Setbacks, Conflict, and the Messy Middle of Product Work

Config 2021, Figma’s two-day virtual design conference, covered plenty of ground on team culture and scalable processes. But the sessions that resonated most were about what happens when those systems break down: delays, rollbacks, and interpersonal friction. Two talks in particular—from Shopify Senior Designer Shanique Shields and Headspace Lead Product Designer Frank Bach—offered practical advice for navigating the uncomfortable moments that define product development.

Reframing Failure as Data

Shields opened her session with a story about a project she had spent a year and a half on, only to watch the team decide to roll the feature back. Her initial reaction was personal: “I felt like a failure. I didn’t know how to fix it.” The turning point came when she stepped away from the work and gained enough distance to treat the experience as a learning opportunity rather than a verdict on her abilities. “I realized that maybe I was too close to my work and I needed to take a step back,” she said.

Reflecting on that experience, Shields shared four principles for surviving a project that doesn’t ship:

  • It’s not about you. Feedback is rarely a reflection on you or your craft. More often, it’s a stakeholder or client approaching the problem from a different angle.
  • Document everything. Even when a project dies, your thought process, comments, and notes become artifacts. Future designers—and future you—can learn from what you tried and why.
  • Be intentional with your growth. Before diving in, ask what you’ll get from the project: a new skill, exposure to another part of the business, or a chance to pair with a cross-functional partner.
  • Hype yourself up. Failure stings, but the next workstream is a fresh start. Use it to rally your team around a new shared goal.

Shields admitted that her initial framing was harsher: “Initially I felt like I had wasted a year of my life on this project.” After the exercise, though, she landed somewhere more useful: “I realized that I’m actually proud and learned so much.”

Leaning Into Hard Conversations

Communication breakdowns happen even on teams with strong culture and solid systems. Bach’s advice for those moments of friction is straightforward: get more transparent, not less. “Try to be as transparent as possible and try to really hear what the other person has to say,” he said.

Having the tough conversation early beats letting resentment accumulate. Bach’s framing: “Try to be candid, objective, and step into your courageous heart to have that tough conversation and try to get through it. You can’t get anywhere if you ignore the friction.”

He also stressed the importance of recognizing what’s going well. His primary recommendation was practicing gratitude—for the work itself, for the team you get to collaborate with. It’s a low-cost habit that counterbalances the weight of difficult moments.

Both talks circled the same theme: the messiest parts of product work—failed projects, uncomfortable talks—are often where the real growth happens. The full Config 2021 sessions are available on Figma’s YouTube channel.