Reece Watt

…sure that is mutually beneficial and one that promotes an understanding of each other’s discipline. In turn, design will stay grounded in the patterns that have been established and reduce design fragmentation, therefore reducing development time and making the end user experience more consistent.

The reason for this is because the insight that developers will provide is invaluable for how design on the project will evolve. Their knowledge can and should help shape the experience, and it also serves as a check and balance measure to ensure that ideas are aligned with technical limitations. It is a mutual beneficial method of inclusion that developers appreciate, and will help to ensure that the transition from pixels to code is smooth.

Perhaps the most effective method in closing the divide between design and development teams is to simply involve the developers in the design process as early as possible. If discovery whiteboard sessions are part of your process, then development team members should be in room. When your team reviews wireframes, sitemaps or design mockups, then developers should be right there in the mix. And finally, when anything is being shown to the client, the development team should be represented.