10 Ways Designers Can Improve Collaboration With Software Developers

Career AdviceWorking Life

The relationship between designers and developers can be difficult. Here are some tips on working with developers to avoid conflict.

Over the past three years, it's been a whirlwind of emails, video calls, client meetings and of course, the occasional happy hour. I have been given the opportunity to join various cross-functional Agile teams and work with some of the most intelligent developers in St. Louis. In a short amount of time, I have learned that a large part of my job as a design consultant is to make the lives of my fellow development consultants much easier.

If you want to be a successful team player, here are 10 things you should keep in mind that can help bridge the gap between design and development.

10 WAYS DESIGNERS CAN IMPROVE COLLABORATION WITH DEVELOPERS

• Do your due diligence.
• Learn what's realistic for your devs.
• Find productive shortcuts.
• Organize your assets.
• Field the clients’ questions.
• Treat your devs like humans.
• Become a designer who can code.
• Respect your devs’ time.
• Learn the requirements for developing at different resolutions.
• Treat your devs.

1. Do Your Due Diligence

It is important to be thorough when you are in the discovery phase of a project. This way, you can avoid wasting time on unnecessary emails and meetings.

2. Learn What’s Realistic for Your Devs

It is advisable to ask questions such as "Is this technically feasible within this time frame?" and "What is the technical difficulty of this?" in order to gauge feasibility and set client expectations.

3. Find Productive Shortcuts

It is always beneficial to look for existing libraries that your developers can use when designing a web or mobile application for a client. This way, your developers can focus more on the creative aspects of the project.

4. Organize Your Assets

It is beneficial to compile all icons, logos, or any other UI elements into one place so that your developers will not have to constantly ask for them. This will also save your team time.

5. Field the Clients’ Questions

When possible, questions from the client or product owner should be fielded by someone so that developers can use their time more efficiently.

6. Treat Your Devs Like Human Beings

Developers may spend most of their day deep in code land, but this does not mean they are entirely composed of zeroes and ones…unless they are robots. If this is the case, DM your HR representative and inquire about when they plan to upgrade their software. Otherwise, schedule your emails and Slack DMs for working hours, give your devs a reasonable amount of lead time, and don’t forget to use the magic word (it is still “please”).

7. Become a Designer Who Codes

It is important that you learn front-end development (HTML, CSS and JavaScript) in order to be able to communicate productively about implementing your design. As a bonus, you could call yourself a "designer who codes" on Twitter.

8. Respect Your Devs’ Time

Never tell a developer that something will be a "five-minute fix." Something might take a lot longer than you'd think.

9. Learn the Requirements for Developing at Different Resolutions

Please remember to ask about screen resolutions and sizes needed for the final product. Once you agree upon screen resolutions and sizes, please make sure to deliver assets that keep these resolutions in mind (1x, 2x, etc.).

10. Treat Yo’ Devs

Purchase them a drink, coffee or tea. What? You do not presume they just magically generate lines of code by consuming Red Bull and Soylent, correct? Even developers need a break and some human interaction from time to time. They usually don't bite. This list is not comprehensive, but it will give you a good starting point when working with programmers. If you do even a few of these things, you might find your new best friend at work. Or, at the very least, you can take some initiative to bridge the gap between design and development, and make everyone's life a little easier.