Sure, working in a startup environment sounds fun. The stories of flexibility and freedom that it entails spark curiosity into people’s minds, making it enticing to explore a career in the startup scene. In reality, working in a startup just presents a different set of challenges. One of which requires you to wear a lot of hats as the only designer in the team.

當然，在啟動環境中工作聽起來很有趣。 隨之而來的靈活性和自由的故事激發了人們的好奇心，從而吸引了人們在初創企業中探索職業的興趣。 實際上，在初創公司工作只會帶來一系列不同的挑戰。 其中之一要求您作為團隊中的唯一設計師戴很多帽子。

I wouldn’t exactly say that working in a startup was fun. What makes things fun is a subjective matter, some people find a day at an amusement park fun, while some find it dreadful. From what I experienced, there were fun times and it surely was a roller coaster ride. I’m glad that I was able to be a part of something real and I was able to meet good people.

我不會確切地說在初創公司工作很有趣。 使事情變得有趣的是一個主觀問題，有些人在游樂園中找到了一天的樂趣，而另一些人則覺得這很可怕。 從我的經驗中，有很多有趣的時光，那肯定是坐過山車。 我很高興能夠成為真實事物的一部分，并且能夠結識好人。

Here are some of my learnings and unlearnings after working in a small startup company, as a full-timer with 4–5 people teammates:

以下是在一家小型初創公司工作時(與4-5個人組成的全職團隊的經驗)，從中學到的一些經驗和教訓：

獨奏設計師 (The Solo Designer)

為用戶設計。 (Designing for the User.)

Being the only designer in the team has its pros and cons. It might seem that faster design decisions could be made because there is only one designer. However, this meant that there were no other designers to discuss or to bounce off ideas with.

作為團隊中唯一的設計師有其優點和缺點。 由于只有一名設計師，因此似乎可以做出更快的設計決策。 但是，這意味著沒有其他設計師可以討論或反彈思想。

It was common to hear something like, “You are the designer; you know what’s best.” To some extent, you would be entrusted to make the call and this is a good opportunity to owning up to your decisions and to learn from them. However, it’s inevitable for us to sometimes believe that our users would think and behave exactly like us. In any case, always remember that you are not the user.

通常會聽到類似這樣的信息： “您是設計師； 你知道什么是最好的。” 在某種程度上，您會被委托打電話，這是一個把握自己的決定并向他們學習的好機會。 但是，有時我們不可避免地會認為用戶會像我們一樣思考和舉止。 無論如何，請始終記住您不是用戶 。

Raluca Budiu from Nielsen Norman Group writes,

Nielsen Norman Group的Raluca Budiu寫道：

“Designers, developers, and even UX researchers fall prey to the false-consensus effect, projecting their behaviors and reactions onto users.”

“設計人員，開發人員甚至UX研究人員都容易受到錯誤共識效應的影響，將其行為和React投射到用戶身上。”

Design is a team sport and it’s easy to forget that we tend to have our own biases. Hence, I initiated brainstorm sessions, discussions and even have healthy debates with my teammates. I had to constantly refrain from designing only for myself. When in doubt, test with users.

設計是一項團隊運動，很容易忘記我們往往會有自己的偏見。 因此，我發起了集體討論，討論，甚至與隊友進行了健康的辯論。 我不得不不斷地避免只為自己設計。 如有疑問，請與用戶進行測試。

完美的設計 (Perfect Design)

放開附件，讓事情發生。 (Letting go of attachments and making things happen.)

Some design-related discussions with a team could easily wind up into heated debates. That’s what happens when everyone cares about what they do, and everyone is passionate with what they believe in. People are good at generating ideas and it’s quite normal to fall in love with an idea. However, it’s risky to get fixated with one idea, especially when it leads to a dead-end.

