Communication Challenges Between Designers and Developers

Join us for an insightful episode of Ruby for All, where Andrew and Julie have a discussion with special guest, Jerimie Lee, a Senior Product Designer at Codecademy. Jerimie shares his journey into the world of EdTech, and his experiences in the health tech industry. The conversation touches upon the evolution of design roles, the importance of understanding product mechanics, and the differing experiences of product and UI/UX designers. Jerimie also delves into the significance of accessibility in modern design, the iterations within the product design process, and the necessity of effective communication between designers and engineers. Listen in to learn more about Jerimie’s tips for successful designer-developer collaborations and his take on evolving product design trends. 

[00:00:51] Jerimie introduces himself, describes his role and mentions his previous experience in health tech and marketing, and his previous role at Dispatch Health. 

[00:01:49] Andrew asks about the difference between a product designer and UI/UX designers. He explains that product designers focus on both user experience and the product development environment, and Andrew and Jerimie discuss the role evolution. 

[00:04:53] Julie asks what it takes to become a UX/UI designer/ product designer. Jerimie explains that there are many ways, and he shares how he came into design. 

[00:06:40] Andrew shares his background in graphic design and how it influences his work as a developer. They discuss the advantages of developers having design knowledge. 

[00:08:41] Julie appreciates Andrew’s design input and discusses her challenges as a non-designer. Jerimie shares his opinion on learning design principles. 

[00:09:53] Jerimie suggests that understanding basic design principles can go a long way. He mentions the Nielson Norman Group’s, “10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design,” as a helpful resource. Andrew and Jerimie discuss the 80/20 principle and the subjectivity of design. 

[00:11:50] Jerimie discusses the importance of designing for web and digital interfaces and how they more rules compared to print.  He mentions accessibility guidelines and how they influence design decisions, and he emphasize the value of building efficient systems and making things work from a usability perspective. 

[00:12:42] Jerimie and Andrew discuss the growing importance of accessibility in design and Jerimie mentions that Codecademy is working on accessibility tickets.  Andrew shares his experience with discussing HTML specs with designers and engineers.  

[00:13:43] Jerimie emphasizes the importance of designers understanding semantic HTML and technical constraints. Andrew and Julie share their perspectives on designers and developers collaborating effectively. 

[00:16:35] We hear about some challenges of communication when engineers may not be fully aware of the design and product process. Jerimie shares an example of engineers providing negative feedback during the exploratory phase. Julie talks about the impact of such feedback on team dynamics. 

[00:18:29] Jerimie emphasizes the importance of open-ended and constructive feedback from engineers and discusses the need for soft skills in communication. 

[00:19:54] Jerimie mentions the value of understanding technical limitations and finding solutions that circumvent them. Andrew and Julie share their approaches to conveying technical limitations when collaborating with designers. 

[00:22:27] Julie acknowledges her lack of front-end technical knowledge and how she and Jerimie often compromise when discussing detail, and Andrew ends to explain technical details to designers to show respect and maintain clear communication. 

[00:23:15] Jerimie discusses how engineers should approach designers when struggling with their designs. He encourages engineers to seek help and not give up too easily. 

[00:24:15] Some great advice from Jerimie for designers on how to communicate with developers includes building technical competence and being open to iteration and simplification in the design process. 

[00:25:38] Julie and Andrew share their perspectives on the process of iterating, and Andrew shares his perspective on the importance of having a designer on the team. He highlights the role of designers in standardizing and improving UI and how collaboration with designers can enhance the developer’s work. 

[00:28:20] Julie talks about how the absence of a designer negatively impacted their team’s direction and development, but having a designer significantly improved their work. Jerimie expresses his appreciation for the collaboration with engineers at Codecademy, and Andrew discusses the importance of mutual respect and collaboration between designers and developers. 

[00:32:16] Why did Andrew chose to work with Rails over interaction design? He mentions that he has a quantitative brain, and that Rails offers better financial opportunities. 

[00:32:47] Jerimie encourages engineers to give feedback on design and emphasizes the value of shared ownership between designers and developers. 

Panelists:

Andrew Mason

Julie J.

Guest:

Jerimie Lee

Sponsors:

Honeybadger

GoRails

Links:

Andrew Mason X/Twitter

Andrew Mason Website

Julie J. X/Twitter

Julie J. Website

Jerimie Lee Website

Jerimie Lee LinkedIn
Codecademy

10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design-Nielsen Norman Group