Working with Developers for Fun and Profit

Workingwith
DevelopersForFun&ProfitJack Moﬀett | @jackmoﬀett
Senior Interaction Designer
Inmedius, a Boeing Company
designaday.tumblr.com

“The way we work at Apple is that the
complexity of these products really
makes it critical to work collaboratively,
with diﬀerent areas of expertise. I think
that’s one of the things about my job I
enjoy the most. I work with silicon
designers, electronic and mechanical
engineers, and I think you would
struggle to determine who does what
when we get together. We’re located
together, we share the same goal, have
exactly the same preoccupation with
making great products.”
!
Sir Jonathan Ive

TightIntegration
the board is misleading by snickclunk
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snickclunk/4119284398/in/photostream/

Bridgesto
Development
Relationships (the soft skills)

Bridgesto
Development
Supporting Development

Bridgesto
Development
Documentation

Bridgesto
Development
Documentation
Comprehensive Participation

Bridgesto
Development
Documentation
Shared Tools

Bridgesto
Development
Documentation
Shared Tools
Implementing the UI

DONot
Tug Of War by Tom Blackwell
https://flic.kr/p/6pjYgc

DONot
Critique engineering prototypes on
aesthetics or usability.

DONot
Expect developers to have the same
design sensibilities you have.

DONot
Force your process on the developers.

DONot
Force your process on the developers.
Expect developers to make last-minute
changes just because you haven’t been
involved until late in the process. Tug Of War by Tom Blackwell

YesPlease
Green Ants by Kasi Metcalfe
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kasimetcalfe/339113868

YesPleasePosition your involvement as something that
makes your developers’jobs easier.

Be inclusive. It’s not our responsibility to make
decisions so much as to oﬀer options.

Dare to compromise.

Dare to compromise.
Find opportunities to educate.

Dare to compromise.
Find opportunities to educate.
Be social.

“Have a beer with your engineer. You can accelerate
trust and communication if someone feels you care
about them as a person—and not just a set of skills
that you rely on to realize a design vision.”
Jenna Bilotta – How Designers and Engineers Can Play Nice
(and Still Run with Scissors)

Collaboration
lifecycle
65: Wellbeck College Mens Novice 8+ by Steve Selwood
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8507625@N02/11122136456

Collaboration
lifecycle
Requirements Analysis
Design
Implementation
Functional Testing
Usability Testing
65: Wellbeck College Mens Novice 8+ by Steve Selwood
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8507625@N02/11122136456

Developashared
understandingof
therequirements
Pre-game huddle by -just-jen- http://www.flickr.com/photos/whetzel/55214389/

“We’ve got to find a
way to make this...
fit into the hole for
this... using nothing
but that.”
Identifytechnical
challenges

Identify
technologies
The cup that can only be half-full. by vrogy http://www.flickr.com/photos/vrogy/511644410/

EstimateTime
&Effort
“Ideally, the developers and I are to work
closely together during the design phase...
but it typically works out that they gloss over
the document or attend a few meetings and
get a basic understanding of what we are
planning on doing, but never pay attention
to the full details. Then they tend to come to
me with questions or ‘are you crazy? I can’t do
that!’ when it’s time for them to put together
a timeline for their development assessment.
After a few times of close calls, they are
beginning to pay more attention to the
pencil sketches and overall workflows we
put together for them.”
By eflon http://www.flickr.com/photos/eflon/5079163335/

softwarebillofmaterials
EstimateTime
&Effort

Howcanwebestprioritizeour
worktosupportthe
developers’ schedule?
EstimateTime
&Effort

A successful tool is one that was used to do something undreamed of by its author. by katerha
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katerha/5746905652/
Usetheir
tools

IssueTracking Create items for each of your
design tasks.
Developers can subscribe to the
ones that relate to their own tasks.
Your estimates can be calculated
in the burndown chart, or not.

Design
Documentation
One size fits all…. By The Candid Street
http://www.flickr.com/photos/haddadi/5971508861/

Design
Documentation
Designthedocumentationfor
thosethatwillwearit.

Design
Documentation
Design documentation to be a
reference tool.
Always reference the requirements.
Be concise and explicit in your
explanation.
Label screens eﬀectively.
Be thorough.
Be consistent.

Bill Scott
“The developers really appreciated it, because they
could just look at it, and they didn’t have to wonder
if the designer had forgotten something.”

Documentationispartofthedesignprocess.

Documentationispartofthedesignprocess.
Youlearnalotbydescribing
yourdesign.

Questions?
Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh by Brook Ward
https://flic.kr/p/dAWcYQ
Jack Moffett | @jackmoffett
jackmoffett@mac.com

1. State of the Industry
2. Looking for Group
3. Collaboration Life Cycle
4. Why HTML and CSS?
5. Tooling Up
6. Formatting Standards
7. OOCSS
8. Owning Behavior
9. Looking Toward the Horizon
Chapter

Available for pre-order:
!
store.elsevier.com
amazon.com
barnesandnoble.com
!
In stores mid-August.

ThankYou!Jack Moffett | @jackmoffett
jackmoffett@mac.com

Working with Developers for Fun and Profit

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