Jan 2, 2025
7 min read
As a Lead Product Designer, I’ve learned that collaboration is the backbone of successful product design projects.
Great products don’t survive while each team is doing their own thing; they’re the result of communication and alignment between stakeholders, developers, and designers. A mix of knowledge, tools and soft skills is needed in order to keep each project on the right track, fostering collaboration, and ensuring the team delivers exceptional user experiences.
After working with clients that seek good results and strive for perfection, such as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Faber Piano Adventures or Chemonics International, I've been able to learn a thing or two in keeping the team focused into delivering an exceptional product each time.
1. Get ready to collaborate
In my experience, the best collaborations start with a great plan and a toolkit that removes collaborative friction.
Define Roles and Responsibilities: I’ve found that using a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) chart is invaluable, as it clarifies what each person or team in the project does what.
Media source: teamgantt.com
Set Clear Goals: It’s crucial to align everyone on the project’s objectives, success metrics, and timelines right from the start. I like to do this via Figjam with some team dynamics that involve stakeholders and design mainly, as well as lead developers. I start off breaking the ice and setting up a relaxed environment, and then dive into what the project looks like in each person's mind. What the project is, what it isn't, what users should expect from it, how they would navigate its key features, etcetera.
Media source: private client project.
Promote Transparency: I always ensure all team members have access to the Source of Truth during the design process and are able to share their feedback whenever they need to.
Once the foundation is set, tools like Figma, FigJam, and Notion become game-changers for collaboration.
2. Figma is my best friend, and it can be yours too
Figma is just amazing. It has been "THE" tool in my workflow for its ability to bring designers, developers, and stakeholders together in real-time. Here's how it makes every product designer's life better:
_For Designers
Real-Time Collaboration: My team and I can work on the same file simultaneously, which eliminates version control headaches. I can work on a third iteration while someone else is refining a component or making sure the prototypes are ready for the client when the meeting comes.
Design Systems: Figma allows our team to keep our components and variables organized… and can access this library from any other project by just adding it to the file!
_For Stakeholders
Comments and Feedback in View Only mode: I encourage stakeholders to access the file with viewing permissions and leave comments directly on designs to streamline feedback loops. This reduces the possibility of not seeing feedback e-mails and helps me stay aligned with their vision.
Media source: figma.com
_For Developers
Code Handoff: Developers loooove Figma’s inspect feature for grabbing CSS, downloading assets, and understanding design specs.
Media source: figma.com
Version History: having a clear reference of how designs looked like in the past has helped me explain the team why some components needed to evolve in a certain way.
Pro Tip: I always organize Figma files systematically—for example, separating files for flows, presentations, and high fidelity designs—to keep everything easy to navigate.
3. FigJam is what's up
Ever since the Figma team released FigJam I've made it a crucial tool in my early design phases. It's easy to use for non-designers, it's simple, intuitive and an extremely powerful tool for involving everyone in the design process.
_For Ideation
Brainstorming Sessions: I use FigJam for sticky-note-style brainstorming with stakeholders, storyboarding and project features planning. It's just perfect.
Information Architecture: Diagramming a site's blueprint has become much easier ever since I use FigJam by using the flowchart feature, which allows me to connect several elements easily.
Affinity Mapping: Grouping related ideas visually has helped us prioritize more effectively.
_For Workshops
Design Sprints: I’ve run so many design sprints using FigJam to conduct exercises like "User Persona" or "User Journey Map" questions. Its visual clarity makes it easy for everyone in the team to understand what's going on and speeds up the process.
_For Stakeholder Buy-In
Interactive Presentations: FigJam’s visual style makes it easy to present roadmaps, design concepts, or user research findings in an engaging and comprehensive way.
Feedback Loops: Stakeholders love being able to annotate directly on FigJam boards, making discussions more dynamic and removing friction from early design phases.
Pro Tip: I’ve saved time by using FigJam templates for recurring workshops and sessions—a little setup effort goes a long way.
4. Notion is the place
Say BYEEEE to information chaos: Notion has become my favorite documentation tool for keeping everyone on the same page.
_For Designers
Design Documentation: I maintain a living document with design principles, decisions, relevant assets and guidelines—it’s a lifesaver when someone new comes in to help and needs context.
Media source: notion.com
User Research Repository: Centralizing findings, personas, and usability test results in Notion works as a team's wiki whenever anyone needs to consult a specific research results.
For Stakeholders
Roadmaps: Sharing project timelines and milestones in Notion keeps everyone aligned and helps keep expectations about the project in the same page.
Progress Updates: Dashboards provide stakeholders with a snapshot of the project’s status without needing constant check-ins with our Project Manager.
Pro Tip: I embed Figma links into Notion pages to connect designs and documentation seamlessly. It’s a small touch that makes a big difference since it gives context!
5. Other collaborative tools I cannot live without
_Slack
Real-time communication is essential for resolving blockers quickly. I use dedicated channels for projects to keep discussions focused and ensure updates are easy to find. Slack's thread feature helps reduce clutter when a topic becomes hot.
_Linear
For task management, I’ve integrated Figma and Notion with Linear (task management tool, similar to Jira or Asana) to create a smooth workflow from design to development.
6. The power of SOFT SKILLS
If hard skills are related to technical capabilities, soft skills are related to behavioral traits, or the way you respond to certain situations when talking to others.
_Listening
This would be the biggest discovery for me in my design experience. Talking less and listening more to the clients will help you grasp the project's essence.
_Assertiveness
After hearing and understanding what your client means when they request certain features or explain their vision of the project, you need to make some decisions, which might not align with the client's preferences. This is the moment for assertiveness: the ability to clearly articulate the reasoning behind decisions in a way that resonates with diverse audiences is crucial for gaining buy-in and support.
_Flexibility
Design is an iterative process that thrives on feedback. Emotional intelligence help us accept constructive criticism, extract valuable insights, and respond without defensiveness. Just keep in mind that everything can be improved, given time and care, and no design is perfect!
_Empathy
When you're designing you solve problems that other people have. Empathy will allow you to step into the users' shoes and understand their pain points, allowing you to create solutions that truly help them achieve their goals.
Working together with a team also needs this skill, in order for you to understand how your roles interact, what you need from one another and how you can help each other.
7. Top good practices to master
_Centralize Communication
Normally I use Slack or Teams (whatever the client prefers!) to notify team members about updates in Figma or Notion. This prevents scattered information and reduces the stress it might cause to
_Regular Syncs
Weekly check-ins have been invaluable for aligning priorities, addressing roadblocks, gathering feedback and setting goals.
_Emphasize Feedback Cycles
I leverage Figma’s commenting system for design critiques, but also reserve a space in the project's weekly meetings to create a conversation about the design process and discuss design decisions.
Final thoughts
Collaboration for me is all about fostering a culture of transparency and teamwork, and knowing what tools will help you create an environment where everyone can easily fulfill their role.
As of what's the most important skill to cultivate in the field, I believe I cannot stress enough how imperative it is to work both on technical skills as in soft skills, since even a great design might not make it through due to the way it is presented and backed up by a delicate assertiveness.
I hope you found this article helpful, please share it to a fellow designer that might need to read it! :)