Building a stellar SaaS product is not a one-person responsibility. The involvement of the best product-driven minds (Design - Engineering - Product) is what gets the job done. To ensure that every team member is working towards a shared goal and a long-term vision, all team members must be kept well-informed and on the same page throughout the process. When collaboration works, it can lead to remarkable outcomes. However, sometimes collaboration can be challenging due to unresolved communication issues leading eventually to its breakdown.
It is common for product designers to assume that they know what they are building when starting a new project. The features might seem simple, or the approach might seem clear. However, this initial perception is often incomplete, especially when designing for tech, like Cloud Security.
When I start working on a new project, there are usually many more aspects to consider than I initially thought. Overlooking engineering or design dependencies could lead to future technical complications and user frustration. Therefore, collaboration is an essential skill to upgrade and maintain for successfully evolving in a large tech company.
To foster better outcomes and reach everyone's satisfaction, you must be more communicative, sensitive, and empathetic towards - not only the users - but also your co-workers and internal stakeholders. Design is all about relationships, so as designers, we should nurture good relationships with the people we work with daily (virtually or in person).
In this article, I will try to underpin what makes a successful collaboration, as a product designer, drawing on my personal experience in one of the Forbes Future 50 and the lessons of a fantastic book about the art of working within a team with action, intention, and kindness (Conscious Collaboration).
I hope to inspire you enough to re-think how we work with others and apply the following practical tips for using intentional, human-centered collaboration to solve complex problems with my co-workers.
I/ Identifying internal stakeholders:
Managing team assignments and responsibilities, both within the design team and outside of it, can be a challenging task. In a big tech company with constant growth and shifting priorities, tracking who is working on which project can be challenging. As people often switch their focus and move on to multiple tasks, it becomes increasingly challenging to maintain visibility over the team's work. Additionally, as teams grow, you may no longer have the opportunity to work with every designer or engineer from one project to another.
Starting a project can sometimes feel like an investigation: I must ensure all the necessary pieces are in place. Often, core technical information may still need to be confirmed and added. Consequently, from the start, you might discover several siloed conversations (between PMs and engineers) and ask jump-in, collect early questions without answers to give, and challenge impactful decisions. Those can happen quickly, and staying on top of them is essential. Dependencies can also be challenging to manage and should be carefully considered: strategic dependencies from a different project you were previously unaware of, which can be crucial to the current one.
Given that uncertainty is an integral part of our work, who should we invite to the kickoff meeting? Try this:
Add your current project, team, and role to your bio, whether that’s on a directory, messaging platform, or somewhere else — and encourage others to do the same.
Make sure that important links (project brief, figma, figjam, etc...) and team resources are kept up to date and are easily accessible. Well-organized project pages, documents or Wikis can be great tools. Pinning important links in highly visible communication channels can also aid in accessibility.
Before starting a project, I try understanding its connections and dependencies with other teams, functionalities, and projects. Doing so lets you identify potential downstream effects your work may have on others and determine who to talk to to ensure a smooth and successful project. Taking some time to do this due diligence in the beginning can save a lot of time and effort later on.
Once you have identified the teams that may be involved, reach out to each lead and inquire about the assignees who should participate in the discussion. From experience, I recommend only inviting part of the team as it may result in too many people and opinions to care about, which can hinder the discussions. Instead, invite one representative from different functions across teams. This approach can help maintain focus without compromising inclusivity or effectiveness..
II/ Scheduling everyone's availability
Scheduling a meeting can be challenging as it requires finding a mutually available time for all participants. Usually, I schedule a 30-minute call, which often needs to be more when your colleagues are very opinionated - as is often the case with engineers.
Finding a date that works for everyone involved can be daunting, especially when working in big international teams and coordinating recurrent schedules with multiple stakeholders. Although inclusivity must be at the core of your collaboration skills, it still can be challenging due to everyone's busy schedules and differences due to time zones. It was much simpler when I worked in smaller teams, in the same location.
Now, how do we achieve this in the best way possible? Try this:
I recommend booking a slot with key stakeholders as soon as possible, even if you still need to finalize your design agenda. You can always cancel the meeting later if needed, but booking early (at least two weeks in advance) will help secure the slot.
I would also recommend scheduling regular meetings at the beginning of a project. Those could be weekly updates about your design roadmap to keep everyone aligned.
I like to clarify upfront who is optional and who must attend the meeting to be considered successful. New people can still be added depending on how the project evolves and is impacted by new dependencies, such as new internal stakeholders.
A good tip is to record and/or add meeting notes for people who can't attend. Additionally, those meeting notes help share the decisions made during the meeting. Personnally, it helps also to review the information that may be blurry at first (advanced technical concepts, etc...)
I would contact people who are unavailable to ask about rescheduling a meeting. This could allow for an earlier sync.
Keep calendars updated, and communicate which meetings cannot be rearranged.
III/ Aligning to reach a consensus
Now that you have a good understanding of the problem and some ideas to solve it, the question is: who will make the final decision? It's possible to over-analyze and talk about things endlessly, especially when most communication happens over Slack. It can be overwhelming to come back from lunch and find a message that says "You've been mentioned in a thread. Show 103 more messages." That's a lot to go through!
