What it is
Working with engineering during the build to keep design fidelity, resolve edge cases as they appear, and answer design questions in real time.
Why use it
Even well-specified designs raise questions in development. Without design involvement, teams use their own judgment, which can introduce unintended deviations.
Use this when
- Development has begun on a designed feature
- The build has complex interactions or edge cases
- Design fidelity is critical to the experience
You may not need this when
- The implementation is a simple component with no interaction complexity
- Engineering has strong design skills and a comprehensive design system
Dependencies — what you need
- Development timelines and sprint schedules
- Quick channels such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Jira
- Documented edge cases and interaction details
People involved
- Design
- Engineering
- Product
Typical outputs
- Design questions resolved, with decisions recorded
- Specifications updated to match what was built
- Implementation-ready assets and component specs
Template
Design Support template
A fill-in structure for running this method: what to prepare, what to do, what to record, and how to read the result.
How AI can help
AI as augmentation — not replacement
- Generate implementation notes for complex interactions
- Draft edge-case documentation for handoff
- Compare implemented components with specs and flag deviations, for a person to confirm
- Suggest accessibility attributes for a person to verify
AI prompt
A prompt for any AI assistant. It works only from material you paste in, keeps assumptions apart from findings, and leaves the decisions to you.