Rethinking Product Squads for the Future: From UX to AX in the Age of Intelligent Systems
Why Traditional UX-Driven Squads Are Reaching Their Limits
The double diamond approach—discover, define, develop, deliver—has served us well for decades. But it’s inherently linear. It assumes clarity, stability, and that humans are the sole decision-makers. That no longer reflects the reality of building modern products, where inputs are constant, data is dynamic, and intelligent systems can sense, predict, and respond in real-time.
Legacy squads are typically structured around designers, developers, and product owners with clearly delineated roles. These teams often rely on research at the beginning of the process and validations at the end. But as systems become more adaptive, this model begins to show its cracks.
We're not just designing screens anymore—we’re shaping behaviours, feedback loops, and decisions powered by algorithms and real-time data.
The Double Diamond design process, originally developed by the Design Council and later updated by Dan Nessler
From UX to AX: What Changes?
The shift from UX (User Experience) to AX (Adaptive Experience) means designing products that can learn and evolve without needing to be re-released or redesigned. These products aren’t just used—they listen, adapt, and change their shape based on who’s using them and how.
Here’s what that shift looks like:
Real-time feedback loops replace static user journeys.
Agents and automation replace manual workflows.
Data pipelines become as critical as design systems.
Interdisciplinary squads replace siloed roles.
We need to stop thinking in phases and start thinking in flows—constant, evolving interactions between humans and systems.
Designing the Future Squad
Future product squads will be smaller, more focused, and more dynamic. Roles will evolve from traditional disciplines into hybrid capabilities:
Experience Designers will think beyond screens, designing decision trees, intelligent prompts, and adaptive flows.
Product Engineers will work across data, infrastructure, and interface layers, ensuring that AI agents can learn and act safely.
AI & Data Specialists will be embedded, not outsourced—curating models, managing context, and training agents.
Ethicists, Behavioural Scientists, and Domain Experts will play critical roles in ensuring responsible, inclusive, and relevant experiences.
The squad of the future isn’t just multi-disciplinary—it’s context-driven, learning-enabled, and continuously evolving.
Practical Shifts to Start Making Today
We’re not going to wake up one day with a perfectly formed AX squad. But we can start laying the groundwork now.
Rethink rituals: Move from sprints to continuous sensing and improvement. Replace lengthy retros with real-time usage dashboards.
Update your tools: Figma and Jira still matter, but so do data observability tools, agent frameworks, and model monitoring platforms.
Reframe outcomes: Stop measuring output (features delivered) and start measuring adaptation (how well the product evolves based on use).
Invest in design systems: But not just for visual consistency—for intelligent reuse, agent prompting, and adaptive interaction components.
The Role of the Intelligent Design System
Design systems themselves must evolve. They should no longer just house components—they should embed logic, behaviour, and context-awareness. Think of them as living frameworks that feed both human designers and intelligent agents.
The design system of the future will:
House UX and AX patterns side-by-side
Provide training data and micro-interactions for AI agents
Enable co-design between humans and systems
Offer insight into not just what to build, but why and when
This requires strong governance, intelligent automation, and continuous integration between design, code, and data.
Final Thoughts
We are no longer building for users—we are building with systems. That changes everything.
Our squads need to evolve. Our ways of working need to adapt. And our mindsets need to shift from control to collaboration—not just with each other, but with intelligent technologies that will shape the future of digital experience.
If we want to stay ahead, we need to stop treating AI as a feature and start treating it as a teammate.
