As a Collaborator

Breaking Boundaries in Human-Human Interaction

As an HCI-er, I find human-human interactions even more interesting. Being a UX designer has made me curious about diversity in how we think, act, and interact. I am experimenting with how much I can connect to this world by meeting more people.

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Start from Understanding myself

Affinity Cluster The Feedback I've Recevied

Below are the 5 qualities that make a good teammate, as suggested by Prof. Jessica Hammer—my mentor and role model at CMU—which have guided me in self-reflection.

Curiosity
Integrity
Generosity
Courage
Humility
"[Qiyu’s] superpower is seeing different perspectives and new ways of approaching problems."
Emily
Senior UX Designer @Amazon
"After only a few days at the company, while still in orientation, [Qiyu] reached out to me with a slate of ideas that could improve our UX/UI best practices, even before she was officially assigned to the project."
Eilon
CEO @Elphi
"You bring a lot of creativity to the table - I can count on you to think outside the box and suggest ideas I would not have thought of."
Lei Lei
Teammate @MHCI
Currently @Stack Overflow
"Working with you as PM this last month, I knew you were on top of what you had to do and I knew I could count on you. Same for team deliverables and tasks!"
Lei Lei
Teammate @MHCI
Currently @Stack Overflow
"I like how Qiyu creates mind maps when experts are talking and reiterates her understanding to ensure alignment. This not only shows the speaker that they are being heard but also helps maintain documentation and alignment within the team."
Huaze
Teammate @MHCI
"I really admire how she also takes the time to sketch out concept models. Sometimes, I get really lost during team meetings and her sketches really help clarify her thoughts as well as me understand our work better."
Ryan
Teammate @MHCI
"I think Qiyu has great vision/product strategy, observational skills, and synthesizes information into patterns very well"
Harshini
Teammate @MHCI
"Qiyu is also a risk-taker who often challenges the team to adopt new approaches that could benefit our efforts. The workforce thrives on innovation and she is perfect for constantly encouraging herself to step out of her comfort zone, allowing her to build her skillset and push for greater creativity."
Ryan
Teammate @MHCI
"I appreciate Qiyu for bringing up different opinions and expressing her concerns when everyone else on the team is reaching an agreement. Not only does she express her concerns, but she also provides solid reasoning behind them, which helps us avoid groupthink."
Huaze
Teammate @MHCI
"I think Qiyu has great vision/product strategy, observational skills, and synthesizes information into patterns very well"
Harshini
Teammate @MHCI
"Qiyu is also a very supportive, kind teammate. She is a very uplifting person and I encourage her to continue bringing that energy to future teams!"
Huaze
Teammate @MHCI
UX is a mindset

"Design" the collaboration

Just like designing a product/ service, cross-functional collaboration also requires understanding the users (team members), their needs, pain points, and motivations. I "design" the collaboration by choosing the right frameworks, tools, and rituals to foster alignment, creativity, and efficiency.

Within the Design Team
With Cross-Functional Team
With External Client

Communicate Through Collaborative Drawing and Writing

Goal Breakdown activity with the whole team

Workshops like 'Role-Playing' and 'Rose, Bud, Thorn' to be user-centered as a team

?!

Strange, but Effective

"What if we made the survey impossible to ignore?" Facing a recruitment challenge in a UX design project for The Mentoring Partnership, I remember asking my teammate to make it fun. It worked—resulting in a 10%+ increase in user responses!

Placed on the Ground

Horizontally on the Wall

Intentionally Falling off the board

Held by a Cute Robot 🤖

Facing the toilet