It’s not surprising that Weinan Li thinks of sports when describing how design, product and engineering teams work together at WHOOP. After all, he is a senior product designer at a wearables company that helps people meet their health and fitness goals.
When it comes to building a modern product, Li likens it to playing football.
Product is the quarterback with the vision — a product roadmap — to see downfield and hit design and engineering with the perfect pass. Cross-functional teamwork is essential to victory; for design, that sometimes means playing a more complementary role depending on the state of the product. Great teams often have great chemistry, which is difficult to develop only in meetings, so Li makes an effort to get to know his engineering and product teammates on a deeper level to understand what motivates and challenges them.
“We all have the same ultimate goal: To deliver stellar products to customers,” Li said. “But the path to get there can be different for each team, and that’s OK. It’s like having different playbooks for different games. As long as we respect each other’s culture and workflow, we’ll always come out on top.”
While Li speaks in sports analogies, his advice isn’t targeted at football fanatics. It’s for designers who want to reduce friction when working with product and engineering — designers who just want to make collaboration click. If that sounds like you, read on.
WHOOP is a wearables company whose product is designed to help people meet their health and fitness goals. In addition to its consumer-facing business, the company also operates a business-to-business insights platform called WHOOP Unite.
How do you collaborate with product and engineering on a daily basis? Why is that collaboration necessary?
Building a modern product is like playing a game of football: You need a team to make it work. At WHOOP, collaboration is more critical than ever, especially when it comes to our B2B insights platform, WHOOP Unite. My goal is to make sure that collaboration happens as naturally as possible. I want everyone to feel like they’re part of the team, even if they’re not on the field.
When it comes to working with product, I find they’re the game MVPs because they turn your crazy design ideas into actionable requirements, success metrics and roadmap milestones. It’s like having a quarterback who can read your mind and throw the perfect pass.
As for working with engineers, you need to be in sync to pull off the perfect move. Luckily, I’ve been teamed up with some developers with design backgrounds, and I always pick their brains on topics like usability and design tokens. Let’s not forget, engineers are like the superstars of the tech world. Some of the most innovative ideas come from them, and it’s always a thrill to see what they come up with next.
I’ve learned to treat my product and engineering partners like my users. It’s all about building trust through empathy and active listening.”
How do you advance the needs of UX design while also respecting the priorities and considerations of product and engineering?
When it comes to UX/product design, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure as each team and product has its own unique needs and challenges.
For a brand-new product like WHOOP Unite, my main focus is on functionality and ease of use. After all, you can’t win the game if you don’t have the basics down pat. But if we’re talking about a feature that’s already up and running, I’d shift my attention to aesthetics and UX enhancement. It’s like adding some fancy footwork to an already impressive route.
At the end of the day we all have the same ultimate goal: To deliver stellar products to customers. But the path to get there can be different for each team, and that’s OK. It’s like having different playbooks for different games. As long as we respect each other’s culture and workflow, we’ll always come out on top.
What tips would you share with fellow UX design leaders to strengthen their collaborative relationship with product and engineering teams?
I’ve had two major mindset shifts that have made me a better collaborator and designer.
First and foremost, I’ve learned to treat my product and engineering partners like my users. It’s all about building trust through empathy and active listening. By spending time with them, I’ve gained a better understanding of their hopes, fears and pain points. This is important because while it’s important to fight for your users, you don’t want to do it in a way that hurts your relationship with your team. After all, teamwork makes the dream work!
The second mindset shift is all about letting go of ownership. As designers, it’s easy to get attached to our ideas and treat them like precious babies. But that’s not fair to anyone else on the team. Instead, I like to create an equal playing field in the design process by inviting stakeholders to co-create the product. Then, I use my expertise to elevate the collective idea. Just like a team of chefs working together to create a delicious menu, we collaborate to build products that delight our users.
