This is something many organisations struggle with when trying to embed Privacy by Design practically. The key is to stop treating DPIAs (Data Protection Impact Assessments) as isolated, compliance-only activities and instead embed them directly into the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

When you align DPIAs with each SDLC phase — from requirements to deployment — you build privacy into the product, not just bolt it on at the end. For example, during the planning or design stage, triggering a simple DPIA or even a lightweight privacy checklist helps product teams identify data risks early, before any code is written.

Automation plays a big role too. DPIAs can be integrated into tools like JIRA or Confluence using templates, triggers, or workflows — for instance, flagging when a feature collects sensitive data or connects to a third-party API. Over time, this becomes a part of how teams build, not a burden on top of their process.

More understanding can be found here - Bringing DPIAs into the Development Cycle: Privacy by Design Made Practical