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Laura Van Doore
@lauravandoore
Building compelling
business cases for
Design Systems
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Design Systems
are here to stay
@lauravandoore
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70%
According to the UXPin Enterprise UX Industry Report
of companies have a Design System
Source: UXPin Enterprise UX Industry Report 2017 to 2018
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How accurate is this for the
audience here today?
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We’re convinced
@lauravandoore
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But this guy isn’t
@lauravandoore
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• Growing design teams
Organisations are investing more in design.
• Infinitely more complex design problems
Software needs to become more sophisticated to keep up
with the demands & desires of our users.
• Distributed teams
Agile delivery models encouraging cross functional teams,
making it harder for teams to stay in sync
Why do product teams want design systems?
@lauravandoore
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Maintaining design & tech debt is starting to feel like this:
But most of all …
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This all makes perfect sense, the
benefits speak for themselves.
This is a no-brainer.
— ME, 4 YEARS AGO
“
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This was going to be me:
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EXPECTATION
REALITY
vs
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So how can we design our business case to
best communicate the clear and tangible
benefits of having a design system?
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UXing your business case
@lauravandoore
THE IMPORTANCE OF
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@lauravandoore
Know your enemy
Audience
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Know your audience
@lauravandoore
• Emphasise benefits that appeal to your audience, not to you
Resist the urge to only focus on the team benefits, and focus on measurable
business benefits instead.
• Write in the parlance of your audience
Avoid jargon and use the language of business to craft your business case.
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Don’t go to war alone
@lauravandoore
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Don’t go to war alone
@lauravandoore
• Get internal buy-in before external
There’s no point in trying to convince upper management that you need a
design system if you haven’t successfully convinced your team yet.
• Form a united, cogent case together
Get designers, developers, BAs, product managers together and get every
teams perspective. You’ll find more and more benefits this way.
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@lauravandoore
Timing is everything
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Timing is everything
@lauravandoore
• Recognise your position in the funding cycle
Is the business investing to scale up? Or is upper management doubling
down on cost reductions? Try to avoid asking for a large investment when
the business is scaling down.
• Present the cure when the pain hurts the worst
If a design system has been a hard sell, focus on waiting for an opportunity
where the benefits can really shine.
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Getting the timing wrong can make
the rest of your case fall over
@lauravandoore
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@lauravandoore
Knowing your audience is half the battle
1
Don’t go to war alone, rally the troops
Time your business case for high impact
2
3
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Translating team benefits to
tangible business outcomes.
@lauravandoore
THE CHALLENGE
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• Consistency — A consistent experience across products & devices
• Efficiency — Efficient workflow & communication across teams
• Maintainability — Easier to test and maintain code
• Accessibility — Baked in accessibility, to create more inclusive products
• Scalability — Less of a headache to build upon through the future
What are the benefits of design systems?
@lauravandoore
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What does it look like if we re-interpret or
translate these benefits into a format
that provide business outcomes?
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Efficient workflow
Team Benefit:
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Business Benefit:
28%
Faster to market
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34%
Less maintenance cost
More maintainable
Team Benefit:
Business Benefit:
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18%
Less support requests
Consistent Interface
Team Benefit:
Business Benefit:
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12%
Potential userbase increase
Accessibility
Team Benefit:
Business Benefit:
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A stable foundation that will
support the next 5 years of
feature growth
Scalability
Team Benefit:
Business Benefit:
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A great business case
@lauravandoore
THE ANATOMY OF
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@lauravandoore
Buckle up
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What are we solving?
Problem Statement
1
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A good problem statement…
@lauravandoore
• Identifies the core problem
• Outlines who’s impacted by the problem
• Describes how this negatively impacts business goals
1 Problem Statement
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Problem selection
@lauravandoore
• Your product team is likely to be impacted by multiple
problems
• Instead of selecting one of your ‘own problems’, UX your
business case by choosing a key business problem.
1 Problem Statement
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What are we gaining from the proposed initiative?
Benefits & ROI
2
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A design system increases ROI largely
because it reduces cost rather than
directly increasing revenue
— BRAD FROST
“
2 Benefits & ROI
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Benefits & ROI
@lauravandoore
• Financials come first
Upper management will usually look for financial benefits first, and then
focus on peripheral benefits, like employee satisfaction.
• Emphasise business outcomes, over team benefits
Remember to frame your business case around tangible business
outcomes, rather than ambiguous benefits.
2 Benefits & ROI
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Cost & Resources
3
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Presenting Cost
@lauravandoore
• Demonstrate that you clearly understand the cost
It’s much easier to persuade the naysayers if you can calculate & clearly
articulate the project costs.
• Present multiple cost scenarios
Give your case a better chance by presenting different cost/resourcing
options to balance the project funding & risk.
3 Costs & Resources
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Risks
4
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Risks of going ahead
@lauravandoore
• Be realistic, rather than utopian
Try to be open and honest about the potential risks. Otherwise your business
case will seem too biased and lose credibility.
• Outline the risks of failure
What’s the worst case scenario?
4 Risks
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Risks of falling behind
@lauravandoore
• There is risk in doing nothing
• Bigger product team = Increased need for design system
As a product team grows larger, there’s more need for standardised ways of
working. The more people you have, the less efficient workflows will be.
4 Risks
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Make sure the reward
outweighs the risk.
@lauravandoore
4 Risks
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Implementation Plan
5
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Delivery
@lauravandoore
• Present a solid roadmap
Show a clear, deliverable scope, as well as your plans to grow & extend the
design system over time.
• Pinpoint where you’ll see a return
Clearly indicate in your delivery plan when and how you’ll start to reap the
benefits of the design system (hint: the sooner the better)
5 Implementation Plan
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@lauravandoore
Problem Statement
1
Benefits & Estimated ROI
Cost & Resources
Risks
2
3
4
Implementation Plan
5
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3 ROLLOUT STRATEGIES
To manage cost & risk
@lauravandoore
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Chip Away
#1
@lauravandoore
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Chip Away
The design system is something that is only worked
on in spare time, or when designers/engineers are
between projects.
@lauravandoore
#1
Cost Risk Speed Quality
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Hibernation
#2
@lauravandoore
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Hibernation
Getting a core team of designers & engineers
working on the Design System full-time. Possibly
allows the time for designers/engineers to come up
with the best implementation.
@lauravandoore
#2
Cost Risk Speed Quality
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Piggyback
#3
@lauravandoore
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Piggyback
Plan to get the bulk of the Design System implemented
as a part of another project. Balances out the cost
better, as you see the returns immediately.
@lauravandoore
#2
Cost Risk Speed Quality
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Chip Away
1
Hibernation
Piggyback
2
3
@lauravandoore
Rollout strategies
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No content
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Problem Statement
Cost Estimation
Benefits & ROI
Implementation
Planning
Risk
Assessment
5
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3
1
2
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Thanks
Laura Van Doore
@lauravandoore