Movement · Friction became flow
Same goal. They just hadn't noticed yet.
A digital experience platform for a Swiss financial services company. Five disciplines. Five ways of working. And a lot of friction in between.
The situation
Everyone was working hard. Just not together.
UX, frontend, backend, publishing and testing each brought their own methods, tools and priorities. I came in as an external advisor.
Errors and inconsistencies only showed up in testing. Feedback loops were long and releases slipped. Nobody was quite sure who owned what, technical limits kept colliding with design expectations, and the disciplines rarely talked to each other in between.
Common ground
Instead of adding more coordination, we created a place where the disciplines could meet as equals. Everyone from design to testing was involved from the start, and each phase got a clear owner. Short, structured design and tech groomings gave both sides a place to look at the same thing together, on equal terms.
The moment
Once the grooming meetings started, something shifted.
People who initially couldn't stand each other realised they were actually working toward the same goal.
Soon, questions stopped waiting for the next meeting.
What became possible
Designers and developers started talking before problems reached testing. Quick questions went straight to Slack. Documentation got lighter, handovers got smoother, and regular retrospectives kept the conversation going. Development cycles shortened noticeably, and new website features reached the market faster.
Collaboration isn't about more meetings. It's about meeting as equals.
What this shows
Friction between disciplines is rarely about difficult people. More often, each side only sees the other through its own work: the design that can't be built, the code that doesn't match.
When people meet on equal terms, that picture changes. They notice they want the same thing, and that together they can achieve far more than against each other.
From there, the connection doesn't stay in the meeting. It carries on in quick messages and short calls, and the work starts to move without anyone pushing it.
Movement starts when people realise they're on the same side.