This is why sprint planning is essential. I'll ensure we start with an MVP and iteratively build upon it. While its impossible to eliminate changes during a project lifecycle, the key is to design systems that are flexible and scalable, enabling them to accommodate future changes.

To prevent last-minute changes from affecting user experience during software design finalization: 1. Set a Design Freeze: Establish a point where no major changes are allowed unless they’re critical. 2. Engage Stakeholders Early: Align with users, developers, and managers on the design to avoid surprises. 3. Prototyping & Testing: Test prototypes early to identify potential issues and gather user feedback. 4. Document Decisions: Keep detailed records of design choices to evaluate proposed changes against project goals. 5. Impact Assessment: Prioritize changes based on value and urgency to minimize disruption. These steps ensure a user-focused, stable design process.

Always, always, always prioritize success over features. And yes, sometimes they can mean one and the same. But there is always a subtlety with success because it is closely tagged with your end user's perception. In that sense, there is some forgiveness: users may tolerate some instability if it's a much needed feature. More often than not, a smooth overall experience is better than a broken UX. Thus we come back full circle: what do your users value most? Think of the top 3-5 things and those are your goals for success. Everything else comes down to execution, whether it be testing, regression, user studies, production promotion committee, etc. Just don't lose sight of what you're trying to push these last minute changes for.

This is where agile implementation really shines through. In a scrum model, iterative and incremental approach ensures that any changes are recorded on the product backlog and the backlog is reprioritized for the next sprint such that each sprint continues to add value to the product. Ideally each sprint should enforce a change freeze period. In case changes are made before the change freeze period, the daily scrum should be leveraged by the product owner to discuss the change with developers to understand what it entails, what value it adds, ensure alignment with the product goal, and then proceed with estimation if feasible and finalised for the sprint.

Change is inevitable in software development. The best way to manage it effectively is to incorporate change management into the process from the start. • 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: Implement a robust triage process to evaluate why a change is necessary. This way, you can differentiate between a nice to have change and a critical software patch. • 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Establish a reliable system for deploying and testing changes. Feature flags and deployment trains can ensure confidence that changes won't negatively impact users. • 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Develop a comprehensive automated testing strategy to quickly detect and address regressions before they affect customers.