Flow diagrams that model the typical design process depict a neat and orderly procession of boxes and arrows depicting the transition of the design process from phase to phase - start to end. In practice, the team often needs to constantly shift focus, improvise, and deal with stressful timelines and difficulties. The work can be very stressful at times, but it is interesting, challenging, and rewarding.

The size of teams varies with the size of the organization one works in. From a "team of one"--a single individual freelancer who offers their services on a temporary basis, to design departments within large organizations.

As an experience designer or developer, one typically works throughout their career--by choice, opportunity, or need--in one or more of the common settings:

• Freelancer - a team of one: Individual designers offer their services, typically on a project-by-project basis. Industries and projects change based on whatever work is available, or the designer specializes in a specific domain. This model used to be very common among architects as well as print and software designers, less so in product and industrial design--domains that often require expensive specialized hardware and software tools. Some people love this model; others might find it very stressful and lonely.
• Agencies and consultancies: These companies specialize in various forms of experience design and range in size from small boutiques employing a handful of designers, to global firms with hundreds of designers across multiple locations. Such companies can scale to meet the needs of much larger projects than an individual can ever be able to support. For the individual designer who works in a consultancy, there are colleagues to share ideas with, and less stress around finding the next assignment.
• In-house teams: This model is becoming common in business and organizations, as design has become an integral part of business. Depending on the company's product line, size, and emphasis on experience, internal design departments vary in size, hierarchical structure, and compartmentalization. In some companies, design is centralized; in others, autonomous design departments focus on a particular product line.