Design Your Design Organization / Kristin Skinner

As companies of all sizes continue to accelerate building design capabilities, there is still very little common wisdom on what makes for a successful design team and organisation. Some of the most common issues that design teams face - including limited time and resources, involving the right people and teams, and lack of proven value - can often have an outsized impact on designer happiness and design team success.

Kristin will share her experience on how design organizations can best grow, and what this might mean for designers and the future of design in Israel. This talk will provide a mix of practical takeaways with a focus on the essential elements that design organizations need to be most effective - Design People, Design Practice, and Design Platforms - and to best support happier designers, better designers, and more effective teams.

Transcript

2. Design Your Design Organization KRISTIN SKINNER Founder at &GSD orgdesignfordesignorgs.com @bettay UXI LIVE 2020
3. To deliver a great user experience … I just need to get the design right strategy organization
4. Realizing the Potential of Design
5. “90 percent of companies weren’t reaching the full potential of design, even as, in the past five years, double the number of companies have added senior design roles to their organization.” - McKinsey Design Index (MDI) Survey, February 2020
6. Source: DesignBetter ‘s The New Design Frontier, 2019
7. Source: Forrester
8. GENERATES NEW BUSINESS VALUE SOFTWARE IS EATING THE WORLD 2004 2011 Why are Companies Investing in Design?
9. ORG DESIGN FOR DESIGN ORGS BUILDING AND MANAGING IN-HOUSE DESIGN TEAMS
10. Design is Service Design
11. Day 1 Week 1 06 EXAMPLE OF A JOURNEY: ASSOCIATE ONBOARDING Recruitment Interview Offer Onboarding Apply on LinkedIn Phone/video interview In-person interview Offer call Appreciation Offer email Welcome email and package Welcome entry Outfitting Orientation session EXISTING EXPERIENCE FUTURE EXPERIENCE Learn of opening Your basics Pre-Day 1 Bird’s eye Welcome lunch Work safari Goals session Removing a second application step Applying includes your cover letter or portfolio
12. Design . . . Generates value Tames software complexity Coheres service experiences Enhances all practices Defines new offerings Informs planning
13. 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations
14. Foundation 1. Shared sense of purpose 2. Focused, empowered leadership 3. Authentic user empathy 4. Understand, articulate, and create value 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations Management 9. Treat team members as people, not resources 10. Diversity of perspective and background 11. Foster a collaborative environment 12. Manage operations effectively Output 5. Support the entire journey 6. Delivers at all levels of scale 7. Establish and uphold standards of quality 8. Value delivery over perfection Source: Org Design for Design Orgs
15. Foundation 1. Shared sense of purpose 2. Focused, empowered leadership 3. Authentic user empathy 4. Understand, articulate, and create value 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations Management 9. Treat team members as people, not resources 10. Diversity of perspective and background 11. Foster a collaborative environment 12. Manage operations effectively Output 5. Support the entire journey 6. Delivers at all levels of scale 7. Establish and uphold standards of quality 8. Value delivery over perfection Source: Org Design for Design Orgs
16. Foundation 1. Shared sense of purpose 2. Focused, empowered leadership 3. Authentic user empathy 4. Understand, articulate, and create value 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations Management 9. Treat team members as people, not resources 10. Diversity of perspective and background 11. Foster a collaborative environment 12. Manage operations effectively Output 5. Support the entire journey 6. Delivers at all levels of scale 7. Establish and uphold standards of quality 8. Value delivery over perfection Source: Org Design for Design Orgs
17. Lack of focus on the 12 Qualities . . . • Trouble coordinating internally, particularly around process, communications, and file management • Fragmented decision-making • Difficulty collaborating with other parts of the organization • Inappropriate staffing on projects and programs • Lack of visibility into related work streams or duplicate effort • Non-existent measurement
18. Org Models for Design Teams
19. Centralized Internal Services aka your in-house agency Project-based, organized by function PROS Strong design community Clear lines of authority Wide range of projects Interface consistency Efficiencies of work product Optimized headcount
 CONS Design is not strategic Little influence on important “upstream” decisions Designers point of view easily dismissed Us vs Them Business unit disconnection
20. Decentralized and Embedded aka “Everyone Gets A Designer!” Program-based PROS Business units gain control Part of the team Design included throughout entire lifecycle Feeling of ownership Quick iterations post-launch
 CONS One narrow problem for a long time Lonely Less efficient use of time and people Fractured user experience
21. D D DP P P P P P E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E DE DESIGN 
 PRODUCT
 MGMT ENGINEERING Search/ Browse Product Page Checkout Personalization UGC/ Reviews D D D DD Leadership Decentralized and Embedded
22. D D DP P P P P P E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E DE DESIGN 
 PRODUCT
 MGMT ENGINEERING Search/ Browse Product Page Checkout Personalization UGC/ Reviews D D D DD Leadership
23. S S DP P P P P P E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E DE D D D DD DESIGN 
 PRODUCT
 MGMT ENGINEERING Search/ Browse Product Page Checkout Personalization UGC/ Reviews Leadership CS
24. S S DP P P P P P E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E DE D D DD DESIGN 
 PRODUCT
 MGMT ENGINEERING Search/ Browse Product Page Checkout Personalization UGC/ Reviews Leadership Centralized Partnership CS
25. Centralized Partnership aka, best of both worlds Designers supported in career, development, 
 and day-to-day. Design teams maintain commitment across a meaningful set of products/features. Centralization helps maintain a holistic view across the entire customer experience. Freedom to shift after ‘tours of duty’. Not disrupted by inevitable re-organizations.
