From Design Systems to DesignOps: Establishing DesignOps at your org

This is a talk I gave at Into Design Systems (https://intodesignsystems.com/) in 2022.

Many design system designers and organizers take a natural path into DesignOps. If you're on the fence about going into DesignOps, I cover a few reasons why you might want to try DesignOps. If you start a DesignOps practice, my talk includes lessons learned and top tips for being a DesignOps team of one.

Transcript

1. From Design Systems to
   Design Ops
   Establishing DesignOps at your org
   Michelle Chin
   Design Advocate
   @soysaucechin
   Into Design Systems 2022
   

   View Slide

2. I’m at zeroheight now Before, I was at Citrix.
   Citrix allows people to work from
   anywhere securely
   Background
   

   View Slide

3. Background
   VP of Design
   DesignOps Manager
   Design Management
   Product Designers
   Researchers
   Program Managers
   Head of Research
   Head of Program Mgmt
   2021: Citrix’s Product Design Team
   

   View Slide

4. Background
   My path at Citrix always included Design Ops
   Product designer Design manager DesignOps manager
   

   View Slide

5. Should you start doing DesignOps?
   You might be a good fit if you:
   ● Like operationalizing systems and
   helping build efficiencies
   ● Like seeing your teammates succeed
   ● Like the idea of your customers being
   your teammates
   ● Want to try a different type of “design”
   

   View Slide

6. Lessons learned
   Navigated a lot of uncharted territory!
   ● 3 things I wish I did differently - and how
   you can avoid these mistakes
   ● 5 things I did well - why they worked and
   top tips
   

   View Slide

7. 1. Have leadership level-set with the org
   Missed opportunity
   DesignOps wasn’t introduced as an official
   discipline in the org
   Impact
   People took this as my personal goal, not as a
   part of the org’s evolution.
   ● Projects were seen as my personal
   projects, when they were org-wide
   initiatives
   

   View Slide

8. 1. Have leadership level-set with the org
   Change
   Our VP explained what DesignOps is in our org.
   Takeaway
   ● Have your leadership announce
   “DesignOps” - what it means for your org,
   you, teammates, etc.
   ● One slide / 30 seconds at an org-wide
   meeting will make a difference!
   

   View Slide

9. 2. Solicit projects based on obvious pain points
   Missed opportunity
   Projects leadership and I decided on were
   important, but maybe not the biggest pain
   points of the org.
   Impact
   People felt there were my personal projects,
   not something addressing their immediate
   needs.
   

   View Slide

10. 2. Solicit projects based on obvious pain points
    Change
    Listened for the biggest pain points with the
    org and made them a priority with other
    initiatives
    Takeaway
    ● Talk to teammates; collaboratively
    identify the biggest pain points
    ● Working on these shows you’re working
    things that impact the team
    

    View Slide

11. 3. Give DesignOps a definition
    Missed opportunity
    We defined DesignOps in terms of projects,
    but didn’t defined it at a high-level
    Impact
    ● Teammates made up their own definition
    of DesignOps
    ● Teammates didn’t always understand
    how DesignOps was helping them
    

    View Slide

12. Change
    We created a definition of DesignOps to
    socialize
    Takeaways
    ● Define what DesignOps means for the
    org in the short term. (It can change!)
    ● Make it easy to remember, e.g.,
    “DesignOps means housekeeping so
    designers don’t have to.”
    3. Give DesignOps a definition
    

    View Slide

13. Lessons learned along the way
    1. Have leadership level-set with the org
    2. Solicit projects based on obvious pain points
    3. Give DesignOps a definition
    

    View Slide

14. 1. Created open lines of communication
    ● You’re working in somewhat uncharted
    territory - people will be just as excited as
    you!
    ● People have different mental models of
    DesignOps
    ● They might not fully understand what
    you’re working on or how you’d doing
    things
    ● You’re kind of the DesignOps
    spokesperson - help build that trust and
    confidence
    

    View Slide

15. 1. Created open lines of communication
    Top tips
    Communicate as much as
    possible and in different formats
    ● Team meetings
    ● Design reviews
    ● Office hours
    ● Slack
    

    View Slide

16. 1. Created open lines of communication
    Top tips
    Things that seem
    uninteresting to you, might
    be very interesting to
    others!
    

