What does a UX/UI design and development consulting agency do when a client presents a new project?
The answer is surprisingly consistent across most consulting firms.
Meet with the client. Ask a few questions. Maybe have them send over a PRD or some initial written requirements. From there, many agencies take that introductory information and run with it.
They'll brainstorm, prototype, create early designs, run testing, and eventually build.
Then when they're ready, they schedule time with the client to present the outcome.
And that's that.
Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with this approach. After all, consulting firms are hired for their expertise and their ability to work independently to deliver a strong outcome.
But after decades of consulting experience, we've noticed a few unfortunate pitfalls in this traditional agency model.
Updates
Many agencies have good intentions. They don't want to bother their clients, so they'll spend weeks heads-down working an idea through the project lifecycle.
What this often produces, however, are long stretches of time without meaningful project updates.
Status
Without regular touchpoints, clients can easily feel in the dark about the actual status of the work.
They may wonder:
- What progress has been made?
- Is the project gaining momentum?
- Is anything stuck?
A lack of visibility creates unnecessary uncertainty.
Tooling
Another common issue is tooling.
Agencies often use different software than their clients. So if clients want to follow along, they need to create accounts in unfamiliar tools, remember new logins, and occasionally check systems they rarely use.
This friction adds up quickly.
Outcome
When demo day finally arrives, this model also increases the likelihood that the final result misses important elements of the original goal.
Because there's limited communication throughout the lifecycle, projects can drift slightly (or significantly) off course without anyone realizing it until the final presentation.
By then, fixes are harder, and done with more haste and less poise.
We've taken a different approach
At strideUX, our team has over 100 years of combined experience doing UX consulting for clients.
Believe us—we've made most of these mistakes ourselves along the way.
Over time, we weren't comfortable leaving things as they were, though. So we kept tweaking, refining, and simplifying until we arrived at a lightweight UX consulting process that works better for both our team and our clients.
Technically it's five steps, but in practice, it's designed to feel like even less.
Let's get into it.
Getting started is as easy as sending a Slack message
We all love typing /giphy in Slack.
It's quick, mindless, and gets us to the perfect meme to send coworkers when something silly or celebratory happens.
Starting a project with an agency should feel just as easy.
So getting the ball rolling with strideUX follows the same idea. Simply type:
/stride
This opens a clean modal popup that captures the core details we need upfront, including:
- Description
- Attachments
- Target date
- Key context
That's it. Think of it like sitting at a coffee shop with us and describing your project in your own visionary style.
Keep it short. Be as detailed as you want. Throw in some colorful emojis or a few '90s references if that's your style.
We can roll with it.
Because you shouldn't have to switch apps, dig up an email thread, or stare at a blank form just to get a project started.
Once submitted, your request automatically populates inside Linear, the project management system we use for both internal and client work.
From there, the request connects directly to your existing strideUX project team so handoff is seamless.
Stay in Slack for updates
Once your project is submitted, you'll be able to track progress directly inside Slack.
Each project includes a dedicated view showing requests organized by status:
- Submitted
- Planning
- In Progress
- Client Review
- Done
Beyond high-level status, you can click into any project to:
- Ask questions
- Add new ideas
- Share updated requirements
Our team also posts updates, thoughts, and requests directly in the project channel.
This keeps all collaboration in one familiar place.
I mean, you probably already have Slack open anyway.
So when progress happens, you know immediately.
No more wondering where things stand, or whether or not your investment is worth it.
A deeper view with easy access
Sometimes you want a more detailed look at an ongoing project than what Slack provides.
We get that, so we've built a browser portal that shows:
- The project's kanban board
- Individual task details
- Project requirements
- Supporting documentation
Even better, authentication is simple.
You log in directly through Slack without creating another account or remembering another password.
Everything is there whenever you want the bigger picture.
The work we'll do together
Up to this point we've mostly talked about tooling.
But great UX consulting projects ultimately depend on strong collaboration.
Every strideUX project includes a dedicated and focused team.
Dedicated because you'll work with the same people across multiple projects over time.
Your team will always include a project lead, along with design, development, and strategy specialists depending on the project's needs.
Each week we run syncs to:
- Align priorities
- Check capacity
- Review deliverables
- Demo progress
When deeper exploration is needed, we run dedicated workshop sessions for brainstorming, discovery, and strategic thinking.
And depending on the project stage, we may even join your internal standups to keep alignment tight and momentum steady.
Everything points toward a single goal:
Clear communication and visible progress every week.
You'll see it in Slack, but you'll also feel it through face to face collaboration.
The why behind our process
Our philosophy is straightforward.
Reduce friction. Increase clarity. Maintain focus throughout every stage of every project.
These custom workflows and tools allow us to shape our consulting process around how teams actually work instead of forcing clients into rigid, generic systems.
This results in you not only staying informed, but feeling in control, as well.
And you can trust that the progress being made is exactly what you had in mind when you first typed that simple Slack message to start the project.
