Turning a client's idea into software that works, feels intuitive and is sustainable to develop is one of the biggest challenges in any digital project.
Too often you witness a communication short circuit: the client explains a business need in their own terms, the development team quite rightly thinks in terms of architectures, databases and lines of code, and somewhere in between you risk losing sight of usability and the real objectives.
This is exactly the space my role fills: a connecting figure who brings together UI/UX design skills, a practical understanding of the frontend and the management of project coordination.
I'm not the person who defines the structural choices or the project's technical infrastructure. Mine is a role of facilitation and coordination, where teamwork is essential. I work day to day with frontend and backend colleagues who have deep, vertical expertise in the code, acting as an interpreter to hand the team requirements that are clear, analyzed and ready for development.
The way of working: from listening to architecture on Figma
The value of this approach comes through in a process structured in three key phases, designed to eliminate misunderstandings and optimize the whole team's time.
1. Gathering information in direct contact with the client
It all starts with a direct conversation. Engaging with whoever commissions the software makes it possible to gather the requirements at the source, understand the business processes and define who will use the tool. The goal is to grasp the “why” behind every request, removing the intermediate steps that so often distort requirements before they reach the people writing the code.
2. High-level architecture on Figma
Once the information is gathered, we move on to visual design. I don't just draw pleasant-looking screens; I set up a high-level architecture by visually mapping the main usability flows:
- How does the user move through the application?
- What are the decision points and the logical steps of the software?
- How are error states or exceptions handled visually?
Having frontend skills lets me build this architecture already knowing, broadly speaking, how the code will react. I make sure every design choice is structurally sound and already geared toward efficient, sustainable development for the team.
3. Giving shape to ideas
Showing the client a navigable flow on Figma makes the abstract concrete. The client doesn't have to strain to imagine the software by reading a cold technical document: they can see it and immediately understand whether their request was interpreted correctly. This is the moment when course corrections are made at zero cost, before the team touches the code.
Coordination and collaboration
Once the flow is validated by the client, my role shifts to coordinating the project together with the team. This is where the facilitator role becomes strategic for the internal workflow.
A common language
Understanding the logic of development lets me manage the design handoff in a clear and immediate way. I speak the same language as the developers: being able to talk in terms of components, properties or API calls keeps explanation time to a minimum and eliminates technical misunderstandings.
Constant dialogue with the team
Decisions about the software's structure or how the code is implemented remain the development team's domain. My role is to involve colleagues from the very first graphic drafts, showing them the flows on Figma, listening to their considerations and using their feedback both to improve the design and to better plan the stages of the work.
Orderly requirements management
Taking ownership of the relationship and the coordination means delivering to the development team only mature, well-defined specifications. This avoids misunderstandings or constant changes of direction along the way, allowing developers to fully concentrate and work toward clear objectives that have already been analyzed and approved.
The 3 benefits of this approach for a software project
For a company that wants to build a digital product, having someone who oversees both the listening and the logic of design and coordination brings tangible benefits.
- 1
Keeping “surprises” during development to a minimum. Technical feasibility is built in from day one on Figma. You only design what is sustainable and useful, optimizing budgets.
- 2
Reduced time-to-market. The Figma files are already structured with a component-based logic (very close to frameworks like React or Vue). This speeds up the work of the frontend developers, who don't have to interpret the design but only translate it into code.
- 3
Unity and alignment. The client feels heard and sees their ideas take shape quickly; the development team works from clear, precise specifications.
In short
Design and development should never travel on parallel tracks that never meet. Putting yourself in the client's shoes to understand their business, mapping the flows clearly on Figma and coordinating the project while respecting and making the most of the developers' technical skills is the only way to build successful digital products. It's teamwork, where the facilitator makes sure everyone is rowing in the same direction.
Francesco Donati
Have an idea to turn into software?
At Codebaker we start by listening: we understand your business, map the flows on Figma and show you the product before writing a single line of code. Let's talk.
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