與團隊進行的一些與設計有關的討論很容易引起激烈的爭論。 當每個人都在乎自己的工作，每個人都對自己的信念充滿熱情時，就會發生這種情況。人們善于產生想法，并且愛上一個想法是很正常的。 但是，被一個想法固定住是有風險的，尤其是當它導致死胡同時。

While there is good design, there is no perfect design. — Alexandra Daisy

雖然有好的設計，但沒有完美的設計。 —亞歷山德拉·黛西

Getting fixated with “The perfect solution” reduces the chances of getting better ones. As a designer, we get to explore ideas. Exploration may require some allocation of time and resources, it could initially seem costly for a startup company. However, there is more to gain from iterating ideas and being agile than getting trapped in a box of restrictions. Eventually, iterations would lead to the correct answers.

被“完美解決方案”所吸引，減少了獲得更好解決方案的機會。 作為設計師，我們可以探索想法。 探索可能需要一定的時間和資源分配，對于一家初創公司而言，開始時似乎代價很高。 但是，迭代思路和敏捷性比陷于限制框里有更多收獲。 最終，迭代將得出正確的答案。

It’s not about an idea, it’s about making an idea happen. — Scott Belsky

這不是一個想法，而是一個想法的實現。 —斯科特·貝爾斯基

Learning to let go is also a sign that we are capable of quieting our own egos and listening to others. As much as we care to get our ideas out, we could also choose to listen to each other in order to move forward toward a common goal.

學會放手也是一種跡象，表明我們有能力使自己的自我消沉并傾聽他人的聲音。 盡管我們很想發掘我們的想法，但我們也可以選擇互相傾聽以邁向一個共同的目標。

最佳實踐 (Best Practices)

遵循最佳設計實踐可能會導致良好的設計，但并非總是如此。 (Following best design practices might lead to good design, but not always.)

As a designer with limited resources, checking out design trends and following best practices could help manage getting things done. Producing a prototype that is consistent with other interfaces could make it easy for people to use, but once in a while, it doesn’t work out. This has been one of the usual dilemma that I struggle with.

作為資源有限的設計師，檢查設計趨勢并遵循最佳實踐可以幫助您完成工作。 生成與其他界面一致的原型可以使人們易于使用，但有時卻無法解決。 這一直是我掙扎的常見難題之一。

“Consistency is the curse of innovation in design … the path to innovation is circuitous and costly, and if your users won’t have many learning opportunities, they may never reach that optimal-performance plateau accessible only after learning has happened.” — Raluca Budiu (NN/g)

“一致性是設計創新的詛咒……創新之路是circuit回曲折且昂貴的，如果您的用戶沒有太多學習機會，他們可能永遠無法達到學習發生后才能達到的最佳性能平臺。” — Raluca Budiu(NN / g)

So yes, we have to be mindful of being consistent with the design conventions that people are used to. It has been found that the more a person performs the same task, the lesser time it takes for them to complete. But depending on who your target users are, it’s possible that design conventions could only be easy to use if users became familiar with it before. This is why it’s always helpful to also learn more about the users and find out whether they have encountered the design that you are going for.

因此，是的，我們必須謹記與人們習慣的設計慣例保持一致。 已經發現，一個人執行相同任務的次數越多，完成任務所需的時間就越短 。 但是取決于您的目標用戶是誰，如果用戶以前熟悉設計約定，則可能很容易使用設計約定。 這就是為什么同時了解更多有關用戶并找出他們是否遇到您想要的設計總是有幫助的原因。

“Anytime someone on your team starts talking about making things consistent, change the conversation to be about what the users’ current knowledge is.” — Jared Spool

“您團隊中的任何人開始談論使事情保持一致時，請將對話更改為與用戶當前的知識有關。” —杰瑞德·史普(Jared Spool)

Our job is to make things easier for people to do their tasks, not only for us to finish our tasks and release the app. Hence, reaching out to users would help us to learn about their previous experiences. We can then navigate our way to the best design approach.

我們的工作是使人們更輕松地完成任務，不僅讓我們完成任務并發布應用。 因此，與用戶聯系將有助于我們了解他們以前的經驗。 然后，我們可以導航到最佳設計方法。

跳入解決方案 (Jumping into solutions)

框架正確的問題，以探索和找到正確的解決方案。 (Frame the right problem in order to explore and find the right solution.)

