Planning that aligns with company goals

When planning your team’s work, you can take the opportunity to align all of the product designers to the company’s goals.

I designed the following slide deck to illustrate how I do this. The slide deck uses a fictitious company I made, bearbnb, who are busy planning their Q1 projects.

Begin by reminding the designers of the team structure.

Collaboration becomes a lot easier when everyone knows where they fit in and how they contribute to the whole. Emphasise where mentorship and support can come from.

Take the opportunity to remind all of the product designers of the company’s goals. Their work becomes more meaningful and impactful if they buy into the goals the company has set.

Make sure to point out the goals that are highest priority and discuss any of the goals that are vague.

Walk the product designers through each company goal to discuss how the product design team will contribute.

I’ve illustrated in this example that sometimes the product designers won’t yet contribute to specific goals but need to be aware of them.

The next company goal is where the product designers begin to get involved.

You can point out exactly which designers will be involved in which goals so that the team can begin to get an idea of who is responsible and who has the context.

Listing out the main projects paints a picture for the type of work that will happen and where there will be overlap and opportunities for collaboration.

Keeping the projects grouped within the company’s goals gives the projects a framing and an implicit priority ranking.

Sometimes designers are handling multiple projects or starting new initiatives. Your team can find ways to support those designers.

While the company’s goals create the framing for the projects, the company’s success metrics create the quantitative targets.

Make sure your designers are aware of the actual metrics the company is trying to affect so that everyone is rowing in the same direction.

As the meeting comes to a close, use the fact that you have all of the product designers together to share reminders or discuss specific topics.

Round off the meeting with enough time for the product designers to ask any further questions and discuss any urgent topics.