The Business of Design

Build a Better MouseTrap by Dale Cody

Despite the increasing levels of understanding, respect and collaboration that Designers and Developers have been nurturing over the years, I still sometimes see individuals from both camps attempting to erect and maintain unnecessary walls of separation in their respective job functions. You can evidence this in many discussion forums involving User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Application development and many other related topics. I don’t know how much of this is a form of professional protectionism and how much might be the result of personal self-aggrandizement or whatever, but I do think it’s an attitude that is not helping anyone.

In most, but certainly not all the cases I’m talking about there is at least a veneer of civility and respect afforded those not in whichever author’s group, but the message is usually pretty clear: “we are the experts in this particular topic area and you should leave all meaningful discussion and relevant conclusions to us…” In other words, you are not really qualified to comment on this, so please just sit back and observe or learn from us. I find this kind of attitude incredibly short-sighted and unproductive.

In much the same way that the brain utilizes both the left and right halves for optimal functioning, the best interactive products and applications result from a collaborative relationship including designers and developers. Like most people, this partnership is not a black and white, all or nothing kind of situation. Absolutes can provide comfort to some people in some situations, but they are very seldom the case. The world exists in shades of gray and so too does the creation of interactive applications.

We are not only part of the design and development process, but we are also frequently real-world users of the product or service. As such, our opinions and experiences are valid. This does not mean that we should discontinue or devalue proper user testing processes and methodologies, but it does imply we should listen to both ourselves and our colleagues as equal stakeholders in the process of creating great products and user experience.

In fact, the trend I have been experiencing over time is a blurring of skills and expertise between design and development, not their compartmentalization or mutual sequestration. Many design professionals working in UI/UX have found it useful or necessary to develop skills in at least some front-end Web languages such as HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS and JavaScript. In some cases they take it further into areas including PHP, MySQL, ActionScript 3 and others. I have also seen many developers work to become increasingly sophisticated designers in their own right. Some of these professionals have achieved such skills and balance in their abilities that labels distinguishing the two have essentially become meaningless. I really envy these talented individuals.

The most successful projects I have ever worked on have involved real collaboration and communication between functional groups and individuals with complementary, but differing skills and opinions. There have been uncountable instances where my own perspective or objectivity has been greatly improved by a colleague’s differing viewpoint or expressed opinion in an area that might normally be considered my realm of expertise. These exchanges usually hold real value for me and ultimately for the end user as a result. While I’m at it, I extend this philosophy and approach to all functional groups participating in this dynamic including QA, Marketing, Project Management etc.

If you are not doing so already, I highly recommend really listening to and understanding those of your colleagues with different skills and experience. Work to develop a relationship based on mutual respect, open collaboration and close communication in order to grow better synergies. It’s not always easy, but it’s nearly always beneficial to the individuals, the organization and the end-user of your products and services.

Tags: Design, Development

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Design, Development, UX. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.