Utilize service design methods, processes, and tools for DesignOps
Roadmapping, 2×2 prioritization, and data analysis all sound too familiar for product development teams; these are the same essential skills for running a successful Design operation org, especially if we are the DesignOps team-of-one. The product management skills create stability, scalability, and maps out a process.
Care personally and challenge directly is what Kim Scott taught people managers; this is the heart of a DesignOps manager, even if we are the DesignOps team-of-one who doesn’t manage any reports. We lead the entire design team with influence, and we care for the design team with empathy.
How to choose if we had to make a hard decision between people and process? This talk tells my story of transitioning from a product-lead to a DesignOps-lead and lessons I’ve learned in my day-to-day decisions while leading and supporting my design team.
9. Onboarding
Team Building
Process
Team Rituals Communication
Hiring Training Off boarding
Evangelize the value of design, connect designers to opportunities
Culture
HUMAN
CENTER
Millions challenges
no matter what is the
size of the
designOps team
Focus + Prioritize
Day-to-day
12. Start with a Vision
Aligns the team
Visualizes the goal
Helps the team to focus
Helps the team to prioritize
FOCUS
Template credit:Wujec, T. (n.d.). Wicked
Problem Solving | PMI. Retrieved May 1,
2021, from
https://www.pmi.org/wicked-problem-solving
13. DesignOps Vision
For product designers and design leaders who
need a better way to scale design practice, to
develop designers and their skills, and to advocate
the value of design, the designOps is a function
that boosts confidence and skills to untangle
problems, that provides tools and processes for
the design org.
Unlike other operation organizations such as TPM
and dev ops, designOps adapts to the design
maturity of a company, focuses on the core human
needs of the designers, weights people over
process, weights outcome over output.
FOCUS
Template credit:Wujec, T. (n.d.). Wicked
Problem Solving | PMI. Retrieved May 1,
2021, from
https://www.pmi.org/wicked-problem-solving
15. High impact
Low impact
High
feasibility
Low
feasibility
Improve process to reduce
workload so that designers
can focus on deep thinking
Recognition (internal and
external)
Rapid scale the team to
meet the demand
Product design team
members have a
better understanding
of how to level up
Product Design Leadership is
able to consistently
communicate with the team to
set realistic expectations and
ensure confidence in strategy.
Product design team members
have resources and software(s)
to be successful in our roles
Folks at CF begin to
understand what does product
design team do, and how our
members make our
contributions to the business
FOCUS
Ruthless
prioritization
16. FOCUS
High impact
Low impact
High
feasibility
Low
feasibility
Improve process to reduce
workload so that designers
can focus on deep thinking
Recognition (internal and
external)
Rapid scale the team to
meet the demand
Product design team
members have a
better understanding
of how to level up
Product Design Leadership is
able to consistently
communicate with the team to
set realistic expectations and
ensure confidence in strategy.
Product design team members
have resources and software(s)
to be successful in our roles
Folks at CF begin to
understand what does product
design team do, and how our
members make our
contributions to the business
Ruthless
prioritization
18. COLLABORATIVE
Nuances of
delivery team (ICs)
vs. people
managing team Engineers
Understand the
Technology
Product Manager
Understand the
Business
Product
Managers
TPM
Engineers
Engineer
Managers
PM
Directors
Designer
Understand the
Customers
Designer
Design
managers
Design
Directors
Engineering
Directors
19. Engineers
Understand the
Technology
Product Manager
Understand the
Business
COLLABORATIVE
Product
Managers
TPM
Engineers
Engineer
Managers
PM
Directors
Engineering
Directors
HR
Recruiting
Team
Finance
IT
Sourcing
Procurement
Event
Facility
Education
D&I
Understand the
complexity of the
company, how this
machine operates
Designer
Understand the
Customers
Designer
Design
managers
Design
Directors
20. COLLABORATIVE
Designer
Understand the
Customers
Operationalize it
Model behavior, teach
and facilitate the team to
work as balanced team
Build infrastructure for
teams to collaborate
Project Intake
Collaboration
with
TPM/PM/EM
Allocation)
Team Norming
Stakeholder
check in
Team Retro
Product
Requirement
Documentation
Critique
26. SEQUENCE
ITERATIVE
HOLISTIC
Improve hiring process
43 days to fill the position vs. 92 days
900 minutes total time spent for
designers vs. 1500 minutes
Introduce new research tools
Research synthesis time reduced by 65%
900 unmoderated studies run in 2/weeks
Invest in design system
3,956 component imports
48%of all UI tickets use the Component Library
Measure designOps KPI
Increasing operational
efficiency
27. 40%
13% 33% 13%
22%
12% 51% 15%
0% 50% 0% 50% 100%
I have opportunities to learn and develop in my career
● I have confidence in our senior leadership team
● I see myself working here a year from now
● The resources and tools I have enable me to be successful in my role
● I receive the cross-functional support I need to do my job well
● I feel appreciated and recognized for my contributions
SEQUENCE
ITERATIVE
HOLISTIC
Measure designOps
Success— Team Health
DesignOps’ impact is
more that the time
saved, more than the
money saved.
33. We can apply the same definition for service design from the UK
design council to designOps:
Make our DesignOps service:
useful, usable, efficient, effective and desirable.
37. Template credit:Wujec, T. (n.d.). Wicked
Problem Solving | PMI. Retrieved May 1,
2021, from
https://www.pmi.org/wicked-problem-solving
Examples credit: Members of product
design team at Cloudflare
TEMPLATE
& EXAMPLES
