What is the best way to approach a colleague with a different perspective in UX design?

The best way to approach a colleague with a different perspective in UX design is to integrate user testing which is a transformative approach. It not only resolves conflicts by grounding decisions in real user experiences but also fosters a shared commitment to creating designs that truly resonate with the users.

Gather info: Review their work, ask for clarification, consider their context. Analyze the difference: Data vs. intuition? Usability vs. aesthetics? Design principles? Find common ground: Shared goals? Similar concerns? Remember to focus on the problem and not the approach. Once everyone agrees to focus on the same problem statement, it is easier to focus on the ideal solution. All such discussion should be done with an open mind and with the right mindset to collaborate. No design is perfect and no solution is ideal. It all depends on what the user needs and how they use the solution.

In a team, it's important to think about everyone's ideas and brainstorm together. By exploring different possibilities, we can find the best ways to solve problems effectively.

Simple! User or A/B test! Leave out subjective opinions and confirm with data. Test using the same goals and compare success & satisfaction levels.

Before you approach your colleague follow these steps. Clarify your own perspective: Before engaging with your colleague, take some time to solidify your own thoughts and arguments. This will help you present your ideas confidently and avoid getting sidetracked. Seek common ground: Look for areas where your viewpoints may align, even if it's just a shared goal of improving the user experience. This can create a foundation for productive dialogue. Prepare for pushback: Anticipate your colleague's potential objections and have responses ready to address them. This demonstrates your preparedness and strengthens your case.

When approaching a colleague with a different perspective in UX design, it's best to start with an open and friendly conversation. Actively listen to their perspective, ask questions to understand their point of view, and focus on the design challenges rather than personal preferences. Find common ground, be respectful, and be open to feedback.

This assumes that there's an issue to begin with. Differing perspectives bring depth and vitality to our work. Just because you may feel right, doesn't mean the other person is wrong. Design would suffer if it were stifled by limited views and insights so I suggest having a conversation around what everyone feels works and why. The result is usually a better design born out of the collective views of a masterful team.

You should never personalise the critiques to the person, you have to separate the work from the person. You need to be clear when you’re giving feedback/input and specifically highlight that is what you’re doing, not criticising the person. People become very attached to the work and see it has a extension of themselves, and you need to be all weary of that. Approach the problem with caution and work with the person. From my experience, ego is huge within any organisation and you need to know how to handle that person. Be objective, and only focus about the work, ask questions like: if the user was colour-blind how would design help? What’s your thoughts on how responsive this layout is? What do you think around this use of language?

Focusing on personal issues never worth it as it only included a specific user community engagement. It never turns out blessing morning for the product. While focusing on the problem, it gives a far more spreading perspective with different user groups feedbacks, feelings, pain points with accomodating goals respective to company norms and customers.

El problema siempre tendrá sesgos a partir de la persona que lo crea, considero que es importante entender a la persona para entender de dónde viene la perspectiva, creo que hay que enfocarse en el problema sin dejar de lado a la persona.

From my experience a lot of the arguments, disagreements and opinions can be dispelled with service/user research. When there is the lack of research and talking to people, the assumptions take over, then that is where the clash of opinions rises. Once you have evidence, it is much easier to build common ground rather than just stated an opinion that this is how it should work. I guarantee you, even though you are the expert in the room… there is going to be a stakeholder’s, colleagues that believe that they have a better outlook on a solution. So build trust through research, take them on the journey with you, that is the best way to dispel any decisions being made out of personal preference, and moving to evidence-based solutions.

As per my experience, these can be defined as finding a suitable car with everyone's input. As creating an application, one wants with more user friendly, another wants with more UI complexity and functionality and this is going on. So in this process, finding a common flow to design the system of app with more relevant inputs and updates.

Generalmente cuando hay perspectivas distintas siempre hay objetivos en común, una persona empática siempre buscará encontrar similitudes en los puntos de vista para llegar a un resultado en el que ambos colegas queden satisfechos con el resultado sin sacrificar tanto en el camino.

I believe as a creative you are always willing to learn and understand different perspectives, disciplines and that adds to your arsenal. Once you have stopped learning, you stop growing and I have noticed that when I look back into my career, there are certain years or periods of time that are lost because I wasn't continuously growing or wanted to learn. I was content with what I have learnt, which for me is not the best place to be. I thrive on being uncomfortable, and that pushes me to be in those uncomfortable positions... where you are a beginner again and you need to learn aggressively to get back on the horse, to push yourself forward.

The main advice that I can give is to separate your personality from your design solution before you start a negotiation. Remind yourself that every problem can have a few solutions.

Continuous improvement is the key to success, build a community of practice around you. Get designers from across different disciplines to work together and build trust within your community so, the community can be truthful rather than sugarcoating feedback. A lot of individuals do this because they don’t want to hurt people’s feelings however, not doing this is a disservice to the person you are giving feedback too. So, seek out the opinions of other designers, stakeholders, people that are not necessarily in your discipline. To see how you can present better, how you interact with stakeholders better, how your attitude can change, what language not to use and to use. Elements of this nature are so important for growth in your career.

Es importante escuchar opiniones de nuestros pares ya que siempre existe algo que podamos mejorar. Las iteraciones y reiteraciones dentro de los procesos de dise?o son necesaria para la mejora continua de las soluciones.