Talk about interaction designers and development communication skills

In a project or version development process, the interaction designer 50% of the time in communication, 40% of the time in thinking, 10% of the time in writing documents. Of course, just a ballpark figure, different workflows may be slightly different. Thus, communication is a very important skill for the interaction designer. Prophase with Product Manager, visual communication, later and development, testing communication, each link is very important and will be related to the product after the online experience. But today I only summarize my (interaction designer) and development of communication skills, and June mutual encouragement.

First, learn how to ask.

When I graduated, the first task I received was to optimize the speech lookup exception handling process. For the computer ignorant of their own, for why the exception is completely unknown, and then all kinds of ask the tutor. The tutor called me into the meeting room, the system explained to me the local, the network, the server, the server feedback, the local feedback entire backstage work flow, very image concrete, to oneself later handles the related question to be very useful.

The above story may indicate that it is important to meet a good mentor, but it is more important that you explore your own resources. Many interaction designers, like me, are not technically professional, so it's hard to communicate with development when you just get into the field. At this time you need to accumulate some common development knowledge, do not need to understand the code but need to understand the process of background processing. Usually encounter technical problems when asked more, ask products, ask development. Product than development to understand the interaction, development than the product more understanding of technology, if the product answer can not meet your desire, then directly to ask development, of course, many times ask development need some skills.

At first, I often softly asked, "Why not here?", the development of good temper will give you a little explanation, bad temper of development to you "to achieve difficulties" or "not achieve." One of the things that changed my way of communication was great.

On the iphone platform in a map product project, because the user also attaches great importance to mobile phone traffic and map products are very traffic, so the first access to the software will play a frame to remind users that the software may consume mobile traffic. In the development process, development feedback has been given to the interaction: there are two frames that will overlap, one is the iphone system allows the software to obtain the location of the frame reminder, a software itself flow reminder.

"Why does it overlap? Can't control the previous one click disappears, then another?"

"No, the front frame is system, not controllable, and have no permission to know whether the user has clicked the frame operation." ”

"Why does the system bomb frame come out?"

"Because we need to load the map when we go in, load the map to get the current position, the system will check the box when the software first gets the position."

"So, then I think there is no solution." ”

Back to the seat, thinking about how to solve the problem perfectly, and then suddenly found that I fell into the development of the thinking mode. I find development, continue to cross-examine:

"Are you going to load the map when you go in and pop the traffic tip?"

Yes ”

"What if the Flow tip box pops up first, and the user loads the map after the operation?"

"It should not overlap. ”

PS: Because of the age, the specific content does not necessarily match exactly, but the whole communication process is generally so.

In general, we ask "Why," development will answer the question you asked the reason, usually one answer, the sentence is very short. You are in the active state, the development is in a passive state, and the information asked is one point, more scattered, need to comb themselves. Such questions as "Why not be achieved" are more uncomfortable, not a tone problem, but a way to ask questions.

We could try a little bit more directly and ask, "What's this background process?" Or "How this backstage is implemented." This question comes out, the first development will be the leading, he will tell you the process behind the logic, you just listen while thinking on the line. and development is to achieve a large framework, many times they can revisit the development process, you or he can quickly find out where the problem, and learn a lot of development implementation knowledge. If you do not immediately find the problem, then you have questions or do not understand where to continue to wise, really did not find the problem, pull another development come in is also a good thing, because many you do not understand, his companions understand.

Communication in addition to face-to-face conversation, many times also need mail exchanges, workplace mail also pay attention to yo: "Workplace people must!" How to make email more power

Second, be diligent in thinking, help develop and solve problems

Some time ago when doing TV project, encountered a problem: the interaction definition is the search results need to display the total number of results, but the results show only 99 (for specific reasons here not explained). But the result of getting the first version is that the result value shows up to only "99", so the search is developed and then the problem is fed back.

"Here should be the actual number is not the number of results, the actual number is more rich in our content, now no matter what letter I entered is 99, so that users feel content is not rich, and then feel the program out of the question."

"It can be complicated to show the actual number, because the result may be hundreds of thousands of, and it will be slow to return the results." ”

Well I understand that the implementation is this: User input, we first go to the server search, after retrieving all the results according to the matching degree of order, after the order and then take the first 100 show, is it?

Yes ”

"That's when you sort all the results, you can actually get that number, because it's a reordering of all the search results, don't you know?"

"It should be so, I'll try again." ”

Most of the time, development is not to say shirking responsibility do not want to do, but sometimes they fell into their linear thinking, for a moment can not jump out to see the problem. What you need to do is think more about the problem and help them find the root of the problem together and solve the problem. When the implementation and interaction expectations do not match, do not use the tone of crawl communication, as far as possible calmly state the facts, to see whether the demand is not clear or casual or technical problems encountered; When your own interactive process is questioned, as far as possible from the user stories, Process tasks or product objectives and other professional solutions to their doubts. At the same time, due to the development of late discussion, most of the details of the problem, to maintain their sanity, always remember user scenarios, user goals, to prevent their thinking with the walk.

Again, build and develop the trust

In a project, it is important to build trust, including product, vision, and the development of your trust. Once the trust is established, some work communication will be smooth. How to build trust? Prior to more communication with the product, their own more thinking, in your decision to do every step, more to yourself to ask a few why, do have the source design. This to the development phase of rework, modification will be reduced a lot, when the development of feedback to you or have doubts, they first seriously think, have the question of the place to find relevant personnel to confirm, and then give the answer. My own work in communication, often say the word is: "I think first, and so will give you an answer."

To sum up, the first to accumulate more knowledge, design, development must pursue the source, with the development of communication more than standing in their perspective to think about the problem; Secondly, everyone is equal, dedicated and full of sense of responsibility, we are running to solve the problem of the goal to communicate; again, do your own work, so that everyone can do less to live.