UX Development and Design Collaboration
A successful development team is not necessarily just the quality of code they write, the accessibility they champion, or the number of pull requests they merge. What makes the team most successful is the relationships they form and, perhaps more importantly, the relationships created with the Design team and others. Development teams can thrive when they embrace open, honest, and empathetic communication with Design. Two impactful ways to foster communication are looking for ways to connect during the design and development process as well as collaborating on designs.
UX Developers and Design should create intentional and meaningful opportunities to connect throughout the design and development process. One way to connect with Design is for developers to request participation in wireframe review sessions or prototype review sessions. Another aspect of working with Design is hand-off or kick-off meetings. All of these meetings give UX Developers the ability to provide feedback alongside JavaScript and Back-End engineers. Finally, a critical time to connect with Design, but often under-utilized, is the communication UX Developers initiate with Design while building and before code review. These conversations can provide constructive feedback to developers of items that are not matching designs or missing functionality.
In addition to how often UX Developers work with the Design Team, the way communication occurs is critical. It is essential to think of Development and Design as a partnership. One cannot achieve a successful product without the other. Some ways to collaborate that help both teams foster highly collaborative relationships is for development teams to consider following steps:
- If suggesting changes to a proposed design, provide alternative options that accomplish the same goal and fit within the development’s scope.
- When disagreements occur, be empathetic and look to seek to understand the other’s perspective.
- Be curious. Ask questions about the goal of a particular feature or widget and seek to understand the intent of the design.
- Be open-minded. Understand that the Design team is looking to satisfy many stakeholders, and you want to be their partner in solving problems.
By finding ways to connect teams together and collaborate openly, Design and Development teams can foster great relationships and make amazing products.
