The world of design is getting ever more complex. There are an increasing number of different specialists to involve in conceiving new products and services. With each specialism comes more potential challenges for working together. How do we continually evolve our abilities to collaborate? Jason Mesut explores some of his own experience in different design roles, as an event organiser, as a father, as a leader and as a a manager to offer a frameowrk for collaboration based on 3 key engagement strategies, 6 key behavioral principles, and 6 key skills to practice to help you on your voyage to master the craft of collaboration.

1. The Craft of Collaboration
Collaborate 2015
Jason Mesut, Resonant Design and Innovation
@jasonmesut

2. When I hear ‘Collaborate’ I think of this…

3. Ice Ice Baby video

4. “alright, stop, collaborate and listen”
Vanilla Ice

5. “if you’ve got a problem, yo i’ll solve it”
Vanilla Ice

6. “if you’ve got a problem, yo i’ll solve it”
Too many designers

7. Don’t be the VI of UX

8. Design challenges getting more complex

9. Increasing numbers and
types of collaborators
– Data scientists
– Industrial Designers
– Developers
– Visual designers
– Marketers
– Business analysts
– Engineers
– Call centre staff
– Strategists

10. Collaboration has
always been important

11. Collaboration has
always been important
But fundamentally
difficult

12. Collaboration has
always been important
But fundamentally
difficult
It relies on human
connections

13. Collaboration has
always been important
But fundamentally
difficult
It relies on human
connections
Humans are messy

14. Digital folk don’t even understand each other

16. We don’t agree amongst ourselves

17. What’s the collective
noun for UXers?

18. What’s the collective
noun for UXers?
A flock of
sheep
1

19. What’s the collective
noun for UXers?
A flock of
sheep
A school of
fish
1 2

20. What’s the collective
noun for UXers?
A flock of
sheep
A school of
fish
An argument of
UXers
1 2 3

21. UX has done a pretty good job of
making itself complicated in a short
period of time with all the different
sub-disciplines: IA, IxD, etc.
The more compartmentalised, the
worse the result.
Marcus Hoggarth
Industrial Design Director, Native
UX is confusing

22. Competition
between ‘partners’

23. Competition
between ‘partners’
Talent is scarce

24. Competition
between ‘partners’
Talent is scarce
Process materials
are sacred

25. Competition
between ‘partners’
Talent is scarce
Process materials
are sacred
They all want a
bigger piece

26. Contractual
mismatches
Fixed cost Time and materials Resource + time
1 2 3

27. Process differences
Agile Waterfall Something completely
different
1 2 3

28. There is a cost of
collaboration

29. There is a cost of
collaboration
But a bigger cost of
not collaborating

30. There is a cost of
collaboration
But a bigger cost of
not collaborating
It’s just getting
harder to estimate

31. There is a cost of
collaboration
But a bigger cost of
not collaborating
It’s just getting
harder to estimate
And sponsors always
want more for less

32. There’s never enough time

33. There’s never enough money

34. There’s never enough space

35. Designers are normally quite introverted individuals
Struggle with connecting to others

36. How can we get clarity
through this fog?

37. Caveat
My answers are based
on my experience

38. Context for this talk
Personal experience
over 16 years in UX
Research around
Industrial Design and UX
Current experience on
some interesting projects
+ +
1 2 3

39. Brunel
Industrial
Designer
Interaction
Designer
User Experience
Consultant
Director of
User Experience
Head of
User Experience
Yell PA Consulting Flow Oyster / Framfab
/ LBi
The Team RMA Plan
‘96 ‘15
– Service designer
– Product strategist
– Researcher
– Designer
– Leader
– Manager
– Consultant

40. 4
years
Local leader
Interaction Design
Association
L o n d o n
Subjects over 4 years
Internet of Things
Future of publishing
Urban environment
Smart materials
Mobility / Automotive
Clinical applications

41. My personal context
Confidence
Shy
Vocal
Leader / Manager
Good
Terrible
Working preferences
With others
By myself

42. Building on
research

43. Industrial
Designers
Industrial Designers Digital / UX Designers
Interviewed over 40 designers

44. Experience with big names
Consultancies Manufacturers Education

45. Building on recent project experience
A new transportation service
– Helps people unlock London
– Mobile apps and wider digital services
– Spaces, places, people, vehicles, interactions
Icons created by Vicons Design from the Noun Project
?

