(See my earlier posts for introduction to the series.)
In a large design project you will have vast amount of tacit knowledge that is never written down. You may have documents describing the original design drivers or goals of the project. However, the interpretation of those drivers take place during the design process. People who enter the project later haven’t been part of that process of creating the shared understanding. They don’t get it.
The soul of the design cannot be documented. Designers must grow into it.
As design lead, you have a key role in transferring the tacit knowledge hidden in the existing design team to the new team members. It will take time – they need to “get it” by copying others work, and through trial and error. You must spend quality time with them, walking through their design proposals and discussing if those are aligned with the rest of the designs. You can try to delegate this to a senior designer in the team, too, by pairing them up.
There are no quick fixes to resource gaps in design projects. Sometimes you have to get new designers to fill in, but be prepared that this will require that you invest a significant share of your time to it.
2 Comments