Have you ever felt you are “the UX approver,” pulled into projects after important decisions have already been made just to add the “UX certified ” stamp to them? It’s frustrating, right?
You’ve got insights that could shape product strategy and customer experience, but getting a seat at the decision-making table feels almost impossible. This struggle is all too common, especially for UX designers who work in small teams or as a team of one. It can feel like you are boxed in or left out.
Breaking out of the UX silo and building strong cross-functional relationships is the key to making your voice heard and your work matter. Let’s talk about how to tear down those walls and collaborate effectively across teams.
Why Silos Exist
Silos often form because different teams have different goals, priorities, and ways of working. For example, the UX team is focused on user needs and experience, while marketing might be concerned with lead generation and conversion rates, and engineering is laser-focused on building and deploying features.
A lack of communication between teams can lead to misunderstandings and, ultimately, a fragmented product experience. However, to achieve innovative design solutions, we need to have different opinions and points of view. It is often an underlying feeling of competition and fear of losing impact that is holding us back from close collaboration.
Recognizing these underlying barriers is the first step toward bridging the gap. It’s not about “us versus them,” but rather how to find common ground and work together towards shared objectives.
Tip 1: Speak Their Language
One of the most effective ways to break down silos is to learn how to communicate in a way that resonates with your cross-functional partners. This doesn’t mean losing your UX perspective but rather framing your insights in a way that aligns with the goals of other teams.
- Marketing: Show how your UX research can inform target audience needs or improve conversion rates.
- Engineering: Highlight how user testing can identify technical improvements or simplify implementation.
- Product Management: Demonstrate how UX can de-risk decisions and validate product assumptions.
By translating your findings into terms that align with their objectives, you’re more likely to get buy-in and make your work a valuable part of the conversation.
Taking Action: Think of your different teams as different personas. Put on your empathy hat and try to understand their needs, motivations, and goals so that you can adjust your language and messaging accordingly.
Tip 2: Create Shared Goals and Objectives
The most powerful collaborations happen when everyone is working towards the same goal. Establishing shared objectives with other teams can help break down silos and foster a sense of joint ownership.
If you feel frustrated about being pulled in too late, other teams might feel the same way. Engineers often struggle to build a solution without participating in the exploration process that leads to a specific solution. The marketing team is often tasked with hitting certain KPIs and not given enough time or room to look at the bigger picture.
Strong collaboration happens when we have shared goals and understanding.
Start by identifying overlaps between your UX goals and the goals of other teams. For instance, if your goal is to improve user onboarding, work with the marketing team to ensure the messaging is consistent and collaborate with engineering to streamline the technical aspects. When everyone’s success is tied to the same outcome, it’s easier to collaborate and prioritize the work.
Taking Action: Collaboration has to start somewhere. Take the initiative by reaching out to a member of another team. It might spark new ideas, and at least it will help you build your network.
Tip 3: Host Cross-Functional Workshops
Sometimes, you need to get everyone in the same room (or virtual space) to create alignment and understanding. Hosting cross-functional workshops is a fantastic way to bring different teams together, build relationships, and solve problems collaboratively.
Tips for Effective Workshops:
- Set Clear Objectives: Make sure everyone understands the purpose of the workshop and what you aim to achieve.
- Use Structured Activities: Techniques like “How Might We” brainstorming, empathy mapping, or journey mapping can help guide discussions and keep them focused.
- Encourage Participation: Make sure everyone has a voice. Use methods like dot voting or silent brainstorming to ensure quieter team members can contribute.
- Document and Share Outcomes: Summarize key insights, decisions, and action items, and share them with the entire team to keep everyone on the same page.
Taking Action: A workshop doesn't need to be a big and lengthy event. If you want to get your feet wet with facilitation, start by using interactive exercises in your next meeting. Use a whiteboard to collect feedback, start a voting exercise to get an alignment on design options. The more often you start using interactive methods, the more confident you will become.
Tip 4: Build Relationships One Conversation at a Time
Building cross-functional relationships isn’t just about big meetings and workshops—it’s also about everyday interactions. Make a habit of reaching out to colleagues in other departments to understand their challenges, priorities, and how they view your work. It can be as simple as grabbing a coffee, setting up a virtual lunch, or just having a casual chat after a meeting.
When you take the time to build personal connections, you’ll find it easier to collaborate because you’ve established trust and rapport. Plus, these relationships can lead to more organic collaborations and make it easier to advocate for UX within the organization.
Taking Action: Set your challenge! Make it a bi-weekly or monthly habit to connect with a person from another team.
Tip 5: Be Transparent and Share Your Work Early and Often
One reason silos persist is that teams work in isolation and only share their work when it’s fully polished and ready for review. By this time, it can be too late to get meaningful input or to pivot if needed. Instead, share your work early and often.
- Share Early Concepts: Don’t wait until your designs are pixel-perfect. Share wireframes, sketches, or even rough ideas to get early feedback.
- Open Your Process: Invite stakeholders to participate in user research sessions, design sprints, or usability tests.
- Solicit Feedback: Actively seek out feedback from cross-functional partners and show that you value their input.
Being open and transparent helps demystify UX work, builds trust, and makes it clear that you’re working towards the same goals.
Taking Action: Before your next presentation, think about what other teams might be affected by your design or research findings (can be long-term). Make it a habit to open presentations to people from other teams.
Tip 6: Advocate for a User-Centric Culture
Ultimately, breaking down silos isn’t just about better collaboration; it’s about fostering a culture where everyone values and advocates for the user. Lead by example and demonstrate the value of user-centric design to your cross-functional partners.
- Share User Stories and Insights: Regularly present user research findings in a way that’s compelling and relevant to each team.
- Highlight Wins: Celebrate successes that resulted from UX insights, whether it’s an increase in customer satisfaction, a drop in support tickets, or improved product usability.
- Encourage Empathy: Create opportunities for other teams to engage with users, such as customer interviews or usability tests. The more they understand the user perspective, the more they’ll see the value in collaborating with UX.
Taking Action: Start a "lunch and learn" to share interesting research findings. Ask other teams what topics they are interested in.
Conclusion:
Breaking out of the UX silo isn’t something that happens overnight, but with intentional effort and the right strategies, you can start to build stronger, more collaborative relationships across your organization. Remember, it’s about creating a shared vision and working towards it together. Start small—maybe with a coffee chat or by sharing a piece of research that you know will resonate with another team—and watch as those silos start to crumble.
You’ve got the skills and insights to make a real impact. Now it’s time to make sure everyone else sees it, too. 😊
Have you successfully broken out of the UX silo in your organization? I’d love to hear your story! Share your experiences and tips, or connect with me for a deeper conversation on how we can elevate UX together.
