Panel: Collaboration Tools
Summary
We have all heard the old saying “communication is key” but as the landscape of technology widens so do the options we have for communication tools using that technology. To talk about the challenges and opportunities that our organizations face when solving the communication conundrum, we have invited three people working in three different areas where communication is key for organizations with designers: research insights, workflow management and design systems management. Facilitated by Abby Covert.
Key Insights
-
•
Design operations suffer from too many fragmented tools and need unified systems.
-
•
Users want collaborative tools that filter noise and surface only what's important.
-
•
Collaboration in companies requires control mechanisms such as approvals and private comments, contradicting the idea of anarchy.
-
•
Integration between design and development is hindered by translation losses between design and code.
-
•
True agile and cross-functional collaboration are rare due to team turnover and lack of trust.
-
•
Collaborative tools have democratized feedback, increasing ownership across teams.
-
•
Different roles like designers, engineers, and business analysts have distinct needs from design tools.
-
•
Customization of collaborative tools and workflows is essential to fit diverse team processes.
-
•
AI and design systems combined with research can enable automated, smarter design decisions.
-
•
Future collaboration tools should respect users' focus time and reduce constant interruptions.
Notable Quotes
"There are too many things all over the place. I would like to use my magic wand for making them one system."
"A lot of these tools bring more noise into people’s day to day lives. It’s really hard to stay involved and still find time to get your own job done."
"Collaboration is actually not anarchy in companies. There’s always this need for control."
"Translation is a traitor because meaning is lost in translation between design and code."
"The dream of cross-functional agile collaboration is there, but it’s quite hard to realize that because teams don’t have enough time to build trust."
"With collaborative tools, feedback has become a democratic process, and people feel more ownership of the project."
"Design is not only limited to designers. Business analysts and engineers can design too, supported by designers."
"The hardest thing is knowing when to stop talking about something and start building it."
"Eventually, I expect AI to help create designs by combining patterns from meta design systems and research, making design more about crafting experiences."
"I want my collaboration tool to be like the Nest thermostat of my workday, knowing when I’m heads down and when I’m open to communication."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"It costs about as much as a bottle of water in energy to generate a single email from an LLM system."
Aras BilgenWho does the math: A designer’s journey in building an AI-based tutoring app
June 10, 2025
"At any given year, 10 to 20% of veterans will suffer from PTSD, compared to only 6% of civilians."
Megan Nipe Lyndsay BoothHuman-Centered Design for Engagement: Maturing from Newsletterville to Personalized, One-to-One Messaging
December 8, 2021
"We made a taxonomy of streaming participants using food metaphors: snacks, main meal, side dish."
Deanna MitchellDesigning with culture: Unlocking impactful insights for Product and UX
March 12, 2025
"Next year we need to have an accessibility budget. You do what you want, but that's the choice."
Patrizia BertiniThe (r)evolution of designOps: It’s Time to Think (really) BIG
September 11, 2025
"We were spending time defending the meaning of words rather than discussing the content of the work."
Saara Kamppari-Miller"Prototype" vs "Prototype"--Breaking Down and Rebuilding Our Understanding of What We Do
October 24, 2019
"Discomfort and growth cannot coexist. You have to embrace discomfort to push innovation forward."
Mitchell BernsteinOrganizing Chaos: How IBM is Defining Design Systems with Sketch for an Ever-Changing AI Landscape
September 29, 2021
"No need to take notes — session notes, sketch notes, resources, videos and decks will be shared after presentations."
Bria AlexanderDay 3 Welcome
September 25, 2024
"The internet as the self-regulating market is a failed experiment."
Ilana LipsettAnticipating Risk, Regulating Tech: A Playbook for Ethical Technology Governance
December 10, 2021
"Many leaders don’t have time to pause and reflect, but that reflection is critical for understanding the full picture of their leadership."
Jason Mesut Martina Hodges-Schell Jose CoronadoUnmasking Design Leadership: Navigating leadership without neglecting ourselves
October 30, 2025
