4 ways to build better engineering partnerships
Designers that ship intentional and meaningful product experiences don't just hand off work to engineers, they embed the team in the design process, and themselves in the implementation process and what comes after. Let’s dig into how small changes in communication, process, and collaboration can reduce roadblocks, build better partnerships, and create product experiences that really stick.
This doesn't mean you need to go out and get a degree in computer science, and while it’s a 'hot take' when talking about designers learning to code — it's helpful to have some foundational knowledge. Understanding even a little bit of programming can help designers build stronger working relationships with engineers, support technical understanding of implementation, and increase design foundation knowledge. Beyond that, you’ll design with realistic constraints and limitations, be able to have informed conversations about trade-offs, and you’ll be able to spot some potential issues before they become roadblocks during implementation.
Programming basics can make your designs better
- Interaction, animation, and timing in designs
- Gain confidence in the end-to-end design process
- Accessibility in design
- Semantic structure of a page
- Design variables and how they can increase efficiency for the team
- Understanding responsive breakpoints and how designs adapt across devices
- Performance impacts of design
As always, keep asking questions to devs about how something works, how it’s implemented, and don’t be afraid to ask for it in layman’s terms to break down jargon and complex concepts!
2. Design handoff is just the start
After designs are polished, prototypes completed, and design documentation created and delivered, the collaboration between design and engineering should be at its strongest. Handoff doesn't mean designers are done and can move on with other work and wait for engineers to implement; it's the time for close and open communication, collaboration, QA, and feedback during build. Engineers shouldn't be left to figure things out, implement on their own, and not have any design input until it's live and you realize something isn't how you intended.
How to be a proactive design collaborator
- Check in often and offer support or clarity on design decisions, interaction, and experience
- Ask for and encourage sharing screenshots and deploy previews
- QA the experience before it goes live and test on all platforms
- Be available for quick design decisions when edge cases emerge during development
- Celebrate wins together when you go live
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming developers will interpret your designs exactly as you envisioned without discussion or annotations
- Treating developer feedback as pushback rather than valuable input
- Making design changes mid-development without discussing timeline and scope impact
Developers have a keen eye for user experience and user interface problems beyond technical concerns. They can help you see potential problems that you missed, offer excellent critique of the design, identify edge cases, and brainstorm assumptions that can be tested in research.
How to include engineers early and often
- Share research insights with developers
- Proactively ask for feedback throughout the process
- Have regular retros with engineers
- Facilitate eng only design reviews to have them weigh in on multiple concepts
During early proof of concepts
- Get input on tech feasibility of concepts and identify concerns before investing in a direction
- Understand limitations or constraints
During prototyping
- Test technical assumptions with working code
- Refine animations and transitions based on performance realities
- Identify gaps between prototype and production constraints
During high-fidelity
- Review interaction patterns and micro-animations for technical complexity
- Walk through flow and identify and sticky areas
- Discuss responsive behavior and breakpoint strategy
- Align on accessibility implementation approach
4. Make time for retros
Innovative, interactive, and purposeful product experiences aren’t built in a silo. Take time to invest in the relationships with your peers to build good things that do good, together.
Questions to ask at the start of the project
- Have you ever worked with a designer before?
- What’s your collaboration/communication style?
- How do you like to participate in the design process?
- What info do you like to have during handoff?
- How do you like to receive feedback during build?
- How do you like to work in Figma?
- Where do you feel most/least confident giving design feedback?
Questions to ask during the project
- How will the work be phased?
- What does implementation look like?
- Is this design feasible within project constraints?
- What trade-offs do we need to make?
Questions to ask after a project is wrapped
- What was the good, bad, and unexpected?
- How can collaboration be better next time?
- What challenges can we predict better next time?