When working in a startup company that puts importance on being lean and agile, I have realized the need to be concerned with how I spend my time to complete my tasks and to make sure that I’m working in collaboration with my teammates to move a project toward completion. However, it’s quite crucial to pin down what the actual problem is before thinking of solutions, than to nail down a prospective solution and applying it blindly.

在一家注重精益和敏捷的新興公司中工作時，我意識到有必要關注我如何花時間完成任務，并確保與同事合作以移動項目即將完成。 但是，至關重要的是在考慮解決方案之前先確定實際問題，而不是確定預期的解決方案并盲目地應用它。

Don Norman said in an interview that,

唐·諾曼(Don Norman)在接受采訪時說，

“One of the important skills a good designer brings to the table is figuring out what the real problem is.”

“一位優秀設計師帶來的重要技能之一就是弄清楚真正的問題是什么。”

Solving the wrong problem could be costly for a startup and even be a turning point for a company. Don also suggests, “asking why 5 times to find the real problem”. I have learned to adopt a Design Thinking mindset in order to frame the real problem. By emphatizing with the users through user research, we could focus on finding the pain points that will help define what the user needs are.

解決錯誤的問題對于一家初創公司而言可能是昂貴的，甚至對于一家公司而言也是一個轉折點。 唐還建議， “問為什么要 5次發現真正的問題” 。 我學會了采用“ 設計思維”思維方式來解決實際問題。 通過通過用戶研究向用戶強調，我們可以專注于找到有助于定義用戶需求的痛點。

UX購買 (Buy-in for UX)

接受這始終是一場艱苦的戰斗。 (Accept that it always be an uphill battle.)

Like in any workplace, design maturity varies. The Nielsen Norman Group defined 8 stages of Corporate UX Maturity. In my experience, the daily hustle and grind in a startup environment does not necessarily equate or lead to its design maturity. And that’s ok, we work with what we have.

像在任何工作場所一樣，設計成熟度也有所不同。 Nielsen Norman Group定義了公司用戶體驗成熟度的 8個階段。 以我的經驗，在啟動環境中的日常忙碌并不一定等同于或導致其設計成熟。 沒關系，我們將與我們現有的一起工作。

I have worked in an environment where the maturity is more or less 2–4 stages, where UX is somewhat being recognized, with some time and budget allocated for UX activities. It could be hard to ask for more chances to do activities like usability testing, specially when you are caught up with other design-related tasks. I may have not known any better in my earlier days, but “any user data is better than no data.”

我在一個成熟度大約為2-4個階段的環境中工作，其中在某種程度上已經認可了UX，并為UX活動分配了一些時間和預算。 很難要求有更多機會進行諸如可用性測試之類的活動，尤其是在您陷入其他與設計相關的任務時。 我以前可能還沒有更好的了解，但是“ 任何用戶數據總比沒有數據要好 。”

Doing something blindly is a dangerous habit and a risk that the team might not realize before it’s too late. Startup teams work hard to push out a project or a product, previous experiences made me learn that data-driven design with qualitative inputs helps in gaining credibility and buy-in for UX. Solving real problems and identifying usability issues has helped me emphasize the need for better user experience, which eventually helped justify the need to invest in UX activities like user research.

盲目地做某事是一種危險的習慣，也是團隊為時已晚之前可能沒有意識到的風險。 初創團隊努力工作以推出項目或產品，以前的經驗使我了解到，具有定性輸入的數據驅動設計有助于獲得UX的信譽和認可。 解決實際問題并確定可用性問題幫助我強調了對更好的用戶體驗的需求，這最終證明有必要對用戶研究等UX活動進行投資。

反饋 (Feedback)

詢問并提供反饋。 (Ask and give feedback.)

I have worked in a startup environment with a culture of directness and I got used to it. While I learned how to handle criticisms early on, my worst nightmare back then was not being good enough. I also had a difficulty in gauging whether I did a good job or not. Not being good enough still bothers me from time to time, but it’s not enough reason to not ask for feedback or to stop. Because I was the solo designer in a startup company, it was crucial for me to reach out to my teammates so that we could evaluate my design or idea. We could then iterate and move forward.