Next time, try this:
In a bit of time, I understood the benefits of asynchronous feedback and capturing inline feedback on documents or prototypes. That's perfect when working with different time zones, schedules, and rigid calendars.
Encourage the team to get off Slack threads. Suggest a Zoom/Slack video call or even a huddle for something leaner. Use last-minute video meetings only for urgent alignment.
I recommend adding a generated meeting note, including agenda bullet points, to your invite well in advance. It will certainly provide early questions and ensure efficient and productive meetings. Additionally, consider sending a reminder the day before the meeting to review those agenda bullet points.
Check that all key stakeholders are present to participate in the final decisions and to avoid anyone feeling unheard or singled out.
Don't hesitate to share your early work, even if it's not perfect or polished yet. You can present simple flows or rough sketches (even on paper). The aim is to gather early feedback to confirm or reject your initial assumptions. It will be easier to have productive conversations and reach a consensus. This way, you can move closer to your goal: validating a common perspective around the product/feature's vision.
Get everyone in a “room” (virtual or otherwise) and drive toward decisions. Set a tactical agenda with intended outcomes to foster a more involved discussion.
Having things written notes (not in Slack) really helps: I recommend tagging folks for visibility (for example, in a Google Doc) to enable a more reactive conversation.
IV/ Matching roadmaps and goals
In any organization, especially in big tech companies, different teams have their own priorities, objectives, and timelines. This can sometimes result in conflicting goals, where another team may not give one team's urgent task equal priority. Such situations can make collaboration among teams difficult. Next time, try to consider these factors while working together to achieve common goals:
At inception, bring key stakeholders together to align on dates, objectives, and deliverables across teams. Discuss timelines, quarterly goals, etc., to get a big-picture overview.
Another tip is to create a shared document (for example, a wiki page or a Google sheet) to track team projects, milestones, priorities, percentage of time dedicated to each project, and relevant information.
V/ Communication turning into obstacles
I think effective communication is crucial for successful collaboration. However, sometimes, it can fail or not achieve its intended purpose, leading to feelings of frustration, discrimination, neglect, or obstruction. Sometimes, you may even unintentionally cause a communication breakdown, which can be unpleasant to realize, mainly if it results in additional work for others in your team or group. If it happens, try this:
Consider taking a conversation outside of internal messaging tools. Find a time when you and a key collaborator are both available and schedule a 30-minute 1/1 meeting. Sometimes, making room for a real conversation can help a lot. I recently resolved a week-long miscommunication with a coworker through a quick and informal call to clarify expectations.
A game-changer might be documenting and communicating decisions and commitments to set clear expectations and avoid misunderstandings: what was decided, who is accountable for what tasks, and when they need to be completed. Sometimes, a lack of urgency or follow-up may result from unclear expectations.
When collaborating, be transparent about your availability to avoid becoming a bottleneck. It's okay to decline if you're swamped.
When saying "no, sorry", provide a suggestion or resource to reach out to.
If you have caused a delay or a misunderstanding that has led to an issue, it is expected to take responsibility. If necessary, it may be appropriate to apologize, but it is important not to dwell on the situation. Instead, focus on taking action to resolve the problem. Ask yourself: "What can I do, right now, to unblock and resolve the situation?"
Retrospective sessions can be useful for improving future processes by discussing what went well and what didn't during a project.
Work relationships don’t necessarily need to be close-knit ones, but should definitely be healthy. Always assume that your coworkers have good intentions, but at the same time, don't be naive. The world of work can be both wonderful and disappointing: the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
VI/ In conclusion... There is no conclusion:
I believe that the suggestion for effective communication is too important to be summarized as a bullet point. When we feel blocked by someone, it's easy to fall into a place of frustration and antagonism. This is one of the most significant barriers to effective collaboration. I have been guilty of falling into this pattern myself, especially when I have outside stressors. It's easy to wonder: "Why is this person blocking me? Why are they being so unprofessional?"
When miscommunication takes a wrong turn, take a step back. Take a breath. Take a hot bath. Play a video game. Walk your dog. Find anything that can help you relax and refocus. Don't dwell on what you can't do; instead, concentrate on what you can do right now. Take action and remember that we are all humans. Another thing that can be easily forgotten when working remotely - as is the case in so many tech companies.
During my career, I generally observed great company cultures, empowering the value of being kinder than necessary in high regard. This value is closely linked to assuming positive intent from your coworkers, and that's a takeaway that can make a huge difference. Some of the tips that I've shared with you might work well for you and your team, or perhaps there are better solutions that would fit your team's specific needs.
However, I keep reminding myself that - despite my few bad experiences due to miscommunication - at the end of the day, we are all human beings with our qualities and defects. Therefore, it's essential to presume that everyone is doing their best. We should strive to be compassionate and kind towards one another. If we lead with kindness and put our best effort forward, everything else will fall into place. Without a doubt.
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