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Written by Becky Z., Content Strategist at Facebook
Becky is a content strategist working in the Publisher Solutions team. She enjoys finding simple design and content solutions to complex problems, and the flexible, global environment at Facebook.
At Facebook, product designers, content strategists and user researchers make up the 'Design' element of a product team. Each team is unique and works in a different way. But in the Advertiser Controls and Experience team, we've found a way to work together that has consistently challenged, empowered and inspired each of us.
The three disciplines within Design can all get along pretty well without the others. We can go off and write interface copy, prototype and research by ourselves—but when it all comes together, it's kind of awkward. Working entirely in isolation in any of these disciplines means missing out on perspectives and knowledge that'll make the user experience a lot better. On the flip side, doing absolutely everything together means compromising the individual quality that each discipline can bring when properly honed. We've found a balance that works.
How we make it work
The Advertiser Controls and Experience team is working to create a comprehensive set of brand safety tools for advertisers who use our network. It's a complicated and nuanced space and, like most teams at Facebook, we move fast.
We're working to a cadence defined by a rolling research calendar. In our team, research happens every three to four weeks. In between, we're working to a sprint-like model.
This is how it goes:
Week 1
We've just had a round of research, and we need to define what we're going to test in the next round. This depends on the outcomes of the previous research and the priorities of engineering and product managers. We usually make this decision as a full team—engineering, product managers and other cross functional partners too. Everyone's invested and everyone has ideas.
The product designer and content strategist start thinking about the potential flows, interactions and visual elements. We gather our thoughts and prepare for the week to come.
During this time, the researcher is preparing notes, hypotheses and suggestions based on the previous round of research. This will help us to formalize our focus when we come to iterate the previous prototype.
Week 2
We know what we're working on, and we need to get going. Every Tuesday, we have a three-hour focus block. This is where the real collaboration comes in. This is a cross-lane session. We don't just stick to our disciplines, we all get involved in what the design and content should look like and what we should be digging into in the next round of research. Our team whiteboarding sessions can look a bit like this:
This is a collaborative process, with all members of the team sketching out the journey. While this is happening, the product designer starts to pull this together and the content strategist starts to write.
After this session, we're in a good position to go and work on our individual parts for the next few days. The product designer continues building the prototype, the content strategist goes in and works on the copy, and the researcher starts to pull together the discussion guide for testing. We re-group regularly to talk though any bumps in the road or improvements we've thought of. It's easy because we all sit together, and we encourage building on each other's ideas.
Week 3
Testing time. We have a few days to refine the prototype, because testing usually starts around Wednesday. By this time, it's fully functioning and might look something like this:
The researcher runs a review session with the rest of the team. In this, the engineers, product manager and other cross-functional partners are taken through the prototype. We discuss any feedback they have together and make any changes, if necessary.
The researcher already has a fleshed-out discussion guide because they've been close to the design from the start. The user research session starts, and we're all there taking notes. We meet afterwards to gather the key points. The researcher usually goes around the room, asking for everyone's opinions. We talk about areas that the participants understood well and didn't.
During these weeks, we're also thinking about what we learned in the last round of research and what we'll do with the prototype we tested there. We might even be iterating on that design at the same time. To keep things moving fast, both product designer and content strategist work directly in the design tools.
There are a few things that make this model so effective for us.
Why it works
We encourage each other to cross over into another lane.
The researcher is an expert in decoding signals from the people who use our services, and there are things they'll see that the content strategist or product designer won't.
The product designer knows how to solve problems visually but can also see where words are needed instead.
And, as a content strategist, I can solve user issues with words, but I can also see ways to communicate through the design and user journey.
On top of this, we welcome any member of the team (such as engineers) to suggest content, design or research approaches. This encourages an open, collaborative environment and helps everyone to widen their skillset.
Sabine S., UX Researcher, Gilberto L., Product Designer, & Becky Z., Content Strategist
We have time together, and time alone.
It's essential that there's a balance between time spent figuring it out together, and time spent honing the prototype alone. We have our focus block together, but then we go off and refine it so that it's something that solves our key user problems well.
We're working closely with engineering.
Because we're working to a quick schedule, we stay ahead of engineering. We have a substantial share of voice within our team and freedom to explore with fewer restraints.
We're able to get, and stay, ahead of engineering by making sure we're heavily involved with planning and attending regular stand-ups with the engineering team. We work backwards from their deadlines, with them, to make sure we have enough time to design and research before the UI becomes the focus of the engineering team.
This is good for everyone. It's good for design because we have time to develop, test and iterate. It's good for engineering because they're fully involved in the design process and can influence it from the start—avoiding disconnects later.
“Being well established and well connected as a design team has also bolstered our voice and influence within the product team. Working like this works for us, on many levels.”
We're stronger together
Every design team at Facebook is different and may work in a bit of a different way. But it's down to you as a unit to define this. Working this way has been beneficial to all of us and makes each new challenge exciting.
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