7 Successful Habits of Designers & Developers Who Actually Like Each Other

Delivered at HOW Interactive Design conference in Chicago / October 21, 2014
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Designer and developer skill sets are complimentary, but often the personalities are not. In this highly practical session, you’ll discover opportunities for increased productivity, strategies for creating more harmonious teams, and collaborative habits that produce stellar work.

Whether you are a manager, team lead, developer or designer, getting two stubborn characters to play nice is an exercise in walking on eggshells. This session will take a look at the intricacies of these working relationships.

3 Main Takeaways:
• Learn the best workflows for designer / developer cooperation.
• Find out how to develop work habits that will allow you to get the job done, even if you can't stand your colleagues.
• Get tips for a happy “marriage” between a designer and a developer.

Transcript

1. @cassiemc cassiemcdaniel.com
   7
   Successful Habits
   of Designers & Developers
   Who Actually Like Each Other
   

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2. yamith head
   

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3. glenn jones
   

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4. webydo
   

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5. designer
   developer
   coders-survey.com, 2012
   what are you?
   11%
   38%
   50%
   both designer
   & developer
   

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6. Hybrids, who have one foot in each
   discipline, beg the question of whether
   we need to get along better or simply
   become more like each other.
   “
   ”
   bit.ly/twocatsinasack
   

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7. tomek ducki
   

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8. design dev
   10
   1
   

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9. design dev
   10
   1
   4 6
   

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10. design dev
    professional
    amateur
    html / css
    javascript
    node.js
    ui
    typography
    ux
    

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11. teams
    skip hursh
    

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12. working
    hiring
    shipping
    

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13. ? ?
    ?
    ?
    ??
    ?
    

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14. 1. work transparently
    

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15. startup
    ad agency
    6 employees
    freelance
    just me
    tech company
    100s of employees
    boutique agency
    30 employees
    healthcare
    15-100 employees
    50 employees
    

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16. Transparency is a really good way to make
    people understand what kind and how much
    work a group is doing.
    “
    ”
    – bobby richter
    

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18. bug tracker
    2 week sprints
    wiki
    irc
    vidyo
    etherpad
    email
    closed meetings
    

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22. air.mozilla.org/channels/webmaker
    

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24. 2. find the same page
    

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25. everyone accounted for
    

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26. audience problem success
    

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27. audience
    

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28. brief
    

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32. ask questions
    

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33. Groups of people that are naturally inclined to
    share & respect each other usually just have a
    common goal that's too looming and important
    to not use everybody's skill.
    “
    ”
    – bobby richter
    

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34. 3. clear the way
    

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36. demolish roadblocks
    

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37. document the scope of work
    

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38. sprintr
    

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39. 4. share your screen
    

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40. pair-programming
    

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41. nearsoft inc
    

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42. I think the biggest key to good designer-
    developer relationships is that the people
    involved view each other as creative partners
    rather than resources to hand-off work to.
    “
    ”
    – atul varma
    

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44. pair-designing
    pair-programming
    

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45. pair-creating
    

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47. 5. reviews
    

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48. it is impossible to ignore
    the reviewer when he or she
    is sitting right next to you.
    “
    ”
    

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50. ILLUSTRATION: KEVIN CORNELL
    

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51. design review
    

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52. redpen.io
    

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55. 6. always be mentoring
    

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58. students don't know where to ask (irc, bug, email, ???)
    and if they try the one thing they know how to do and it
    fails, they can give up. Pay attention to new people on
    all your channels.
    do your reviews fast; prioritize contributor reviews.
    draw them out on irc, comment on their blogs, check
    in on bug comments. Quiet means you're losing them.
    reassure them that they're doing OK, tell them not to
    give up, be encouraging. make it okay for non-experts
    to be here. be [extra] friendly.
    file bugs with lots of details you're not filing a bug
    for colleagues. give more context.
    blog, tweet, or otherwise recognize their work/presence
    

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59. I feel the role of UX is
    always downplayed.
    “
    ”
    – nadine lessio
    There's a common
    misperception that devs
    are not creative.
    – simon lindsay
    

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61. 7. perfect the handoff
    

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62. sean inman
    

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65. T H E D
    E N
    tomek ducki
    

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66. @cassiemc
    cassie@mozillafoundation.org
    thank you!
    

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