The Most Important Skill Nobody Taught You as a Product Designer

You are called into a session to discuss a new idea. You and your team are discussing the possibility to create what looks like an exciting new feature. This is it! This is what will set your product aside from the competition. It’s your chance to create something compelling and innovative that will make your users happy while driving new revenue income for the company.

So, we all agree on what we need. Right?

The development team is focused on creating a feature that is technically feasible and easy to implement within the existing system architecture. They want to avoid any complex technical challenges or long development timelines that may impact the overall project delivery.

The product team is concerned about creating a feature that is attractive and engaging to users. They want to ensure that the feature aligns with the company objectives but they also want a good time on the market. We should have launched yesterday!

The executive team is focused on driving revenue growth and increasing market share. They want the feature to be easy to monetize and to provide a competitive advantage over the competition. We should think about the revenue first!

Sounds familiar?

Well, you and the product manager have a challenge added on top: how do you prioritise and make the necessary compromises? And, can we please everyone?

As a product Designer, you can do all these things and still focus on delivering a great product that performs as best as possible.

Each company is a living organism that has specific needs, working ways and teams. The way to proceed might seem exponentially complex. This is why you need to invest time in understanding your company’s culture, and each team’s needs.

To overcome these challenges, a Product Designer must engage in effective communication and collaboration with each stakeholder to understand their goals and priorities, and be willing to make compromises and tradeoffs to achieve the best possible outcome for the Design challenges ahead. In addition, a Product Designer can make use of their strategic position in the organization to “bridge” information to stakeholders that might be relevant to their projects.

Involving and connecting stakeholders to the Design process is important for several reasons. Firstly, it helps to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of what the project entails, including its scope, timing, and resource requirements. By involving stakeholders in their Design process, Product Designers can get input and feedback along the way, which can help refine the project plan and make it more realistic and achievable but also, plan and achieve as many objectives and needs as possible.

Secondly, involving stakeholders in the Design process can help to identify potential issues or disagreements that may arise later in the project. By discussing these issues upfront, Designers can work with stakeholders to come up with solutions that everyone is happy with. This can help to prevent any unexpected surprises or setbacks later on in the project.

Thirdly, involving stakeholders will help build trust and collaboration among the product team. This way, stakeholders will feel more invested in the project’s success and are more likely to be supportive and engaged throughout its lifecycle.

Building relationships and fostering connections among employees to create a more collaborative, cohesive, and productive work environment.

Observe the status quo, and the current affairs of the company and product team. Is there a due date, deployment or presentation coming soon? It’s easier to approach your stakeholders when there is no stress around.

Identify stakeholders and their motivations, including primary stakeholders who are directly impacted, secondary stakeholders who are indirectly affected, and key stakeholders who hold significant influence. It’s important to recognize that each group has different interests and objectives, and ranking their influence and interest can help keep your projects moving forward.

Understanding stakeholders’ most pressing business needs, as well as the best way to communicate with them, and the information they require is crucial.

Listen. Hearing what stakeholders need and want to say can be challenging at times (especially if they have limited time), but is critical for the success of your Design process. So find the time to connect with them and understand their point of view. This should not be that hard for us Designers since we are taught to empathize and process information from a different point of view. In addition, when receiving feedback, it’s important to avoid closing communication channels and instead attempt to understand the stakeholder’s motivation and goals (again, I know). Finding common ground can be challenging, but it’s worth seeking! Even better if it’s early in the Design process.

Talk to your stakeholders. Even better if done individually.
Individual communication can be a powerful tool, allowing for exploration of diverging viewpoints in a more human and efficient way. Meeting with stakeholders individually will help align, explore ideas, and provide a new perspective.

Show. Find the time to share updates and ideas. Don’t wait too long before raising the flag on new findings and blockers. Be prepared. When something doesn’t go your way, it’s important to have hard facts that support your direction and decision-making process. Running a test and collecting evidence -even if it’s a small one- can change the discussion from opinions to hard facts and data, which is more effective and productive.

Using actual customer opinions, analytics data or survey outcomes will make it less about one’s opinion and more about what’s right for the business. Bonus points here! Employing an analytical approach will help increase credibility for you and your team in the future.

In the end, we all work in the same team, and we all want for our companies to succeed. We as individuals have a direct impact on the success of the product that we are creating and effective communication with stakeholders helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding the product’s goals and objectives. Effective communication will align and create transparency as well as help to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts down the line.

The success of a product often depends on the ability to collaborate effectively with key stakeholders, so leveraging your communication skills to build and maintain these relationships is essential for achieving your design goals.

About me:
My name is Oscar Garcia, and I’m a Design Manager and Design mentor living in Berlin, Germany with vast experience digital products.

Have a good path!

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