How UX Designer Work Together with Developers
As an intern that never worked with a developer before, I had the struggle to get used to the new agile environment. I thought about this:
“Would I become a burden in the team since I am the only designer?”
I started working as a UX designer in October 2019 and since then, I never knew how it looked like to be a part of the developer team. My teammates were all designers or project managers.
In early 2020, one of my network from the campus organization asked me to join her team as a UX designer.
I thought it might be good if I can work with developers. So, I accepted the 10-week challenges to build a mobile app (from research to code implementing) that can solve the global warming issue. We got the topic of plastic issue. Here are the key takeaways that I learned from this project and as a first-time UX designer collaborating with the developers:
- Communication is a key
I realized that there is less communication between a designer and the developers. I, as a designer, always tried to do my best to keep the communication going by giving the developers an update on what I was doing and what I have done. Developers did the same thing but they gave me an update almost at the end of the session, which wasn’t enough time to fix the problem in the app prototypes.
2. UX Designer needs to lead the design thinking phase
Since I was the only designer, I could choose how I adjusted the research, design, and delivery phase. In this project, I always found a win-win solution in case the developers wanted to add something that wasn’t supposed to be a part of the user research, i.e., one of the developers asked to put the donation button in the mobile app. However, based on the research, users were skeptical about this idea. If I included that in my design, users would have uninstalled the app. So, the solution was to create small ads to generate revenue.
3. Developers asked to finish the design as soon as possible
Since the developers were still new and they didn’t know how effort we put as a designer to understand the research and implement it into the design, I had a struggle to explain to them that it would take time to finish the design. I even had sleep deprivation due to the deadline that I needed to follow.
4. Understanding the frameworks of project management
There are two things that I and the developers should have known before I jumped into this project. These two are agile and lean UX. I started to learn this concept after finishing this project. I joined a design conference and I was lucky to get that session. Basically, lean focuses more on entire production cycles while agile applies more to the end product.
5. Design vs. code
I watched one of the videos from Pablo Stanley. I was stunned by what he was saying regarding the code implementation could look different from what designers created. It happened to me when I saw the real app that developers created. It was totally different from my design in terms of the placement of the button and the margin. I couldn’t say anything since they only showed it in the final presentation, which we presented in front of the judge. This is why we need effective communication between cross-functional teams regarding the design pattern, and designers have to speak up if the results are not what they expect.
6. Feedback is important
Getting feedback is important. No one is perfect, including the designer. In this project, I asked the developers whether they were able to implement the timezone in the real app or not. Furthermore, I still added another option in case my first design didn’t work for them or it’s too hard to code.
Additionally, I also created the Google Form for them to write down something that I need to improve, and vice versa. I believe feedback helps me to move forward and understand more how to work with developers effectively.
“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”
— Benjamin Franklin
