Overview
Building design teams is a topic as deep as it is wide. Over the years, as an individual contributor and a design manager, I have found that having a few simple tenets for everyone to follow is by far the easiest way to avoid most common problems with team dynamics and when working with partners outside the team.
While these tents are organization-specific, to address common issues in your org, most of them are also fundamental approaches, attitudes, and values that I believe should be universal regardless of the company.
Tenets outlined below were developed for the Design Playbook that I helped create at Sage Bionetworks, and represent my latest iteration of what I believe forms a healthy and productive Design Team.
1
Keep an Open Mind
Seek to deeply understand the problem first, and identify and question all current assumptions. If necessary, do additional research until you have the confidence in your understanding. Our existing approaches may indeed be correct, but the possibility of finding a better solution justifies the effort of further exploration. This is important for existing projects, but even more so for new / early stage ones.
2
Think BIG First
Thinking broadly and considering all options and implications is the key to creating good solutions. Designs should be comprehensive and not initially limited by other constraints (capacity, timelines etc.). Deciding what could be built is a very different from what will actually be built (and in what order). Restrained thinking at the beginning leads to stunted products.
3
Make Others Better
Collaborative design work should be at the heart of how we get things done. Our success and failures are shared. Support your teammates and allow them to support you. Knowing how to give good feedback and being open to receiving it is absolutely essential for everyone’s growth.
4
Be Humble
Our collaborative environment depends on openness to ideas, viewpoints, and willingness to learn. One can be confident and assertive without being constrained by the rigidity of ego driven attitude. Everyone likes being around humble and considerate people, so we should set that example for everyone.
5
Clarify Inputs & Outputs
Be clear about the inputs you need, and the outputs you will provide. All designers follow similar general steps but each person has adapted their own process based on their experience and preferences. This is true for their design process, and even more for communication styles and preferences. It is your responsibility to communicate those preferences to the rest of the product team so everyone can work effectively.
6
Listen to Product Team Needs
Designers are part of the larger product team and should work effectively with all team members. While we advocate for our perspective, we must remember that we are part of a bigger product team. This is essential for being an effective designer.
7
Nurture Healthy Relationships
Our designs will result in effective products only if relationships with product team members and main stakeholders are productive. This often means healthy tension and spirited debates, but they should always be framed by mutual respect and trust. Strained relationships lead to incoherent products.
8
Respect Other Skill Sets
Each Designer should have a high degree of empathy for the difficulty and expertise required for others to do their jobs. If we are to succeed in the limited resource environment of Sage, we must trust others to be accountable and deliver their part. The same should be expected of us.
9
Work Within Constraints
Once north star designs are identified, we must diligently work with the product team to map out the delivery of all the pieces over time, consistent with all the resource and time constraints. Most times our design work will need to be modified to fit these constraints. This is normal, healthy, and expected.
10
Assume No Intent
Understand that everyone you work with is doing their best to contribute to our mission, just like you are. If something doesn’t seem right, or you question their motivations, work hard to understand their point of view first before making up your mind. This is especially important as we continue to work remotely, where so much information is lost through communication channels like Slack and email.