Image by Justin Gravante.
Dear Engineering,
No one says it aloud, but let it ring true, we are nothing without you. Designers and engineers are truly the heart and soul of the user experience. Let’s bring the best of each other out through communication, collaboration and embracing our common goals.
Love,
Design
We are nothing without each other.
Design and development have a relationship that is truly unique: one that is a force to be reckoned with if put into motion via collaboration, listening, and humility. The duo can create 'practical magic' by transmuting what is imagined into the realm of the possible. It may be that there are jacks of all trades, but in larger companies especially, often we find that designers and engineers are specialists in their field. These individual specialties are more powerful, more creative, and more capable together than divided. A user experience may be imagined, a comp may be beautifully crafted, but it is nothing more than a set of pixels on a screen until it is developed. We often hear the benefits of prototyping early: a design schema put into a prototype early on allows for teams to catch user errors and potential technical solution inefficiencies early on. An interactive design of any kind without a prototype is like flying blind. Prototypes allow teams to fail fast, early and facilitate room for early iteration.
Getting creative with technology is the best thing one can do!
Engineers help us designers find boundaries to work within. These boundaries are essential to the creation of design. A blue sky vision is in most cases not grounded in a reality that can touch the hands and lives of users. It also is much harder to create without limitations. Just like physical materials have properties which an artist can manipulate and experiment, so to in the world of virtual creation do technical properties allow designers to experiment within a ruleset. Sometimes the most creative ideas come out of technical limitations. An art teacher of mine once said: 'find out what the material does best and help it do to that.' By studying and understanding technical boundaries at hand, designers can start sculpting solutions that are imaginative and real. It's about successfully finding the edges of those boundaries early on that can often make or break a given design.
When working together, designers and engineers are faster than working alone. I am privileged enough to have the opportunity to work side-by-side an amazing engineering team and this allows for faster, more productive iterations. We are able to find on-the-spot solutions because we both have our sleeves rolled up, and are at the same table. Cross-functional teams are powerful because they bring together all different viewpoints rather than fragmenting them and forcing communication to happen much later in the game.
Performance, reliability, joy of use, and usability are four components that together make up a great user experience. Both engineers and designers have the ability to affect each one of these. An app that is beautiful yet slow is not a great experience. So too, a reliable app without a great UI lacks the human factors which comprise a satisfying experience.
Together we are more empowered to do something better: We are closest to the product because we are in the day to day, creating and building the product. Let's face it, if a product is not designed and built it does not ship. Don't ever forget this when you are working on a project. It can be easy to do so especially in large companies where business analysis and general management are forces of nature. But feel empowered in knowing that you have huge influence over the product at hand because you are knee deep in the creation of it, you are on the front line. Never loose a sense of ownership, purpose or control.
"Find your common cause and get fucking passionate about it." - J. Gravante
Purpose unites teams and inspiration drives teammates. Its essential to maintain momentum together. Projects are fluid, so is inspiration. Don't hold back! Share with your team: every inspiration a single person has when working on a project has the potential to inspire a team or even just one other individual. This leads to maintaining the momentum necessary to effectively move the team forward.
Be inclusive! Don't throw requests over a wall and expect good results. In fact, expect poor results - no one likes to feel like there are fingers pointed or walls are drawn. We are all in this together. Don't assume a designer doesn't care. Don't assume an engineer doesn't care. Designers can be flexible, we value the work that engineers do and understand what sweat and tears can go into developing a great solution: nothing is 'just magic.' Real people create real solutions through both design and development.
Share ownership with your teammates. Nothing is black or white. Every team-member has the potential to individually contribute, so don't de-value the power of co-creating. Feel empowered to speak up, especially when you don't agree or understand a design or technical idea. Sometimes the best results come out of the disagreements we have because they point out different ways of seeing the same problem and, in turn, allow us to expand how we think as well as to be more creative collectively. The more questions asked, the more thoughtful decisions are made!
Expand the definition of what you do.
Powerful teams respect dynamic roles. This means that I may not always have the same role on a team. I may have to wear many hats during the evolution of the project so I, in effect, expand and contract to fill in the holes of the team. Be flexible enough to provide room for your teammates to do their job best, be humble enough to ask for help when you need it, and be fearless in taking on new challenges. As you grow the team grows. Designs and engineers are both researchers and problem solvers. As some have compared the creativity that scientists and artists both have, I believe this dynamic to be the same between engineers and designers. We are more alike than one may first observe and with a common goal we can work as a great unit.
Play a role in every aspect of the process. Don't settle at being the bottom of the funnel. Your component may be a peice of the larger puzzle, but it is the overlap, those fuzzy areas where the true glue happens. Don't over-reach, but at the same time know that people will in most cases be thankful for your input. A holistic approach to design and development means a better product in the end. Not everyone is going to be a bridge to the extended team, but for those that are capable realize the importance of reaching out and getting involved in the greater effort.
Own it together! Unique talents comprise a team. Individuality is essential to gaining perspective. So celebrate individual talents, successes and opinions. A team is only as good as the sum of its parts. So let the individuals shine within the group and be vocal about these differences.
In conclusion: designers love engineers because together we can build, grow, iterate, evolve, make things, and get shit done that no one else can!
I have given a talk accompanying this information 3 times now. Please check out the slideshare! http://www.slideshare.net/henkenbean/a-ux-love-letter-to-engineering
////////////
Image + collaboration by: Justin Gravante
Inspiration: CIM Mobile Engineering and UX teams
