Aleksandra has built her way up to being a leading Project Manager in Netguru. Her years of experience led her to understand how things get lost in translation, which is what she spoke about at UXDX Dublin on May 23rd.
Ensuring that UX is not lost in translation means that you don't need to return to the design phase later in the product cycle, saving time and money.
Aleksandra takes us through a specific design handover process that she recommends. The key to a successful handover is empathy.
6. What?
UX (not) lost in translation
● Recommended* Design Handover Process
○ Handover to the Client
○ Handover to the Development Team
● For the specific type of design assignments
○ Design -> Development -> Delivery
* Perfect process doesn’t exist. Adapt it to your needs and projects.
7. What is the Key to a successful Design
Handover?
What is the Key?
UX (not) lost in translation
8. What is the Key?
UX (not) lost in translation
● Treat Developers and the Client as Users.
● Design for Users, document for Developers & the
Client.
EMPATHY
9. What is the Recommended Process?
Process
UX (not) lost in translation
12. Handover Preparation
UX (not) lost in translation
Include time for
handover in
estimations
Include
Developers in the
Design process
Check if you’ve
designed
everything
Schedule
UX Review
&
UI Review
Schedule
Design Bug Bash
with the Team
15. Handover Deliverables: Structure
UX (not) lost in translation
● Organization & naming
conventions
● Functional description
○ A document describing features or edge case
behaviors with supporting images
○ Unknowns: list of unknown elements that may
affect development
● Design system
16. Handover Deliverables: Tools
UX (not) lost in translation
● Interactive measurements and data for
development team with: Zeplin, Sketch
Measure, Invision Design Studio, Grid bibles
17.
18. Handover Deliverables: Checklist
UX (not) lost in translation
● Lists things that need to be done for
a successful handover
● Copy the template and cross off one by one
● One-time effort to prepare
23. Handing Over
UX (not) lost in translation
CALL WITH DEVELOPERS CALL WITH PRODUCT OWNER
24. Handing over: Remember about the Key
UX (not) lost in translation
● Treat Developers and the Client as Users.
● Design for Users, document for Developers & Client.
EMPATHY
25. Handing Over: Developers
UX (not) lost in translation
● Thinks in terms of components
● Focused on edge cases, changes of state,
interactions
● If they understand the goal, they will come up
with solutions even w/o the Designer
26. Handing Over: Product Owner
UX (not) lost in translation
● Thinks in terms of problems the product solves
● Focused on the flow
● Has to understand design decisions in order to
support Developers in delivery
29. Design Handover Pain Points & Best Practices: Designers
UX (not) lost in translation
● Pain Point: Show expected interactions.
● Solution: animated GIFs with responsive
behaviors and interactions / record voice +
video during handover.
30. Design Handover Pain Points & Best Practices: Developers
UX (not) lost in translation
● Pain Point: Inconsistencies in the design.
● Solution: Review, review, and review again.
Ask for help.
31. Design Handover Pain Points & Best Practices: Project Managers
UX (not) lost in translation
● Pain Point: Missing assets / views holding the work
back.
● Solution: Create handover checklist and follow it.
Use the right tools.
I work as a Project Manager for 4 years now
Since last year in manage projects in Netguru
Besides the usual tasks related to project management I support one of our Clients in product management by writing stories, defining acceptance criteria and answering team’s questions related to development of given features. I know how things can get lost in translation when you’re explaining the designs.
Designers spend a lot of time to capture the perfect User Experience in a graphic form - the design. So it’s natural that we want to make sure that people who will be transforming those designs into a real product know the details and can recreate it in a way that includes all the value.
Also not coming back to the designs in later stages of the project saves your money & time.
That’s why I’ll be talking about the recommended design handover process - to the development team and to the client. In Netguru we have two types of design assigments. Design -> Development -> delivery & Continuous Delivery Design <-> Development <-> Delivery. I’ll be focusing only on the first one.