The Other Half of Deliverables
The value of soft skills in the design process.
In product design it can become quite easy to fall into the trap of focusing strictly on the end deliverable as a measuring tool for ability, success, and the quality of team output. I think this happens as a result of design and development teams having an end artifact as the result of thier efforts, an artifact that most of the time is tied to business goals and objectives.
So what is wrong with focusing on deliverables as the sole measuring tool for success, talent, or quality? They may show technical ability and talent, but they are an end result and they often don’t tell the whole story, they don’t show some of the most crucial aspects of design.
Quality is found in well crafted interfaces, code, visual aesthetics, and industrial designs, but often behind these artifacts there are conversations, cultures, and processes that enable teams to produce great designs.
More times than not (especially in large organizations) there is not an ideal culture in place where the right conversations surrounding design happen, where a solid, effective design process is set. These situations often prove to be frustrating, but they are ripe with opportunity to leave a larger imprint than any UI can.
These situations provide us the opportunity to improve the culture we are a part of as well as the conversations around design with our clients, teams, and orgs. This type of change has a huge impact on the products we are designing and in the right scenarios has staying power, leaving a positive imprint on product design for years to come.
I will say that this all sounds very pie in the sky and you may be thinking… “This clown doesn’t know where I work or the clients I have to deal with” and you are right I don’t. I am by no means saying this is an easy undertaking, it will be frustrating, it may take a commitment to a consistent effort over a few years. What I can tell you is that it will be worth it, and if ou are willing you will learn skills that aren’t often taught in school, skills that play a huge role in designing products.
If we take the same empathy we so often preach as necessary to create great experiences, with the other skills we use in crafting great products and turn them inward applying them to how we design and communicate design with the business side of product design we will see lasting impacts on our teams and our products.
My encouragement and challenge to us all is to not allow ourselves to get so focused on only one half of the deliverable that we miss the opportunities to develop what are often called “Soft Skills”, skill that can have great impact on the products we are designing.
These are some brief (and still incomplete) thoughts on the other half of product deliverables and the importance of soft skills. My goal is to continue to use this collection to post what I have experienced and continue to learn about how we can improve the conversations, cultures, and processes within our organizations, and with our clients.
