One scoop or two, exploring design team cooldowns
Reminiscing about childhood ice cream chimes and how ‘UX Team Cooldowns’ are helping the team support one another and reflect on their week gone by.
Mid-spring and time for ice cream
As we’re mid-way through Spring the weather’s getting warmer which is a nice change, especially for us Mancunians up north. It’s that time of year when you start to hear the ice cream jingles and the children come running for spends!
With my children getting older it’s been a while since I’ve had to do the ice cream van dash! It was always a challenge trying to guess the whereabouts as the chimes came closer and closer. Ice cream is often a treat nowadays when visiting seaside towns nearby.
Joining Sage
In February I started a new design role as UX Team Lead at Sage. I’ve been met with friendly faces and even managed to squeeze in a volunteering day which involved running a design club at a local school and facilitating a team collaboration day at our Manchester office.
Over the past few weeks I’ve met a lot of wonderful people. Starting anywhere new can be challenging but the support and willingness to help has made me feel at ease as I learn more about our products, current projects, ways of working and future plans.
The importance of reflection time
I think as people we often don’t reflect enough, I’d argue it is one of the greatest skills a designer can possess (behind listening). Imagine this being the raspberry sauce and flake on the 99!
Working in a fast-paced environment there’s often lots going on. I’ve found reflection time fundamental when starting my new role, I’ll often block out time at the end of my working day to summarise what I’ve learnt or use shorter meeting times — for example 20 minutes or 50 minutes, giving a space to download my thoughts before transitioning into the next meeting.
Many teams have weekly schedules and it’s common to kick-off the week aligning on key tasks or goals for the week ahead. This may also include time to huddle or critique, but how might we end the week understanding if we’ve achieved our goals? What went well, what didn’t and how do we download our thoughts so we can switch off and enjoy the weekend?
This is where team cooldowns can help. When I joined Sage we had a similar session already in flow which was gaining the valuable output we wanted — offering support, highlighting achievements and getting ready for the weekend. The session was having a positive impact but as a reflective thinker and a Miro enthusiast I wondered if there was a better way.
From conversation to facilitation
Using the agenda of the meeting and observing discussion, it gave me some ideas around a workshop template to help strengthen the conversation. During meetings which are discussion heavy I often find myself building up a list of questions (yes not listening!) and trying to make quick notes. I’ll often forget important comments and miss chances to input.
This is where facilitation and documenting helps me and potentially others. Being able to capture notes ensures I’m able to actively provide my thoughts in a concise way. The team add post-its to the Miro board during the discussion, this also leaves an archive of the conversation which enables people to revisit after the meeting.
Our ‘Team Cooldown’ template
In true designer style I had to get creative, playing on the cooldown theme — hence the ice cream! With the help of some helpful illustrations from Open Doodle I was able to quickly mock up a template and pilot with the team.
So far it’s been a success and people have found the format fun, useful and it’s helped document conversation. The facilitation style keeps the team engaged and people can contribute both verbally and through written post-its.
We also take some time at the end of the session to share resources or key learnings from the week and share personal aspects of our life outside of work. This helps strengthen team relationships, allowing the team to learn more about each other. That’s been super useful especially for someone new to the team.
The template is now available to use via the Miroverse. Grab a copy of the board and try it out with your team. Please share your experiences and any ways you’ve adapted the template.
Finding your flavour
I’ve enjoyed working with our teams and finding ways to analyse how we work and spot opportunities to test and learn from new approaches.
Like that child at the ice cream van, there’s lots of choice! There are many ways to schedule a week, organise a session or facilitate a meeting. Teams differ, environments aren’t the same and what works for one team might not work for another. Be curious and if your appetite changes try a new flavour.
Next time you hear those chimes, think about how you and your team are collaborating and supporting each other and spot opportunities to improve— oh and don’t forget to treat yourself to that ice cream!
