The challenge
Refresh our collaboration principles and rituals based on input
from the UX community, and align them with leadership goals for
collaboration and quality. Bring in clear purpose, improved
structure and a more engaging schedule — and raise the level
of the work at the same time.
The 6 principles
We are open for feedback. We actively listen and stay open
to discussion; feedback is never personal. We share early and
often. The tone of our meetings stays light and informal — a
safe space without judgment, mindful of the phase the project is
in.
We review and present our work in a few circles. First a
small circle: one to one with your closest collaborator, a UX
writer, designer or lead. Then a bigger one: a craft ritual,
followed by the cross-craft PayJam. Going from smaller circles to
bigger ones, the work can only get better.
We review from start to finish. Every stage benefits from
other perspectives — from before anything exists to after
the product is live and wants evaluating. Four phases to review
in: the problem and the why, early concepts, getting ready for
handover, and results and next iterations.
We unblock each other. We don’t block anybody in
their design journey; the mission is the opposite. We aim to be
solution centric rather than problem centric, always offering
options for moving forward faster and better.
We follow up and follow through. Every piece of feedback
is treated as a to-do: captured, considered, and implemented where
it can be. It goes straight into Figma so it can be tracked, and
the status comes back in the channel or at the next PayJam.
We prepare well and set expectations. Presenters give the
context the stage calls for and a clear ask — what kind of
feedback is wanted right now. Reviewers answer in kind: no
critique of visual design or copy while a concept is still
forming, and no reopening the problem statement when the work is
nearly ready for handover.
The ritual
A weekly hour where design, writing and research come together to
do four things. Review: critique from each craft’s
perspective, constructively and informally. Co-create: put
collective brain power into making something from nothing —
a brainstorm early in a project, with the organiser collecting,
refining and bringing the ideas back. Learn: sessions that
go deep on a topic or a skill, drawn from the work already
reviewed together. Have fun: dry runs, new ideation
techniques, redesigning our own workflows.
The presenter gets broader perspectives and no blind spots, and
the level of their work rises. The participant gets a better
overview and a way to make an impact outside their own scope. Both
of them learn.
The full story, with the principles as they were first written
and the practicalities that hold the ritual together, is
an article of
its own.
