The Dunning Kruger effect of PM-Design Collaboration
How to be a better design stakeholder
Design stakeholders’ competence often doesn’t match their confidence.
To work better with designers, let’s step into their shoes.
A creator who serves as a face of the modern day designer’s complaints — whose posts were mentioned to me by several designers I interviewed — is Hang 🤙 Xu.
He’s been a staff designer at a variety of companies, and this picture is how he explains what designers are looking for from PMs.
Let’s break this down into 5 levels of PM stakeholder competence:
Level 1: Very Low Competence PM
This is when you just don’t know much about UX, and you lean on the designer. They don’t mind this, because at least your confidence matches your skill.
Level 2: Low Competence PM
This is the worst. It’s when PMs feel like they can mock up hi-fi wireframes in Figma. It’s pre-determining the solution before any research has been done.
Level 3: Mid Competence PM
This is when PMs still are more confident than competent. They build good roadmaps and specs, but they don’t leave enough time for user research.
Level 4: High Competence PM
This is when confidence finally falls below confidence. They are constantly asking how design and research can get more involved.
Level 5: Very High Competence PM
This is the final level, where all readers of this piece should aspire to be. You want to have less confidence than competence, and always be planning in time for appropriate design exploration and user research.
As one designer shared with me about why it works this way:
“Asking designers to deliver work without research, testing, and iteration is like asking for a cake without the key ingredients. You’ll end up with a half-baked, unappetizing product that no one wants to consume.
90% of a designer’s job is the crucial process you’re trying to skip. Neglecting it leads to shallow, poorly-conceived designs that will ultimately sink your product.”
— Staff Product Designer at Series E startup
The overarching theme is that designers want an equal seat at the table.
They don’t want to be an afterthought or pixel-pusher, but rather a key partner in shaping the product vision and experience.
