6 UX Methods that Help Design Program Managers Impact Teams
I have spent the past 15 years as a Design Program Manager at various Silicon Valley technology companies on different UX teams. One important thing I’ve discovered along the way is that many of the UX best practices used by UX Designers to solve customer problems can also be used by Design Program Managers to solve operational problems that negatively affect teams.
While consulting at a large Silicon Valley company, I had an epiphany! A fellow Design Program Manager colleague described our role as “UX for the UXers.” I instantly loved this way of thinking about our role. It differentiates the UX Program Manager/Design Program Manager/Design Producer (whatever you choose to call it) from a typical Program Manager because it focuses on the UX expertise, knowledge and skills needed to do our jobs effectively.
Design Program Managers do, in fact, use many of the same best practices and techniques as standard Program Managers such as: resource management, capacity planning, and project management methodologies. However, we have another skill that makes us even more valuable to teams. We can evaluate and evolve UX processes and frameworks to help people do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Design Program Managers essentially design user experiences for internal users: the UX team. More significant than that, the processes Design Program Managers create also benefit several other key teams that the UX team interfaces with such as Product Management and Engineering. So our role has the potential to have far more impact than merely managing resources and meeting deadlines.
Using popular UX techniques, Design Program Managers can positively impact several cross-functional teams and the end-to-end flow of UX projects from inception to launch.
The best part is, you don’t need to be a UX Designer to utilize UX methods in your role as a Design Program Manager. Below are some UX techniques and approaches I’ve used at different companies that have helped me establish value as a Design Program Manager. Over the years, I’ve found these approaches work well to engage team members and create a collaborative team environment, especially when it comes to introducing new processes and ways of working.
1. Understand your teams
Whenever I start a new role as a Design Program Manager, the first thing I do is learn about the people I’m working with and the teams involved in the UX process. Just as understanding and empathizing with users is essential when designing a product, understanding and empathizing with your team members is essential to being effective as a Design Program Manager. Here are some questions to ask as you begin: Who is involved in the UX process? Are those people individual contributors, executive leaders or managers? At what points are they involved in the UX process? What are their main pain points? How is information being communicated from one group to another?
2. Identify the right problems
One of the fundamental rules in UX is you have to understand the problem you are trying to solve before you can solve it. When starting on a new team as a Design Program Manager (or even evolving your current role), it is always important to make sure you are solving the right problems for your teams. I have made the mistake before of trying to solve problems that weren’t the most important problems people wanted me to solve. This can happen accidentally when you get false information from only one or two colleagues, or you only listen to the problems your manager wants you to solve. I have experienced these missteps in the past when I have not taken the steps to fully understand the people and the problems they’ve experienced.
So how do you discover the right problems to solve? Put on your detective hat and ask people. Set up meetings with team members and team leads you’ve identified in step 1. Meet with everyone you can at all different levels of the organization and get their input. I like to keep a spreadsheet of all of my meetings, pain points, and learnings. I treat these as “user interviews” just as you would when doing product user research.
3. Collaborate on the solution
Once you identify problems and find patterns across the teams and people you interview, it is time to start figuring out solutions. But before you even start coming up with your brilliant ideas on how to solve the problems, you must synthesize all of that juicy information you just discovered. It’s a good idea to prioritize the issues you’ve uncovered based on the frequency of the issue, how many people and teams it impacts, and how much potential impact it will have to the organization once you fix the issue. I also like to note what is currently working well, so I don’t accidentally get rid of something people love.
It’s always a good idea to engage with other people on your team on any process changes or improvements you want to propose. I find it’s better to come up with some ideas and options in a small group or with one or two key people who have influence. Another option is to come up with some initial proposals on your own and then to shop around your ideas to different people via one-on-one discussions. I gather even more ideas and feedback in these sessions so people feel like they have played a part in the solution. It is easier to get buy-in from people face-to-face when it’s a more personal meeting, than in a large group setting. Once you have enough buy-in from key people (you don’t need to meet with everyone), then it’s time to put the process solutions into place and come up with a roll-out plan.
4. Implement the solution
Similar to product design, once you’ve designed a solution, it needs to be implemented to see how it works for your users and if it’s solving their problems. I like to give a new process at least a month or two to take shape and work itself into a cadence. It is especially important to set expectations with people early on as to how much time it will take to get a new process working correctly. That way, people don’t give up too soon before the new process can start taking shape.
5. Create a feedback loop
It is important to have a regular feedback loop with the teams and people who are engaging with the process and frameworks you set up. After all, what kind of UXer would you be if you didn’t incorporate user feedback into your process?
There are several ways to gather feedback. I like facilitating a monthly retrospective with teams to get feedback on how processes are going. Retrospectives are nice because they can be done in lots of different and fun ways. Plus, you get the added benefit of the team engaging with one another directly on what is working and what needs improvement. You can also create a Wiki page where people can post their comments on what is working and what is not working. Sending out a survey is also another way to collect data. Whatever method you choose, try to be consistent so you are regularly measuring how things are going.
6. Iterate on the process
Now that you’ve collected feedback, it’s time to repeat steps 1–5. Feedback is an interesting thing in that you don’t have to act on all of it! An important part of synthesizing data is to identify which areas of feedback are one-offs and which areas are systemic problems that need to be changed or updated. I also think it’s a good practice to not change too many things at once. Sometimes it’s better to update one process improvement one step at a time so you don’t overwhelm people with too many changes.
That’s it! So when you start your next role as a Design Program Manager (or just want to improve within your current role) try applying some of these UX best practices. These techniques will help you and your team improve in an iterative, collaborative way. Your work as a Design Program Manager will definitely make an impact, creating a positive ripple effect across your teams. Good luck!
