The Art of Project Management

5.8. A design is a series of conversations

With a few sketches of potential user interfaces, real design work can begin. An informal walkthrough of the sketches with engineers, testers, and marketers can begin the real conversations that lead to progress. An engineer can give an off-the-cuff recommendation to a designer about the work implied or suggest changes to the design that might make it easier to build. Many good questions will be asked in both directions. The engineer may also be able to make the designer aware of options that are technically possible but of which she wasn't aware ("Oh, with the new flux capacitor we're building, you can eliminate that screen"). The earlier this discussion can start, the faster the conversation becomes strong, and the more ideas that can be raised, considered, and reviewed.

It's important that everyone sees the process for what it is: a series of attempts, discussions, questions, and introspections that repeat until satisfactory proposals are made (eventually documented in specifications). If someone doesn't want to participate in this fluid kind of work, they should release some of their authority in the decision-making process to those who do. Designing is not the same as engineering, and although having engineers involved in design tends to improve the designs, it's better to remove individuals from the heart of the process than to try and change the process to satisfy an individual.

If the goals for the project are clear, and the problems ...