Speaking the Same Language
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Tired of your developers and designers not working well together? These two groups are notorious for not getting along, a problem that stems from a lack of communication and often little understanding of what the other one actually does, said Uri Foox, the founder of Pixafya New York-based web development and technology firm.
Foox offered IT TechNewsDaily five tips on how developers and designers can improve their communicationand get the job done.
Keep everyone involved in the whole process. Don't leave your fellow collaborators out of any part of the process. When it comes time to integrate, you may be faced with unexpected challenges that demand more brainpower. Start with wire frames that have been approved by the client, the engineer or developer and the designer. And when the mockups come together, sit down and make sure that the process, workflow and features reflect what everyone has signed off on.
Try not to take edits personally. At the end of the day you're trying to create easy user interactions bundled in beautiful web sites. Developing agile processes, constant communications and developing smart use of filesharing tools, demos and meetings before the project is "final" is super important.
Test across browsers. We thought Internet Explorer 6 made our lives difficult. Now it seems that there are as many platforms as there are end users. Budget at least 10-20 percent of your total time towards finding the right platforms. Anticipate the edge cases (what if a user does X then Y then Z instead of just Z?).The testing and QA-ing [quality assurance] process cannot be underestimated.
Know your audience and don’t tailor the site to edge cases.Implementing the latest and greatest in design technology only works if your audience has kept up. New web technologies are great but won't work if 80 percent of your end users are on older technology. Same goes for design: If you are making a website targeted at older audiences, don’t use small fonts or texting acronyms.
Stay in touch. I cannot emphasize it enough. Do not spend three weeks designing something without sharing your iterations with others. As a rule, try to share your work two or three times a week, even if it’s incomplete, so you don’t waste time going in the wrong direction. And make sure the client see things as you see things. Too many cooks in the kitchen can be a bad thing, but not having the right cooks can spoil the dish.
