Boost Team Collaboration: 4 Practical Table Templates to Supercharge Design Workflow

1. Definitions of Collaboration Efficiency

Collaboration means working together toward a common goal. Efficiency, as defined in the Modern Chinese Dictionary, refers to the powerful effect inherent in an activity, reflecting both the correctness of goal selection and the degree of its achievement. High efficiency, described in Stephen Covey’s "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," is the balance between output (P) and capacity (PC), illustrated by the fable of a goose that lays golden eggs.

To improve collaboration efficiency, one must balance production and capacity, control time and effort, understand the purpose of collaboration, prioritize tasks, and ensure mutually beneficial outcomes while continuously iterating.

2. Four Table Templates to Improve Efficiency

01 Schedule Table – Clarify Priorities and Process

During early requirement communication, two main demand types appear: iterative demands that follow version cycles and large‑scale promotional demands with fixed launch dates. Both require evaluation of priority, goals, urgency, and resource allocation. Using the schedule table in projects such as JD’s Member Store and Coupon Center helped split modules, prioritize work, and reduce communication time.

02 Requirement Plan Table – Real‑time, Convenient Access to All Requirement Elements

The traditional image‑based output caused version chaos, size limits, and missing linked information. By switching to CF documents and a structured table, the team kept the latest version online, controlled image size, and allowed multiple information types, reducing unnecessary communication and deepening project understanding.

03 Review Table – TO‑DO List Style Walk‑through

Traditional design reviews relied on designers recording issues, which does not scale for large, multi‑team projects. Using a review table turned the process into a gamified TO‑DO list, allowing all participants to see submitted issues instantly, synchronize fixes, lower communication cost, and ensure smooth resolution.

04 Iteration Tracking Table – Systematic Requirement Management

Inspired by the article "Seeing Both Trees and Forest," this table focuses on the underlying goals and data feedback of each demand, encouraging a start‑to‑end, closed‑loop mindset. It helped the team monitor long‑term impact, observe launch timing and post‑launch metrics, and manage requirements more proactively.

These four tables, applied throughout the full requirement lifecycle, saved time and effort, reduced communication overhead, and fostered a systematic, goal‑oriented approach to demand management.