26. Organize for the customer journey
27. Let’s say you have a set of product teams… Growth Seller Tools Search/ Browse Product Page Shopping Cart and Checkout Reviews
28. Keep teams focused on customer types Buyer Design 
 Team Seller Design
 Team Growth Seller Tools Search/ Browse Product Page Shopping Cart and Checkout Reviews S S D D TL S S D D TL Buyer 
 Experience Seller 
 Experience
29. Make an Appointment Buyer Design 
 Team Seller Design
 Team S S D D TL S S D D TL Growth Seller Tools Search/ Browse Product Page Shopping Cart and Checkout Reviews Buyer 
 Experience Seller 
 Experience D Keep teams focused on customer types
30. One Design Organization to tie it all together, organized by Customer Journey management marketing engineering manufacturing sales support design
31. …which requires a lot of skills! Software Products Hardware Products Environments Communications Interaction Design Information Architecture Visual Design Prototyping Industrial Design Wayfinding
 Interior Architecture Brand Identity Design Graphic Design Information Design Motion Graphics Packaging The Journey Service Design Content Copywriting
 Content Strategy Videography Photography Research Ethnographic research Usability testing Quantitative studies
32. Structure of each design team 4-7 folks Singular strong leadership • Manages down – gets the most and best out of their team • Manages across – collaborates with cross-functional partners • Manages up – presents to executives and other stakeholders Best organized around business problems, not functions Spread of skills – strategy, planning, research, IxD, IA, writing, visual design, prototyping 10,000 ft 1 ft 10 ft 100 ft 1,000 ft S S D D DD CS
33. …and presence at all levels of scale 1 ft Surface Typography, colour, layout, interface design, spacing, animation, transitions 10,000 ft 1,000 ft The Big Picture Integrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits 100 ft Strategy Requirements, briefs, desired results, planning, vision, 
 campaign concepts 10 ft Structure Flows, service blueprints, wireframes, wayfinding, navigation, 
 brand standards and guidelines, visual language
34. The 5 Stages of Design Org Evolution
35. Stage 1: The Initial Pair HD PD Head of Design •creative •managerial •operational •(and, at this stage,
 a maker) Product Designer • Structure and/or • Surface
36. HD PD PD PD CS CD PD Content Strategist •Voice and tone •Content structure •Copywriting Communication Designer • Visual designers • Online and offline • Brand • Information design Stage 2: Full Team
37. HD PD PD CS TL PD PD CS UXR CD PD Team Lead •People manager •Domain expertise UX Researcher •Generative and evaluative •Highly leveraged Head of Design, revisited •Struggles with scale •Might need a new one Stage 3: From Design Team to Design Org
38. DM HD PD PD CS CD PD DL PD CS CD PD DpM TL PD PD CS PD UXR UXR SD Service Designer •Strategy and Structure •Integrates across teams Design Practice Manager •Process, communication and prioritization •Organizational effectiveness Design Lead •Might be Team Lead •People manager •Still practices Stage 4: Coordination to Manage Complexity
39. Stage 5: Distributed Leadership HD UXR DpM DpM UXR DD DD CrD UXR UXR CT CT PD PD CS PD PD PD CS PD DL PD PD CS CD PD PD PD CS CD PD SD SD PD CS CD PD PD CS CD PD DR Design Director •Oversees a swath of teams/experiences •Integrates across teams TL TL DL DL DL Creative Director •Focused solely on creative leadership •Establishes quality standards Director of Research •Leads research team/ efforts •Insights hub Creative Technologist •Prototypes new experiences •Creates Design System
40. The Roles, Revisited Leadership Head of Design Design Lead/Director Creative Director Team Lead Director of Research Director of Design Management Design Practice Manager
 Core Design Product Designer Communication Designer Content Strategist UX Researcher Service Designer Design Program Manager Creative Technologist
