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Learn 5 practical strategies for building a stronger design process in larger teams, from improving collaboration and communication to keeping user needs at the center of product decisions.
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5 Tips for Building a Design Process for Larger Teams
Our guest for this episode was WANDR’s Lead Strategist, Mariana Lopez. She has over ten years of experience in building products, working on user research, usability, and interaction in design in web and mobile applications. Mariana has a masters from Carnegie Mellon for Human-Computer Interaction and has also taught as a university professor on human-computer interaction and research. Here are five tips Mariana shared for building a design process for larger teams.
1. Be flexible
Plans are made to be broken. Your team might have a road map for the year, but be flexible when things change. Don’t let your plans be the only roads you take. Document your decisions and why you made them, and have a retro. Answer the questions of whether they were good calls or bad calls and avoid mistakes moving forward.
2. Improvement over innovation
If you’re going to improve your product, put slight improvement over innovations. It might be less sexy to sell, but you might get more retention. Focus on making the products better.
3. Work as a team - the whole time
Give enough information to the whole group about who they’re developing for and designing for. Good communication and enough information will help build trust within the team. Everybody wants to work on something that has value, so take advantage of that!
"Sometimes you can be so invested in getting those designs out or making that conversation or generating something new that you forget there’s an actual human being at the end of your products. And that’s who we should be constantly focused on."
4. Get everyone involved
Involve everyone in the team from the early planning stages. Sometimes, developers or designers might be briefed much later. However, sharing information before the design and development process starts is much more productive. Why is the team doing this? What is the ultimate goal?
5. Think about the user
Never forget who the user is. Listen to the people using the software. Ask your clients how they feel and what changes they would make, and investigate why they want to make those changes.
Final Thoughts
Working in larger teams might sound harder, especially if they’re working remotely. However, great goals can be achieved by setting up processes, having precise information, and working as a team. Share the correct insights, prioritize communication, and never forget what your client and user are looking for.
Check out our Podcast Episode 4 on Building a Design Process for Larger Teams with Mariana Lopez
In need of experts for your UX/UI goals? Schedule a free consultation call with our team.
What Questions Do You Have About Design Processes? Let us know in the comments below.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why is having a design process important for larger teams?
A strong design process helps larger teams stay aligned, improve communication, reduce misunderstandings, and create more user-centered products efficiently.
(02) /
How can larger teams improve collaboration during product development?
Teams can improve collaboration by involving everyone early, sharing goals clearly, documenting decisions, and maintaining open communication throughout the project.
(03) /
Why is flexibility important in a design process?
Flexibility allows teams to adapt to changing priorities, user feedback, and business needs without becoming stuck to outdated plans or assumptions.
(04) /
What does “improvement over innovation” mean in UX design?
It means focusing on refining and improving existing user experiences instead of constantly chasing entirely new features or ideas that may not provide long-term value.
(05) /
What are common challenges larger design teams face?
Common challenges include communication gaps, inconsistent workflows, delayed involvement across departments, and losing focus on user needs during execution.