46. Key project partners
– Automotive client
– Call centre services company
– Brand agency
– App development company
– Systems integrator
– Product strategy consultancy
– Marketing and advertising company
– Political negotiations
– PR groups
– Maintenance company
– Hardware companies
– Payment provider

47. Current project roles
– Algorithm experts
– Product owners
– Product designers
– Developers
– Researchers
– 2D Designers
– 3D Designers
– Design strategists
– Product strategists
– Content strategists
– Strategist strategists

48. A lot of overlaps in what we contribute to
– Proposition
– Service ideas
– Marketing ideas
– Design details
– Language
A lot of opinions about everything

49. How can we better collaborate with
an increasing number of stakeholders
of different backgrounds? ?

50. Endless advice on how to collaborate

51. Too many half answers
and silver bullets

52. We have plenty of tools and techniques

53. Workshop tricks ain’t
gonna save us
But this is a great book

54. Agile or Lean ain’t
gonna save us
But there’s mileage in some of the
approaches for some of our projects

55. Post-its ain’t
gonna save us
But we do have a
healthy obsession

56. Slack ain’t gonna
save us
Although it helps with
ongoing banter

57. SharePoint?
Everything but a
place to share

58. Skype ain’t
gonna save us
WebEx, hangouts and
more all suffer from
the same problem

59. A useful exercise, for sure,
but hard to do all the time
Or even sketching +
prototyping together

60. Neither will an
experience map
Although communication
tools do help especially if
others are involved

61. These are all valuable
tools at your disposal
But they are not enough

62. We also have some useful scientif-ish theory

63. Jazz ain’t gonna
save us
Although I totally
embrace some of the
principles behind this

64. There are useful models in team dynamics

65. Belbin
Different team roles
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66. Myers Briggs
Different personality styles

67. Tuckman
4 stages of group
development

68. Mesut
Creating the Perfect
Experience Architect

69. Some attributes important
for over 10 years
– Team player
– Empathy (users, business, tech)
– Pragmatism
– People/relationship sills
– Listening skills
– Passion & energy
– Strong backbone

70. All useful
But I want to give a different perspective

71. Hypothesis
Collaboration is a craft

72. Part science
Theories and frameworks

73. Part art
Your own self expression and style

74. Mostly craft
Theory, tools, own style and lots of practice

75. I believe
We need more fundamentals
Strategies, principles and practices

76. Create
Calibrate
Connect
Find common ground
Connect on a personal level
Respect differences
Fun1
Craft of collaboration
fundamentals
Strategies,
Principles,
Skills
Myers Briggs
Belbin Tucken
Jazz

77. 3 Key Iterative
Strategies
6 Key Principles
6 Key Skills
A framework for collaboration

78. Connect
Create
Calibrate
Connect

79. Calibrate
Create
Calibrate
Connect

80. Create
Calibrate
Connect
Create

81. Connect
Find common ground
Connect on a personal level
Respect differences
Create
Calibrate
Connect

82. Calibrate
Adapt ourselves
Adapt our processes
Translate our language
Create
Calibrate
Connect

83. Create
Calibrate
Connect
Create
Relationships
Together or alone
New value

84. Connect
Find common ground
Connect on a personal level
Respect differences
Create
Calibrate
Connect

85. Jargon
Documentation
Communication
Motivation
Values
Principles
Methods
Software
Approaches
Value
Uniqueness
Horizons
Timelines
Pace
Offer Mindset Language Tools Time
Key ground

86. Jargon
Documentation
Communication
Motivation
Values
Principles
Methods
Software
Approaches
Value
Uniqueness
Horizons
Timelines
Pace
Offer Mindset Language Tools Time
Identify overlaps

87. Respect differences

88. Respect differences
– Agile
– Lean
– Waterfall
– UCD
– Native vs. web
– Mobile first
– Six Sigma

89. I setup a monthly lunch
with the director of R&D.
It helps that we both
care about the same thing. That
helped bring down any barriers.
I worked to understand his and
his team’s goals, so that we
could better support them and
work closer together.
Nick Myers
Director User Experience Design, Fitbit
Connect on a
personal level

90. Practice
Learning others’ perspectives
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time

91. Learning others’ perspectives
a. Research specific topics in
others’ media of choice
b. Meet lots of people
c. Capture what others say

92. Connect as
a team

93. Socialise
Moan
Celebrate successes

94. Practice
Listening
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time

95. Listening
a. Listen to language others use
b. Really listen to what they are saying
and what they are not
c. Probe and capture
d. Show interest

