The Problem with Separating User Interface and Backend Development

🔀Separating user interface and backend development limits innovation and fosters a transactional style of working.

🚫Treating UI design as a way to specify features is a mistake and results in poorer communication and lower quality solutions.

🖥️User interface sketches are not the same as real interfaces, and the mental model of the system is more important than the pixels on the screen.

🌊UI design consistency can be achieved through user interface guidelines and patterns, rather than centralizing UI design in a single team.

👥UI enabling teams can help stream-align teams improve their UI development skills and make good design choices.

Why is separating user interface and backend development problematic?

—The separation limits innovation, fosters a transactional style of working, and results in poorer communication and lower quality solutions.

What is the problem with treating UI design as a way to specify features?

—UI design is not just about pixels on the screen but about the mental model of the system. Treating it as a specification results in missing context and limited creativity.

Why are user interface sketches not enough to specify features?

—Real user interfaces are interactive systems, and the mental model of the user is more important than the pixels on the screen.

How can UI design consistency be achieved without centralizing it in a single team?

—UI enabling teams can provide guidelines, patterns, and reusable assets to ensure design consistency across teams.

How can stream-align teams improve their UI development skills?

—UI enabling teams can coach stream-align teams on the job, provide guidance, and help them make good design choices.

00:00The separation between user interface and backend development is problematic and limits innovation and creativity.

04:00Treating UI design as a way to specify features results in poorer communication and lower quality solutions.

06:30User interface sketches are not the same as real interfaces, and the mental model of the system is more important than the pixels on the screen.

10:00UI design consistency can be achieved through user interface guidelines and patterns, rather than centralizing UI design in a single team.

12:30UI enabling teams can help stream-align teams improve their UI development skills and make good design choices.