New UX designers are often surprised to find that some software developers are wary of working with them. This can be caused by prior bad experiences with unrealistic designs that didn’t consider development effort or technical constraints.

If this happens to you, try changing their perception by showing them how you can make their job easier.

Silos don’t work

In my first UX job, my team was often left out of the process. It was a development-led organization following the Waterfall Model, where developers were used to getting direction only from a product or development manager. We overcompensated by optimizing our deliverables for the VPs in order to get our “seat at the table”, which usually meant that they looked great, but had little consideration for implementation.

Although our industry has evolved, this friction still exists in places and is recent enough elsewhere that some developers have scars from it.

You’re all on the same team

Back then, while my boss was making our case to his boss, what ended up changing things for me was an alternate approach that started from the ground up. It’s one I still use.

I stepped out of my comfort zone to visit the desks of developers who were working on products I was assigned to. Rather than nagging them about the design I had sent over, I simply asked them to show me what they were working on.

My breakthrough came when one showed me a form he was coding and told me how much he hated creating forms. He struggled with the labels and spacing and grouping fields. He just wanted to move on to working on the back-end. So I offered to help. I quickly mocked up a layout, which he was grateful for.

A magical thing happened after that, he started coming to me whenever he encountered UI design challenges. I did this with other developers and pretty soon I was part of their process too. Involving me became a way for them to spend more time focusing on what they enjoyed and were good at. Ultimately, I made their job easier.

Be a friend to make a friend

There are invariably aspects of a UI developer’s job they dislike. Most developers I know, for example, hate CSS.

If you find yourself working with a reluctant developer, disarm them by showing that you can help them. Here’s how:

  • The first step is to listen. Do this in person, ideally at their desk (if remote, have them share their screen). Find out what they work on, what technologies they use, and what its limitations are.
  • Next, look for an opportunity. You might get lucky and they’ll land on a particular design task they dislike. If not, locate a UX issue in something they worked on and ask them why they did it that way. Approaching it with curiosity instead of authority will improve the chances of them involving you next time.
  • Finally, be patient. Don’t assume that your relationship will change overnight. Try waiting until they make the next move and approach you for help. Offer it willingly, however small or simple the request. You don’t need to ingratiate yourself – you’re only looking for an opening where they may let their guard down.

Developers are designers, whether they realize it or not. They are ultimately the ones who deliver the user experience. Work to delight them so that they can delight your users.

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