Design is an iterative process, requiring the commitment and collaboration of a functioning team to give the best outcome. Here are three tips to make your team’s design workflow easier and faster.
1. Use Tools That Enable
While thinking about
the design process as a linear path may be helpful, the reality of working in agile teams is that the process is anything but. In actual fact, refining concepts based on feedback, data, and insights will occur frequently.
Certain tools can enable this process to run smoothly, especially those which focus on real time collaboration, critique and feedback. With these tools the maximum amount of solution sets can be explored while involving relevant stakeholders.
2. Get Everyone on the Same Page
One challenge of remote teams is getting everybody on the same page (designers and non-designers alike).
This is important in a time of agile development and rapid cycles where sometimes the target for which you are delivering is changing or ambiguous. Having a mutual understanding of deliverables or what you have tried and learned along the way is useful, even if the project ends up being scrapped. It also manages expectations for what you need to deliver, so you have a reasonable timeframe to work and get feedback, and aren’t blocking other designers’ progress.
3. Get Eyes On Your Work Early and Often
During the design process, “critique” is the tool that refines an idea over time and builds trust and communication between designers.
Critique supports an environment where designers can enjoy a dialogue about design and use data and insights from users as a foundation to lead to intentional decisions. To run a smooth critique session, assign roles for those attending: a note taker to assist with sharing action items, or facilitator to move onto varying topics while keeping track of the allotted time. The goal of the session shouldn’t be to please everyone in the room (an impossible task) but to make sure design decisions are made carefully and thoughtfully.
Useful Resources
- Figma: a browser based real time collaboration design tool
- Lingo App: a visual asset library
- Wake: capture and share design work to stay connected to your team
- A Designer’s Introduction to “Agile” Methodology on Envato Tuts+
Up Next..
In the next article we’ll be looking at design conventions. See you there!