96. Example
Share experiences and
perspectives at project kick-off
Favourite project
Something you love
What people say about you
Ways you like to work
Hopes and fears for the project
Establish team working principles

97. Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourselfPrinciple
Be human

98. Be human
a. Be passionate
b. Show weakness
c. Be yourself (with a twist)

99. Calibrate
Unite on a common purpose
Adapt ourselves
Adapt our processes
Translate our language
Create
Calibrate
Connect

100. I’ve found the best way to
get integration is to get
away from the features and
unite on the higher goals
Scott Jenson
Product Strategy, Google
Unite on a
common purpose

101. We structure projects so
industrial designers, interaction
designers, mechanical
engineers, and strategists can do
the research together.
David Sherwin
Director of User Experience,
lynda.com, LinkedIn
Research
together
Photograph by Misha Miller

102. Align efforts where it matters most
You can’t innovate everywhere

103. Principle
Hold up a mirror
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself

104. 2. Hold up a mirror
a. Take a 3rd person perspective
b. Record your behaviour
c. Watch yourself
d. Listen to yourself

105. Know your own tone of voice
In different situations
When you’re
– Stressed
– Happy
– Excited
– Tired
– Disagreeing with someone

106. Know your own tone of voice
Know-it-all Teacher Mother
Oracle Antagonist
Naysayer
OptimistThinker

107. Watch your body language
Stance, arms, hands, head
lonerwolf.com

108. And your facial expressions
Smirks, scowls, smiles

109. Listen to the language you use + other’s reactions
Do they understand you?

110. Principle
Establish common frames
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself

111. Establish common frames
Define your terms

112. Establish common frames
Clarify roles +responsibilities

113. Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself
Principle
Flex yourself

114. Flex yourself
Adapt yourself to
your environment

115. Flex yourself
a. Be prepared to change
b. Adapt your behaviours and tone of voice
c. Adapt your language
d. Adapt your ways of working

116. Create
Calibrate
Connect
Create
Relationships
Together or alone
New value

117. Create relationships
Personal + professional

118. Create together
In the right space, with banter

119. Create together
Celebrate and take
the knocks together

120. Blame is toxic
Be careful of taking
others down for your gain

121. Collaborate away
from project
work
We run Interaction Labs events and
people collaborate across the studio
Heather Martin
VP of Design, SmartDesign

122. Principle
Foster friendly friction
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself

123. Foster friendly friction
a. Have strong opinions held weakly
b. Don’t tread on others’ toes
c. Find right tone of voice to disagree
d. Follow-up after conflict

124. Practice
Capturing
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time

125. Capturing
a. Capture key notes
b. Capture key phrases people use
c. Try to document decisions and feedback

126. Create alone
Give yourself and
others time and space

127. Communicate virtually
Keep comms alive on phone, VOIP or chat

128. Communicate physically
Create focal points of progress

129. Practice
Sharing at the right time
in the right way
Sharing at
right time
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing

130. Sharing
a. Share meeting / session outputs quickly
b. Share useful references
c. Share work ugly early, but caveat
d. Respect people’s inboxes

131. Share regularly
At Palm, we did show and tells
across ID and UX. IDs would bring
their models and we would offer
suggestions and opinions. We would
bring our interface concepts or
prototypes and they would share
their ideas too.
Kim Lenox
Director of User Experience Design,
LinkedIn

132. Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time
Practice
Talking

133. Talking
a. Speak concisely
b. To different sized groups
c. Know when to speak up
d. Know when to shut up

134. Practice
Planning and preparation
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time

135. Planning and preparation
a. Give yourself time to prepare
b. Research people and environments
c. Get others on board before large sessions

136. Principle
Practice, practice, practice
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself

137. How can we better collaborate with
an increasing number of stakeholders
of different backgrounds? ?

138. Create
Calibrate
Connect
Strategies

139. Create
Calibrate
Connect
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourselfPrinciples

140. Create
Calibrate
Connect
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself
Crafting
Collaboration
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time
Skills

141. Thank you
@jasonmesut Create
Calibrate
Connect
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself
Craft of
Collaboration
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time

142. Thank you
Collaborate 2015
Jason Mesut, Resonant Design and Innovation
@jasonmesut
Create
Calibrate
Connect
Be
human
Hold up
a mirror
Establish
frames
Foster
friendly
friction
Practice,
practice,
practice
Flex
yourself
Craft of
Collaboration
Talking
Capturing
Listening
Learning other
perspectives
Planning and
preparing
Sharing at
right time