Last week, my development team and I listened to a research report on UX (user experience), and at the end of the report, one of my team members asked a question about UX copywriting, and another member immediately responded to him, saying that he could use the views of other teams to answer his doubts.
To be honest, I came to listen to this report only because I thought it was related to the project I was working on, hoping to help the design later, but I didn't think that the problems that developers encountered were the most urgent to solve, and I didn't think about how to help them get the job done more efficiently.
A good product designer should encourage and even drive himself to pay attention to the problems encountered by the team, not just think about how to do his job well. We always prioritize our own work without paying attention to what the rest of the team needs. At the core stage of product development, product designers rely on the Latest Mailing Database assistance of developers and project managers, who also need to receive support and assistance from other members of the team.
This may seem very simple, but we often forget that product design is never a one-man business.
How should the team work together?
In Google, in order to encourage teamwork, the "product trio" cooperation model was introduced. Each trio consists of a UX, a project manager, and a developer, because for product development, the three positions work closely together to ensure the best results.
As a UX designer, my most common way of collaborating with project managers and developers is by organizing weekly one-on-one meetings or group meetings. Meetings like these ensure that we have a consistent understanding of the product design and identify the core functions of the product.
I usually ask my questions about the product back-end design and product development strategy to ensure that I fully understand the technical/commercial objectives of the product, and then determine the workflow through reasonable design, ensuring that the team's work is coordinated in both the dimensions of technology development and business objectives.
Every member of the trio influences and collaborates with each other, and without any one of them, it is difficult to develop a reliable product. When I first started, my biggest feeling was that I was at a loss. I don't know where to get project-related resources, let alone the overall state of project development.
After the onboarding, I got plenty of guidance and resources from project managers and developers, not from my team of designers. I get advice and feedback from within my team on a daily basis, so I'm able to make sure my work is on track with everyone.
Although you are responsible for different parts of the product, such cooperation ensures that everyone is coordinated without leading to a disconnect in the work.
After a number of projects, I have summarized some of the key points of teamwork, and welcome your own insights:
(1) Invite colleagues you work with (direct or indirect cooperation) to participate in the meeting, communicate and share with each other, and jointly simplify the development process.
Even if you're likely to be busy with your own side of the work, try to keep them informed of the current progress. I feel this very deeply, if I don't understand what the rest of the team is doing, I can't be sure if my ideas are correct, some hypotheses are difficult to verify quickly, and my vision and thinking will be severely limited. I do my best to share the information my teammates need, and they share the latest progress with me as well, so that everyone can work together on the same progress.
This requires you to keep an open mind at all times, not to make up your mind, to communicate with colleagues in everything, and to make sure that you understand their ideas and practices.
(2) Think more about your teammates, care about the problems they face, and help them as much as you can.
For example, when I first started working on a project, I had no clue, and my project manager noticed my embarrassment and suggested that I research similar products on the market before developing a workflow. In addition, other colleagues have introduced me to experienced colleagues who feel they can give me valuable advice at this stage.
(3) If you find some resources that are helpful for your colleagues' work, generously share them with them.
Colleagues on the development team have offered to share with me some design resources that they thought would help me with my designs.
(4) In the early stage of design, it is necessary to form a good team of collaboration.
This will ensure that your team clearly understands why/will you design a product, while allowing resources to be shared between teams, balancing user needs and development capabilities rather than going back and forth on the issue. At least once a week, I share design progress with developers and product managers and ask them for feedback.
In the process, I use some collaboration software to achieve my goals, sharing my design progress remotely and visually.