我在具有直接文化的啟動環境中工作，我已經習慣了。 雖然我很早就學會了如何處理批評，但當時我最糟糕的噩夢還不夠好。 我也很難衡量自己是否做得很好。 不夠好仍然時不時困擾著我，但這是不要求反饋或停止的充分理由。 因為我是一家初創公司的獨立設計師，所以對我來說，與團隊成員取得聯系非常重要，這樣我們才能評估我的設計或想法。 然后，我們可以迭代并繼續前進。

I recently learned that when asking for feedback, it’s better to ask with a specific context than asking if my work is good or not. When giving feedback, it’s not enough to say things like, “I like it.” or “It’s good.” Instead, be specific and ask questions to understand the underlying design decisions. Ask the stupid questions to lead the problem into the right direction or answer.

我最近了解到，在征求反饋意見時，最好是在特定的背景下提問，而不是問我的工作是否好。 提供反饋時，僅說“我喜歡”這樣的話是不夠的。 或“很好。” 相反，要具體并提出問題以理解基礎設計決策。 提出愚蠢的問題 ，將問題引向正確的方向或回答。

一直在學習 (Always be learning)

投資自己。 (Invest in yourself.)

I am not an avid book reader and so I find other ways to learn more. Aside from reading online resources, I also enrolled in online courses (e.g. Coursera, Udacity, or edX).

我不是一個狂熱的讀書者，所以我找到了其他方法來學習更多。 除了閱讀在線資源外，我還注冊了在線課程(例如Coursera，Udacity或edX)。

Working in a startup could mean that you need to shell out your own money or be resourceful to join paid events or trainings. I joined non-design related meetups and conferences like RISE and other open source conferences in Hong Kong. It’s a great way to meet people and prospective clients. You never know what opportunities lie ahead.

在初創公司工作可能意味著您需要掏出自己的錢或者有足夠的才能參加付費活動或培訓。 我參加了與設計無關的聚會和會議，例如RISE和其他在香港舉行的開源會議。 這是結識人們和潛在客戶的好方法。 您永遠不會知道前方有什么機會。

幸存下來的創業者 (Surviving the startup hustle & grind)

There might be days when you find yourself being spread too thin between different tasks. Hence, it’s helpful to develop a means to plan and spend your time wisely. This is also why it’s crucial to be always mindful of moving forward. Reach out to your team mates, collaborate and build trust.

有時候，您會發現自己在不同的任務之間過于分散。 因此，開發一種明智地計劃和花費時間的方法很有幫助。 這也是為什么始終保持前進至關重要的原因。 與您的隊友接觸，合作并建立信任。

I found that miscommunications could easily take place, even in a small team, this is why it’s important to be in the same page with your teammates.

我發現即使在一個很小的團隊中，溝通失誤也很容易發生，這就是為什么與隊友同處很重要的原因。

While we strive to get things done, I learned that my priority as a designer is to ensure that my design accommodates user needs. Which is why it’s quite necessary to explore the possibilities that could solve the right problem at hand. Asking the right questions would eventually lead you to the right answers.

在努力完成工作的同時，我了解到，作為設計師的我的首要任務是確保我的設計滿足用戶需求。 這就是為什么非常有必要探索可以解決當前正確問題的可能性的原因。 提出正確的問題最終將帶您獲得正確的答案。

Be your authentic self. It’s okay stand out and be different. Compete with yourself than with others. Don Norman shares his views on products that all look the same,

做你真實的自己。 可以脫穎而出，與眾不同。 與自己競爭比與他人競爭。 唐·諾曼(Don Norman)分享了他對所有外觀相同的產品的看法，

“Don’t feature match. Don’t design match. It’s about your company, not about your competitors.”

“沒有功能匹配。 不設計比賽。 這是關于您的公司，而不是您的競爭對手。”

Make it a habit to make plans, think of where you want to be, you can figure out how as you go. Always remember that you are enough.

養成制定計劃的習慣，想想自己要去哪里，可以弄清楚自己的行事方式。 永遠記住，你已經足夠了。

This entry is inspired by my previous blog about “What I learned and unlearned as a UX Designer”.

這篇文章的靈感來自于我以前的博客“關于我作為UX設計人員學到和不學到的東西” 。