    View Slide

17. 1. Created open lines of communication
    Top tips
    ● Provide opportunities for Q&A
    ● Be approachable
    ● Have 1-1s with stakeholders to
    provide that open line of
    communication
    

    View Slide

18. 2. Experimented by starting small
    ● Scaling something across the org can
    be daunting
    ● It's rare to get things right the first time
    ● Buys you some flexibility
    

    View Slide

19. 2. Experimented by starting small
    Top tips
    ● Create pilots where you can. Pilots can
    scale and people are more OK with
    pilots.
    ● If you can’t pilot, then get as much
    feedback as you can (users,
    stakeholders, peers, etc.)
    

    View Slide

20. 3. Created a backlog
    ● People will be inspired and want more!
    ● People understand DesignOps in their
    own special way.
    ○ “Doesn’t DesignOps include [random
    task]?”
    ○ “Isn’t [random task] Michelle’s
    responsibility?”
    ● A backlog can help you and others
    pace and define the DesignOps
    practice.
    

    View Slide

21. 3. Created a backlog
    Top tips
    ● Create a shareable backlog
    ● Periodically review it
    

    View Slide

22. 3. Created a backlog
    Top tips
    ● Lookout for yourself – focus on your
    goals for the year
    

    View Slide

23. 4. Created templates on the fly
    ● I spend a lot of time communicating and
    forging working relationships
    ● Templates can help streamline your
    workflow
    ● Reusable things include: diagrams,
    checklists, org charts, meeting note
    formats, playbooks, presentations,
    frameworks, etc.
    

    View Slide

24. 4. Created templates on the fly
    Top tips
    Find anything you can reuse; make it reusable
    for you and others
    Guide to: Benchmarking Your Design System (InVision)
    

    View Slide

25. 4. Created templates on the fly
    Top tips
    Find anything you can reuse; make it reusable
    for you and others
    Managing Chaos:
    Digital Governance
    by Design
    (Welchman)
    Policies
    Strategies
    Standards
    Company policies: Legal,
    accessibility, etc.
    Our 2021 goals, approach
    Governance processes;
    component usage guidelines
    

    View Slide

26. 4. Created templates on the fly
    Top tips
    Iterate and evolve, then share templates so
    others can benefit, too
    

    View Slide

27. 4. Created templates on the fly
    Top tips
    Have a collection of assets to quickly jump from.
    

    View Slide

28. 4. Created templates on the fly
    Top tips
    They don’t have to be masterpieces - scrappy is fine!
    

    View Slide

29. 5. Articulated DesignOps wins
    You’ll be DesignOps’s biggest advocate - don’t
    stay quiet
    Top tips
    ● Mention the impact you’re making
    (quantitatively and qualitatively)
    ● Think creatively on how you can
    showcase your work (road shows, status
    updates, org-wide meetings)
    ● Celebrate DesignOps wins with the team
    

    View Slide

30. 5. Articulated DesignOps wins
    VP of Design
    DesignOps Manager
    Design Management
    Product Designers
    Researchers
    Program Managers
    Head of Research
    Head of Program Mgmt
    2021: Citrix’s Product Design Team
    Head of DesignOps
    

    View Slide

31. 5. Articulated DesignOps wins
    Impact
    ● Showed the value of DesignOps to
    establish it as a discipline
    ● Able to tackle a lot more
    ● Can specialize in various aspects of
    DesignOps
    

    View Slide

32. Thanks
    The full DesignOps Starter Kit:
    bit.ly/design-ops-starter-kit
    LinkedIn: michelletchin
    Twitter: @soysaucechin
    Talk to me directly: bit.ly/zheroes-slack
    UX IRL - a podcast about UX in real life and at
    work
    

    View Slide