What are effective ways to resolve conflicts between your product vision and your UX team's design choices?

Don't just understand the problem, understand the customer! When there are disagreements between UX and product, they often come down to the underlying tensions in the roles. UX work is intentionally dialed over to quality over speed, and product work often involves tradeoffs to reach business deadlines. Acknowledge this as a tension and invite your counterpart in UX to think with you about what the customer needs, and when. Ask "what fully solves the problem" and "will this launch truly solve the problem if we make this tradeoff?" With the right questions, UX and product can leverage their respective strengths to deliver a strong go forward recommendation on new products for customers.

Understanding the problem clarifies misalignment. Specific points of disagreement can be identified early, determining if it's a genuine misalignment or a deeper discussion is needed. Facilitates Informed Discussions: Allows for focused conversations, enabling targeted questions and gathering relevant information for constructive dialogue. Enables Compromise and Collaboration: Creates a foundation for finding common ground, exploring alternative solutions that align with both the product vision and UX design principles, fostering collaboration.

Communicating your product vision ensures the following: A shared Understanding: Establishes a common understanding of the product's overarching goals and direction. Provides Context for Decisions: Offers a framework for evaluating design choices in alignment with the broader product vision. Inspires Creativity and Innovation: Acts as a foundation for the UX team to explore innovative design solutions that harmonize with the overall product direction.

I would begin by inquiring with your design colleagues, "How do you envision the product's direction?" This will enable you to identify potential disparities. Rather than emphasizing differences in your perspectives, refocus on the common ground you share concerning the customer's issues. This approach can facilitate more constructive discussions about the product, minimizing personal biases.

One thing I find extremely helpful is including the UX team already in the Product Discovery phase, that way we are on the same page from the very beginning. In my experience, once you establish some ground rules that you'll stick with when designing the product, the less "wandering around" in product design happens. Also, always keep in mind that the responsibility of the UI/UX team is product usability, so make sure you understand what you're compromising over by not going by their guidance.

Collborating on solutions ensures: Leverage Diverse Expertise: Draws on each team member's unique skills and perspectives for comprehensive and innovative solutions. Fosters Ownership and Buy-In: Involvement instills a sense of ownership, leading to greater commitment and collective responsibility. Balances Vision and Practicality: Allows for a harmonious blend of the product vision and practical design considerations, ensuring solutions meet both strategic and UX requirements effectively.

Balancing Stakeholder Priorities: Ensures alignment with the product vision while addressing practical UX constraints. Fostering Team Collaboration: Encourages teamwork, valuing every team member's input and leading to stronger collaboration. Driving User-Centric Solutions: Often results in designs that prioritize the end user's experience, creating intuitive and user-friendly solutions.

Open Communication: Trust fosters an environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their perspectives and concerns, leading to more productive discussions and conflict resolution. Increased Collaboration: Trust and respect facilitate effective collaboration, enabling the sharing of ideas and working together to find solutions that align with the product vision and UX design principles. Enhanced Problem-Solving: A foundation of trust and respect encourages active listening and consideration of alternative viewpoints, leading to more effective problem-solving and balanced decision-making.

Regular feedback sessions and retrospectives are vital for maintaining a healthy working relationship between a product manager and a UX team. These sessions provide a structured platform for open communication, addressing concerns, and making continuous improvements to ensure that the product development process runs smoothly.