprises. Kablooe’s D3 Process® (Design Driven Development®) is built on that hybrid idea. It uses thinking from both camps to develop products in a holistic framework that addresses user needs and develops solutions efficiently. [Learn more about the D3 process.](https://www.kablooe.com/design-driven-development/)  ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the difference between agile and design thinking? Agile focuses on building, testing, and improving in short cycles, so teams learn quickly from real results. Design thinking focuses on understanding user needs before and during development, so teams build something people truly need. One drives the speed of learning, and the other drives the relevance of what you build.  ### What are the core design thinking principles? Design thinking is often described in five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Teams observe real users, define the problem clearly, explore many solutions, make ideas tangible early, and test them with users. Each round of feedback sends the team back to refine the issue or the idea.  ### Can agile and design thinking be used together? Yes. Many teams use design thinking to understand the problem, then use agile cycles to develop and refine the solution. Design thinking and agile share a core belief in learning early and often, which is why they combine so well in a hybrid approach.  ### Is agile or design thinking better for medical device development? Neither wins on its own. Design thinking helps you prevent building the wrong device, and agile helps you avoid taking too long to find out. Most successful medical device teams borrow from both. ### Do agile and design thinking work with FDA design controls? They can, as long as the work lives inside a documented structure. FDA design controls require teams to document user needs, design inputs, verification, and validation. Short build and test cycles still work when each learning is captured and traced back to a requirement. ### Do you have to build a prototype to test a concept? No. Many concepts can be tested with sketches, which take a fraction of the time. Testing early with low-fidelity concepts helps teams build higher-fidelity prototypes that are more on target. --- ## Categories - Design - News ## Tags - Design - medical device development - medical devices - product design