The DesignOps Starter Kit

I gave this talk at the DesignOps Summit hosted by Rosenfeld Media in 2021.

Starting DesignOps at an org feels exciting and daunting at the same time. People who’ve given you the green light are as excited as you – so there’s a bit of pressure to make this work well! In this talk, Michelle will provide a “starter kit” of 10 tips for beginning a DesignOps program—the 10 foundational things she’s learned from establishing DesignOps at her org. Michelle includes how to prepare the program, manage expectations, ensure your success, and keep things sustainable for the long term.

The full kit is on Medium: https://bit.ly/design-ops-starter-kit

Transcript

1. September 29, 2021 | DesignOps Summit
   The DesignOps Starter Kit
   Michelle Chin
   
   
   Principal DesignOps Manager, Citrix
   

   @soysaucechin
   

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2. Background
   Citrix allows people to work from anywhere securely
   

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3. Background
   VP of Design
   Head of Research
   Head of Program Mgmt
   Design Management
   Designers
   Researchers
   Program Managers
   DesignOps Manager
   Product Design Org
   

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4. Background
   My role as a design manager
   People management
   DesignOps
   Design strategy
   Realistically
   I wanted to focus on DesignOps
   

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5. Background
   We were all struggling to get
   operational initiatives done.
   
   
   What if we took everyone’s DesignOps
   slice and gave it to one person?
   
   
   Would that allow the org to
   fi
   nally
   focus on some operational initiatives?
   
   
   Yes, probably!
   

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6. The DesignOps Starter Kit
   • Very exciting - but de
   fi
   nitely
   navigating uncharted territory!
   
   
   • 5 things that might not be as
   obvious, but become essential to an
   up-and-coming DesignOps practice.
   
   
   • Centered around communicating -
   building that trust and con
   fi
   dence.
   

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7. 1. Decide on decision making responsibilities
   • The decisions you make were made
   by others before
   
   
   • Organic decision making doesn’t
   always work for high-stakes efforts
   
   
   • Collaborate on who’s accountable for
   making decisions, and who’s involved
   in feedback
   

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8. 1. Decide on decision making responsibilities
   Top tips
   
   
   • Be explicit on
   decision points
   and feedback
   points
   

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9. 1. Decide on decision making responsibilities
   Top tips
   
   
   • Try a decision
   framework
   
   
   • Look for
   opportunities
   to alleviate
   decision
   fatigue Low
   Medium
   High
   Cost/Resources
   Risk/Impact
   Time Crunch
   Example:
   
   
   Tool end of life
   
   
   3-week deadline
   • DesignOps Manager to lead and
   drive decisions
   
   
   • Must have a small team for
   feedback
   
   
   • Stakeholders and audience to be
   informed quickly
   Example:
   
   
   Tool end of life
   
   
   3-month deadline
   • DesignOps Manager to collaborate
   with a feedback team
   
   
   • Feedback team to include design
   managers, program managers,
   designers
   
   
   • Stakeholders and audience to be
   informed regularly
   

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10. 2. Communicate – everything
    • 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
    con
    fi
    dence
    

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11. 2. Communicate – everything
    Top tips
    
    
    • Communicate
    as much as
    possible and in
    different
    formats
    Slack
    Email Management meetings
    Design shares
    Team meetings
    

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12. 2. Communicate – everything
    Top tips
    
    
    • Things that
    seem
    uninteresting
    to you, might
    be very
    interesting to
    others!
    

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13. 2. Communicate – everything
    Top tips
    
    
    • Provide
    opportunities for
    Q&A
    
    
    • Be approachable
    
    
    • Have 1-1s with
    stakeholders to
    provide that
    open line of
    communication
    Messages
    Meetings
    Of
    fi
    ce hours
    One-on-ones
    Miro boards
    

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14. 3. Start small; scale up
    • Scaling something across the org
    can be daunting
    
    
    • It's rare to get things right the
    fi
    rst
    time
    
    
    • Buys you some
    fl
    exibility
    

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15. 3. Start small; scale up
    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.)
    

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16. 4. Create 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 de
    fi
    ne the DesignOps practice.
    

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17. 4. Create a backlog
    Top tips
    
    
    • Create a
    shareable
    backlog
    
    
    • Periodically
    review it
    

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18. 4. Create a backlog
    Top tips
    
    
    • Lookout for
    yourself – focus
    on your goals
    for the year
    

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19. 5. Create templates on the fly
    • I spend a lot of time communicating
    and forging working relationships
    
    
    • Templates can help streamline your
    work
    fl
    ow
    
    
    • Reusable things include: diagrams,
    checklists, org charts, meeting note
    formats, playbooks, presentations,
    frameworks, etc.
    

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20. 5. Create 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)
    

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21. 5. Create templates on the fly
    Top tips
    
    
    • Find anything
    you can reuse;
    make it
    reusable for
    you and others
    Policies
    Standards
    Strategies
    Managing Chaos: Digital
    Governance by Design
    (Welchman)
    Design System
    Governance
    Policies from the
    company, legal,
    accessibility, etc.
    Our 2021 goals, our
    approach
    Governance processes,
    component usage
    guidelines
    Innovation &
    Planning
    Policies from the
    company, SAFe
    framework
    Our approach and why
    Playbook
    

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22. 5. Create templates on the fly
    Top tips
    
    
    • Iterate and
    evolve, then
    share
    templates so
    others can
    bene
    fi
    t, too
    

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23. 5. Create templates on the fly
    Top tips
    
    
    • Have a
    collection of
    assets to
    quickly jump
    from.
    

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24. 5. Create templates on the fly
    Top tips
    
    
    • They don’t have
    to be
    masterpieces -
    scrappy is
    fi
    ne!
    

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25. The DesignOps Starter Kit
    1. Decide on decision-making
    responsibilities
    
    
    2. Communicate – everything
    
    
    3. Start small; scale up
    
    
    4. Create a backlog
    
    
    5. Create templates on the
    fl
    y
    
    
    Celebrate team wins! Con
    fi
    rm that
    trust and con
    fi
    dence in DesignOps!
    

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26. Thanks!
    • The full DesignOps Starter Kit:
    bit.ly/design-ops-starter-kit
    
    
    • Let’s stay in touch!
    
    
    • LinkedIn: michelletchin
    
    
    • Twitter: @soysaucechin
    
    
    • UX In Real Life – a new podcast
    debuting Oct. 7th
    

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