This sprint marked a turning point for our team. We had our hands full with development and began following agile practices throughout this process. This was the first sprint that we had our entire team focused on development after finalising the study, working hard to get our Meetings & Tasks feature MVP ready for deployment.
As individuals and as a group, we discovered how closely Agile development aligns with design thinking: both rely on empathy, collaboration, and iteration. Feedback from Joelle (Volunteer Manager & mentor to Meaningful), I2U, and Raaj reminded us that great solutions come from deeply understanding users’ needs and remaining open to change. Implementing their suggestions helped us see that requirements are never static; they evolve as our understanding grows. Building with users, not just for them, became a guiding principle for our work.
As we moved toward deployment, our focus shifted to refining and finalizing key features. After meeting with the team and Meaningful, we set our deployment date for October 31st, a milestone that gave us a clear target and renewed momentum. We prioritized completing all core features before this date, leaving the agentic AI components for future iterations. This phase taught us the value of alignment, time management, and balancing ambition with practicality as we prepared to deliver a stable and meaningful product.
Our collaboration matured as well. Daily standups and regular code reviews strengthened communication and accountability, while sprint planning and retrospectives helped us work smarter together. Each team member has made great progress in their technical ability and their soft skills as a result of our teams’ shared learning and collective creativity!
Looking back, we realized that consistent Agile practices, from stand-ups to retrospectives, are more than just structure. They create space for reflection, empathy, and continuous improvement, allowing us to design not only a better product but also a better process. Ultimately, this sprint taught us that effective development is about balancing empathy and execution. By integrating design thinking principles into our Agile workflow, we’re becoming a more thoughtful, adaptive, and user-centered team.