41. What are the most common challenges?
42. Limited time or resources The most common barriers reported: Involving the right people or teams Lack of proven value source: 2019 DesignOps Summit Survey
43. The most common sentiment around answering our question about measuring value... ¯\_(π)_/¯
44. 62% either weren’t sure or hadn’t quite figured it out yet. source: 2019 DesignOps Summit Survey
45. Every org has unique constraints The most common reasons: Bound by where your org is in its journey Conflict between what we need to measure vs what we’re able to measure vs how our teams contribute source: 2019 DesignOps Summit Survey Misconceptions about measurement There is no industry standard within design
46. What does change look like for your team?
47. What does change look like for your team?
48. A Design Org Framework proposed ^
49. “People spend 60% of their time on what they call work about work, which means trying to figure out who’s doing what, when, and why.” - Chris Farinacci, COO Asana
50. Design Management and Operations Recruiting Retention Recognition
 Role Definition
 Employee experience Levels/Career Paths Performance Reviews Compensation “Talent Brand” Planning/Prioritization Schedules Budgets Headcount Measurement Tools Facilities
 Policies
 Staffing Agencies/Contractors Better Designers More Effective Teams Happier Designers Design People Design Practice Design Platform Professional development
 Skills building
 Training/education
 Content development
 Methodology / process descriptions Internal Events By Kristin Skinner. Please use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
51. Day 1 Week 1 06 EXAMPLE OF A JOURNEY: ASSOCIATE ONBOARDING Recruitment Interview Offer Onboarding Apply on LinkedIn Phone/video interview In-person interview Offer call Appreciation Offer email Welcome email and package Welcome entry Outfitting Orientation session EXISTING EXPERIENCE FUTURE EXPERIENCE Learn of opening Your basics Pre-Day 1 Bird’s eye Welcome lunch Work safari Goals session Removing a second application step Applying includes your cover letter or portfolio
52. Design Management and Operations Recruiting Retention Recognition
 Role Definition
 Employee experience Levels/Career Paths Performance Reviews Compensation “Talent Brand” Planning/Prioritization Schedules Budgets Headcount Measurement Tools Facilities
 Policies
 Staffing Agencies/Contractors Better Designers More Effective Teams Happier Designers Design People Design Practice Design Platform Professional development
 Skills building
 Training/education
 Content development
 Methodology / process descriptions Internal Events By Kristin Skinner. Please use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
53. What it means to measure Design
54. Measures are focused on what customers care about Some best practices for measuring Design: Measures are wrapped around the product design process Measurement techniques mixed methods and domains Measurement follows a framework, not a fixed set of metrics Measurement spans journeys and dimensions of an experience
55. Google Heart Framework ! ! ! ! • small set of key objectives that the team agrees on • goals may be product-level or task-level • focus on how design improvements will help the user experience GOALS SIGNALS METRICS ! ! ! • map goals to lower level signals • how might success or failure of the goal manifest in user behavior or attitudes? • what signals will be most sensitive to changes in the design? ! ! ! • selected metrics for your chosen signals • metrics that can be obtained and tracked over time or in focused tests source: Kerry Rodden, the HEART framework for UX Metrics Makes time and space for measurement throughout the product design process
56. ! ! ! ! • a solution agnostic statement • not about the company winning • you can explain it to a friend who doesn’t work in tech • explains the why of what’s happening, not just the what • is emotional and social What problem are we trying to solve for people? How do we know this is a real problem? How will we know if we’re successful? • qualitative and quantitative evidence that this is a worthwhile problem to solve, e.g. • analytics data • qualitative research • dogfooding and beta tests • qual and quant evidence, e.g. • more people joining groups • people sharing more feedback than before • uptick in feature use • customers who use a feature level feel better than those who don’t source: Julie Zhuo, the NextWeb Conference Facebook Framework Teams use frameworks and mixed methods to think through the right UX measures for each product and service
57. The 8 Types of Measures for Design Orgs The following taxonomy represents the 8 types of measurement that we have identified from responses to our community survey Source: 2019 DesignOps Summit Survey, compiled by Abby Covert. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
58. The 8 Types of Measures for DesignOps Source: 2019 DesignOps Summit Survey, compiled by Abby Covert. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks. The following taxonomy represents the 8 types of measurement that we have identified from responses to our community survey
59. “What does change look like for your team?”
60. Thank you KRISTIN SKINNER Founder at &GSD orgdesignfordesignorgs.com @bettay UXI LIVE 2020