Setting Fire to Silos: How to Bridge the Divide Between Development and Design

The divide between design and development can be vast. Designers lob something over the wall for development without knowledge or perspective of technical limitations, and developers are left to sort out requirements and edge cases. No one is satisfied when designers' visions aren't implemented or developers are expected to explain why something can't be built. It doesn't have to be this way. This talk will introduce solutions you can implement on your team to bridge the divide and do your best work. Using an internal project at Rackspace as a case study, Glynnis will talk about why upfront planning, identifying the problem before agreeing on a solution, and cross-disciplinary collaboration are crucial to successful projects.

This version of the talk was presented at Activate Conf in Baton Rouge, February 2018.

Transcript

1. Setting Fire to Silos How to Bridge the Divide Between Development and Design 
 Glynnis Ritchie
2. How to Bridge the Divide Between Development and Design Setting Fire to Silos @glynnisritchie
3. Glynnis Ritchie Creative Director, Designer Clio + Calliope @glynnisritchie
4. How to Bridge the Divide Between Development and Design Setting Fire to Silos @glynnisritchie @glynnisritchie
5. @glynnisritchie
6. @glynnisritchie
7. “ Our current implementation of the phone system needs to be significantly improved through integration with our multiple customer relationship management systems. We also need improved search capabilities so that people answering the phones can more quickly assist customers. @glynnisritchie
8. Our current implementation of the phone system needs to be significantly improved through integration with our multiple customer relationship management systems. We also need improved search capabilities so that people answering the phones can more quickly assist customers. @glynnisritchie “
9. Building Search (It’s easy, right?) @glynnisritchie
10. Zero to production in 4 months. @glynnisritchie
11. But what’s the secret? Yeah, yeah. That’s cool and all. @glynnisritchie
12. Let’s Talk about Silos @glynnisritchie
13. @glynnisritchie
14. @glynnisritchie
15. @glynnisritchie
16. @glynnisritchie
17. @glynnisritchie
18. When designers don't see their designs implemented the way they envisioned and developers must explain why it can’t be built, no one is happy. @glynnisritchie
19. No one enjoys working this way. @glynnisritchie
23. Without requirements or design, programming is the art of adding bugs to an empty text file. –Louis Srygley @glynnisritchie “
24. @glynnisritchie @glynnisritchie
25. @glynnisritchie @glynnisritchie
26. BRIDGING THE DIVIDE @glynnisritchie Polish those soft skills!
27. Life outside the silo is scary. @glynnisritchie
28. Yes, and… @glynnisritchie “
29. Establish a safe space. @glynnisritchie
30. unicorn @glynnisritchie
31. Interdisciplinarity: the combining of two or more disciplines into one activity; creating something new by crossing boundaries as new needs emerge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdisciplinarity @glynnisritchie
32. I have experienced first-hand what happens to a project when there is a front-end dev with a strong design sensibility and when there is one without it. In terms of the final design, the difference is as stark as night and day. Agile UX in the Enterprise, UX Pin @glynnisritchie “
33. Interdisciplinary skills and team members are key.
34. Don’t be afraid to ask the obvious questions.
35. Repeat things back to your team mates.
36. DEFINE the problem @glynnisritchie before you argue about the solution.
37. Our current implementation of the phone system needs to be significantly improved through integration with our multiple customer relationship management systems. We also need improved search capabilities so that people answering the phones can more quickly assist customers. @glynnisritchie “
38. Our current implementation of the phone system needs to be significantly improved through integration with our multiple customer relationship management systems. We also need improved search capabilities so that people answering the phones can more quickly assist customers. @glynnisritchie “
39. collaboration FIRST @glynnisritchie Don’t let hand offs be the only time you talk to each other.
40. @glynnisritchie
41. @glynnisritchie
43. Share meetings. @glynnisritchie
44. @glynnisritchie wocintechchat.com
45. @glynnisritchie DESIGN DEVELOPMENT PLANNING 1 month 3 months 2 weeks Unsuccessful Project Timeline: Design as a Band-aid
46. @glynnisritchie FIXING DESIGN/UX ISSUES DEVELOPMENT DESIGN 2 months 3 months 2 months Unsuccessful Project Timeline: Silos & Rework
47. @glynnisritchie Too little collaboration means information lost, and designs lack direction. Too much ‘heads-down time’ and the designers find themselves siloed from the rest of the process, handing off their work rather than building something better together. https://www.invisionapp.com/blog/tuning-design-process/ –Mel DeStefano “
48. @glynnisritchie ITERATIVE DEVELOPMENT & DESIGN VISION & NORTH STAR DESIGN 2 weeks 3 months Successful Project Timeline: Agile Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration DESIGN DEV DESIGN DEV DESIGN DEV
49. @glynnisritchie DESIGN DEVELOPMENT estimates of effort technical feasibility performance considerations high-level vision user flows visual check of requirements
50. @glynnisritchie DESIGN DEVELOPMENT user testing to validate revisions for scope review of design implementation recommended alternatives review of feasibility
51. @glynnisritchie http://www.gv.com/sprint/ The sprint gives you a superpower: You can fast- forward into the future to see your finished product and customer reactions, before making any expensive commitments. “
52. @glynnisritchie wocintechchat.com
53. DESIGN FOR THE IDEAL STATE @glynnisritchie then scale back to define iterative releases.
54. The team and your company’s perception of them benefit from a common, visible goal. @glynnisritchie
55. @glynnisritchie
56. What does that actuallY look like? @glynnisritchie
57. Start with research. @glynnisritchie
58. User research concerns the whole team, not just designers. @glynnisritchie
59. Help developers help the user. @glynnisritchie
60. If everyone starts with the same information, they can make better decisions on behalf of the team. @glynnisritchie
61. Developers should vet designs early and be involved in design review. @glynnisritchie
62. @glynnisritchie
63. Do you have all the information you need to implement this today? @glynnisritchie
64. Vetting technical feasibility helps identify problems sooner. @glynnisritchie
65. @glynnisritchie
66. @glynnisritchie
67. Designers should be involved in pull request review. @glynnisritchie
68. @glynnisritchie
69. Screen share, pair, or walk through something together in person. @glynnisritchie
70. Developers would much rather leave design decisions to designers. They may not even know when they’re making a design decision. @glynnisritchie
71. Developers can’t involve you if you aren’t there. @glynnisritchie
72. As a product manager, being involved in design and development can help you keep your team focused. @glynnisritchie
73. You can’t accomplish any of this (especially shipping an ambitious project quickly) if you aren’t in the room. @glynnisritchie
74. @glynnisritchie clioandcalliope.com • @glynnisritchie