“Design isn’t finished until somebody is using it.”
– By Brenda Laurel: Ph.D. Independent Scholar
By definition, a UX designer needs to engage with users. Communicating the value of UX to the client and helping them understand your perspective as well as delivering value via your work is crucial. This becomes one of the biggest hurdles while working remotely. But if you have a computer and a good internet connection, there are a bunch of UX related tasks that can be done remotely.
Just like most of you all, it’s the first time for us at 17Seven as well, when our teams are working remotely. We’re adapting to this work-lifestyle and at the same time continuously trying to push our limits as professionals in order to increase efficiency. We’re learning a lot about remote UX work as we’re experiencing this lockdown. Which is why we’ve developed a list of recommendations on tools and suggestions that’d help other UX Designers work from home efficiently.
Use online tools for UXers to seamlessly work from home
When it comes to UX designers’ tasks there are some solutions to conduct UX activities in isolation, without negatively impacting the work.
We suggest utilising remote tools listed below for the following activities:
User Research
For research activities such as usability testing and user interviews. Some popular tools you can use remotely are:
- Lookback.io
- UsabilityHub
- Applause
User Behaviour
To understand the behaviour patterns of users and to get real-time analytics and feedback of their user journey is important while defining any experience. Some popular tools you can use remotely a
- Hotjar
- Full Story
- Mouseflow
Collaboration & Feedback
- When it comes to collaborating on wireframes and getting real-time feedback from our clients or team members, it is necessary to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Some popular tools you can use remotely are:
- Invision
- Figma
We have seen the difference it makes and we recommend you give it a shot.
Communication is the Key
The sudden loss of community space needs to be recreated in the online space. We need to get our teams on an internal communication platform whether it’s using Skype, Slack or Microsoft Teams, or something else. Here are a few more tips to ease your communication:
Emails < Messaging Platforms
For short discussions, use a collectively pre-decided direct messaging platform instead of emails. Reserve emails only for final deliverables if necessary.
Communicate Proactively
Don’t wait for your clients, subordinates, colleagues or superiors to initiate the conversation, be proactive with your communication to avoid delays or misunderstandings.
Know when to dial
When something is difficult and or time-consuming to explain on chat, pick up the phone instead.
Keep everyone in the loop
Pull all your team members on a con-call while presenting your deliverables so the UI Designers and Developers are on the same page. This saves time and effort too.
Feeling stuck? Call the Troops
Have brainstorming sessions and collaborate remotely with your peers to solve problems whenever you get stuck. Getting your colleagues’ opinions could also help you see the larger picture.
🎵 Got our friends, got the night, We’ll be alright!
Conduct team video-calls, or as Team 17Seven likes to call it, ‘Bakar Sessions’, every alternate day to feel refreshed and stay connected with each other. Take it from us, such calls help in creating happy memories during a stressful time.
To improve your remote UX capabilities make sure you put into practice what you have read above.
Create a remote shared online workspace
Shared drives and documents are necessary. Things will get a lot easier and intuitive when you onboard an online collaboration platform, that allows you to share documents and create groups for projects and discussions. There are plenty of free and paid platforms available such as Basecamp, Asana, or Trello Board. Here are a few benefits of using these platforms :
- Everything necessary for the team is available online, is shareable, and editable by the entire group.
- All tasks and documents along with threads of conversations that happened around it will be available in one common folder.
- These platforms also allow you to create separate folders for projects and help’s you assign individual tasks to individual team members with specific deadlines.
- Even our clients get better clarity and are more aware of the progress of their projects and can pitch in where their guidance is needed.
- This helps our teams achieve a deadline with precision and ease at the same time has all of the follow-ups, instructions, and discussions in one place, segregated by projects and sub-assignments for individuals.
Another great tool that enables teams to collaborate and communicate over projects in an easy and flexible manner from one place is Proof Hub.
It is a tool made for all, from freelancers to large scale corporations. A project management and collaboration tool that comes with integrated Group chat, quick Discussions on projects, Workflows and boards, Project reports, and many more powerful features that can fit within every corporate setup.
Boost your creativity and morale
During such times we designers tend to get bored and hit the creativity block. So it becomes important to keep ourselves optimistic, energized, entertained, and yeah.. a little distracted. Yes, you read it right! Distract yourself every now and then from virtual windows where we spend maximum time and try doing some individual or group activities that boost your creative minds.
Since the last few weeks, our team has been practicing morning virtual group meditation sessions. It’s not just helping us focus better throughout the day but also reduce the stress we’re going through. We also huddle up on video-conferences once a week or when anyone in the team feels low, where we share non-work related experiences during the lockdown like cooking, painting and to be honest, we even discuss house cleaning. Keeping yourself occupied and happy will help boost your creativity.
If you want to know more about remote working do check this blog — “How to maximize productivity if you and your team are working from home” by one of my colleagues.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, we cannot avoid the challenges that arise from working remotely. However, knowing what steps other UX Professionals are taking for efficient remote working is always helpful. There’s no right or wrong method for remote collaboration. Experiment, try different approaches, techniques, and tools, and ultimately you can all find your work harmony.
We hope these tips would be useful for you and your organization, Good luck creating your remote culture with the help of powerful tools. If you’d like any specific questions answered or understand more about how we work remotely at 17Seven, or to simply have a chat, give us a shout out.
Happy Collaborating!
