I'd work on creating structured collaboration touchpoints that promote empathy, transparency, and a common language. The goal is to get them solving problems together rather that for each other. 1. Build Empathy: Get both teams in the same room early in the process. When engineers understand the 'why' behind design decisions, and designers grasp the technical constraints, mutual respect begins to form. 2. Prioritise Together: Use product prioritisation frameworks like MVP to get both teams on the same page about what’s achievable within time and resource constraints. Align them on what’s essential for the user experience so that both sides feel heard and compromises don’t result in sacrificing the core value of the product.

These disagreements arise from the uncertainty about what customer needs are for the market. These disagreements are just the symptoms. Work with a Voice of the Customer training firm to get all these folks trained in VoC techniques. Then go out, and interview customers together. This will remove the emotion from the conversation and get all focused around the common job of addressing customer needs. Continue in this spirit of collaboration with a concept testing program that provides success and failure metrics. With customer insight, research, and a bit of team-building, the egos will give way to logic and reason.

While most people may tell you that there must be good collaboration between UX and Tech teams. I also agree but with a slight addition that there must be thin rivers running in between them where you as a Product Manager should work like a bridge. Collaboration of UX and tech should not be like they are sitting all together in every meeting and pointing out each thing simultaneously. I mean, come on! It’s directly Empathic-Creative-Heads vs Nerdy-Problem-Solvers! Product Managers should be responsible for setting up checkpoints where both teams can put opinions. If it was normal for UX, Marketing, Business, or any other team to translate goals with the tech team, then we might not have any such role called “Product Manager” at all.

When UX designers and engineers clash, fostering collaboration is about empathy and alignment. Here’s my approach: ? Create a Shared Vision: I remind both teams of our shared product vision, aligning everyone towards a common goal. ? Facilitate Open Dialogue: I hold sessions where designers and engineers share their perspectives, helping each understand the other’s challenges. ? Highlight Complementary Strengths: I emphasize how design and engineering strengths can complement each other to create better outcomes. ? Collaborate Early: I involve both teams early in the process to prevent misalignment and ensure mutual understanding from the start.