We already know that user experience design (UX Design) goes far beyond drawing screens and running prototype tests.

But one thing that can still raise questions is how it works — and what the impact is — when more than one UX Designer works together on the same product.

We don’t build screens. We build experiences.

First of all, it is worth keeping in mind some of the gains in both personal abilities (soft skills) and technical abilities (hard skills) that we can develop by working together.

In this article, you will understand how teamwork enriches the results of UX Design work.

Soft Skill Gains from UX Design Teamwork

In usability testing, one UX Designer observes how the other conducts the tasks, and this role can be alternated.

This helps us improve how we communicate during tests and in general, since presenting with a confident posture and good vocal tone makes all the difference, along with patience and care for the person taking the test.

It is the more human side that gets developed — exercising empathy, diction, and public speaking, skills that carry over into life beyond work.

Confidence grows when there is another UX Designer providing support, and everyone gains more experience through knowledge sharing.

The analytical eye one person brings to something may go unnoticed by another.

That is perfectly normal, because our work involves many points to analyze.

A supporting UX Designer on the team helps prevent these gaps, avoids future rework, and sharpens the analytical capacity and logical reasoning of everyone involved in the project.

There is also a reinforced sense of belonging that comes from having the support of someone who may have even deeper understanding and experience of everything the profession involves — bringing people closer together and sometimes even sparking friendships.

Today, in advertising and marketing agencies, creative duos are common, usually made up of an art director and a copywriter.

In UX, both people can perform the same role and/or split the tasks, but it is incredibly valuable when they come together to discuss usability or an interface decision, for example.

With all of this comes more lightness — one of True’s core values — thanks to that support on demanding tasks, especially the ones that require more time and focus, such as building prototypes.

Higher-quality results — because two heads are better than one — for True, for our clients, and for the growth of the UX Chapter.

That is because constant communication and idea sharing enrich the construction of the solution, since each UX Designer will bring a different perspective to the same thing.

Quite a gain already, right? But then a question may come up: couldn’t the P.O. fill these personal gains?

And the answer is:

Of course that helps a lot, but UX Designers will still have deeper domain knowledge and prior experience that will grow and help others develop, on top of their technical UX skills.

And hard skills are exactly what we will talk about next!

Now Let’s Look at the Hard Skill Gains

In usability testing, one UX professional guides the user through the tasks to be performed in the prototype, while the other takes notes on each task and helps facilitate — because it is easy to forget one reminder or another, even with everything written down, since there is so much to keep track of during tests.

That extra analytical eye we mentioned in the soft skills section, the one that prevents gaps, is applied especially to usability, bringing observed improvements into the features and flows of the technology solution.

Building prototypes together not only raises their quality but also speeds up delivery, freeing up more time for reviews, research, content analysis, and other UX activities.

Greater value delivery, with more room to ground decisions in metrics thanks to the time gained through collaboration and/or task splitting.

This value can show up in usability, in evidence-backed interface decisions — using heatmaps, A/B tests, Google Analytics, and more — in UX Writing, in well-organized documentation, and above all in a technology solution built for the real people who will use it.

A stronger foundation for benchmarking, since each UX professional will have different experiences across various platforms, already bringing a trained eye for what is or is not advisable for each type of platform, interface, and feature.

Technical knowledge sharing with colleagues, because we value not only UX-specific technical knowledge but every life experience that adds to the craft.

Experiences of travel, flavors, feelings, emotions — each of those moments matters when building a new experience.

We don’t build screens, we build experiences, and every detail of life is part of that.

Knowledge of marketing, psychology, human behavior, gamification, technology, art, philosophy, sociology, politics, law, religion, diversity — all of this and more is tremendously valuable to our work.

So having a colleague with different life experiences and knowledge is essential for gaining different perspectives on the same thing, generating even more ideas for a solution.

And then another question may come up:

But aren’t all these technical topics covered in the UX Chapter’s weekly meetings?

And the answer is:

Beyond knowing that daily human interaction is very different from weekly interaction, each person only talks about their product briefly in the UX chapter meetings. There simply is not time to go into detail and explore different points of view, unless the challenge is a big one.

It is worth noting that these observations about perceived gains come from specific projects with two to three UX professionals working on a single product.

So, did you enjoy learning more about our UX team? Check out our open positions — one of them might be a match for you.

Thank you so much for reading, and see you next time!