Smooth the collaboration with cross-functional teams

Two people are talking about ideas, asking questions, and planning the work.

Introduction

Product designers engage in daily collaborations with stakeholders such as product managers and engineers. The reasons for these collaborations can vary; perhaps you’re seeking a whiteboarding session, feedback on your design, or a deeper understanding of technical domains and requirements.

Efficient collaboration streamlines processes, preventing the repetition of the same discussions and fostering healthier relationships among colleagues. However, despite clear goals, collaboration can sometimes remain challenging for two primary reasons:

1. Complex Domains and Projects: Some projects and domains are intricate, demanding time to fully grasp system complexities and clarify objectives.
2. Global Team Dynamics: When working with a global team, many of us might not have met in person, knowing each other only through Zoom/MS-Teams calls. This can sometimes lead to defensive conversations, hindering effective communication, as a mere image doesn’t fully represent who we are.

As a product designer at VMware, I have the privilege of collaborating with talented colleagues worldwide. We’ve encountered similar challenges in the past, and I’d like to share a story of how we overcame these challenges to boost productivity.

Context

Back in early 2023, the vSphere+ team was working on the usage reporting on the VMware Cloud. The challenge of this project was to connect the usage from the on-prem data centers to the cloud. The mechanism of calculating the usage varies between what users are using versus what the users actually purchased.

In order to bridge the differences and help users understand their usage consumption. We overview the comprehensive architecture across on-prem and cloud environments. And we identified that there are certain improvements required to get to the desired state.

Everyone holds an opinion. ‘We should provide the bare minimum functions to users in order to catch our timeline.’ ‘We should provide the ideal experience to the users as it is a very complex area.’ ‘What value does the improvement provide for the business?’ ‘I don’t think we should change this because it requires revisiting the architecture.’

The conversations didn’t take us anywhere. No alignment, no consensus. It even made people defensive about getting push-back. How to address the issue. On the one hand, you have a large team to work with. On the other hand, the domain is extremely complex and people feel stressed.

What did we do to overcome this challenge?

Understand your stakeholders

People exhibit diverse personalities, making it impossible to employ a universal playbook for all conversations. To navigate this, start by identifying your stakeholders and understanding their roles. It may surprise you that you’re already acquainted with them through daily Zoom meetings. However, they transcend mere images, mainly when coworkers hail from different cultures, speak various native languages, and adopt distinct work styles. Misunderstandings can arise, potentially derailing conversations and instigating defensiveness.

Furthermore, it’s essential to acknowledge the value of every participant’s voice. Create an environment where each individual can express their goals, expectations, and concerns. At times, one person may dominate the conversation, leading to disengagement among other attendees. While some may politely endure this, it shouldn’t come at the expense of their own opportunities to speak. What can we do to provide equal opportunity?

Build trust and rapport

Just like any relationship, building and sustaining connections with your stakeholders requires proactive effort. One effective way to initiate this process is through an icebreaker session within the team. During this session, participants can share their true selves, recount their past experiences, elaborate on their career choices, and discuss their interests outside of work. This might appear to be a 40-minute, non-work-related meeting, but it can ultimately save you 4000 minutes in future work-related meetings.

Getting to know your teammates on a personal level transforms mere profile images into genuine friendships. It also fosters an atmosphere where it feels safe and secure to discuss work-related matters. This shift in perspective reminds everyone that all conversations and efforts are aimed at enhancing our products, devoid of any personal implications. By cultivating transparent and honest dynamics, people become more open-minded about providing feedback and constructive criticism regarding the work at hand.

“Building trust and adopting a user-focused mindset have transformed our collaboration. We’ve shifted from working separately to working as a united team. This change has improved efficiency and effectiveness. We now value clear and objective feedback, listen to each other, and always consider our users’ needs. This collaborative approach helps us make better design decisions and keeps us moving forward as a team.” — Petko Cholakov, Director of Cloud Services

Collaborating effectively

Once trust has been established between you and your stakeholders, it paves the way for more effective collaboration. Now, the focus shifts towards enhancing the efficiency of collaboration. One of the routine tasks for designers is presenting design proposals and gathering feedback from stakeholders.

Product development is fundamentally a team effort, and it’s crucial not to leave anyone behind. A challenge I’ve encountered in the past involves commencing a project with just a designer and a product manager, for instance. We iterate on the user flow and gather user feedback. However, when we transition to the engineering phase, a multitude of questions arise, such as “Why are we doing this?” or “This doesn’t align with the existing architecture” or “It lacks consistency with other products in the ecosystem.” Initially, it may seem ‘efficient,’ but it ultimately takes more time to achieve alignment, which isn’t an ideal pattern.

If we liken product development to a relay race, the only task should be smoothly passing the baton to the next person. However, this simplistic approach often falls short. To address this, consider a basketball game where all players must move on the field. The objective shifts from thinking about the next person to focusing on the overall team goal. Applying this analogy to our daily work, it’s essential to involve all key stakeholders from the outset, even if the end goal is not yet clear. Encouraging people to share their concerns, questions, and opinions creates an environment where designers can acquire valuable domain knowledge from product management and engineering.

Once you’ve established a more effective process with your team, you’re prepared to present your design work to stakeholders. You aim to receive constructive feedback that aids in evaluating your design decisions.

Stakeholders are sharing feedback and designer is taking notes in real-time

Several factors play a crucial role in determining whether you can obtain objective feedback to justify design decisions for subsequent iterations:

1. Adopt a User-Centric Mindset: It’s important to recognize that subjective statements like ‘I like it’ or ‘I don’t like it’ do not constitute constructive feedback. Encourage your team to approach evaluations from the end user’s perspective, asking questions like, “Is this design helpful to our users?” This shift towards a user-centric mindset fosters more meaningful discussions.
2. Always Seek Clarity: Your stakeholders possess valuable insights within their areas of expertise, be it in business, front-end engineering, or back-end engineering. If they express opinions without providing the underlying rationale, consistently inquire ‘why.’ This practice promotes transparent and productive discussions.
3. Advocate for the Users: It’s natural for stakeholders to hold varying perspectives. As a designer, your role entails listening to users and representing their interests. Conduct user research sessions, analyze the data, and present the findings to the team to establish a consensus regarding the direction to take.

By incorporating these strategies, you can create an environment conducive to objective feedback that enables you to make well-informed design decisions in subsequent iterations.

“Collaborating on complex features across cross-functional teams comes with a substantial number of uncertainties, complications, and different perspectives. Without having the proper vision and requirements from a product standpoint, the delivery of such features will feel like an overwhelming daunting task. Yet, if there are clear requirements and product vision, this can be an avenue for substantial technological and functional improvements which will allow the creation of more robust and complex applications.” — Serafin Trujillo, Manager of Engineering

Learning

Collaborating with diverse stakeholders can often be a source of stress due to varying perspectives and differing work styles. When confronted with such pressures, consider reframing the challenge. Perhaps the root issue lies not in the debates themselves but in the quality of relationships with your stakeholders.

Great collaboration arises from a profound understanding of your stakeholders and a solid foundation of trust.