Designing Valuable Products for the Future with DesignOps
The evolution and continuing relevance of design operations
In February 2020, Chris Bueno, Director of Experience Design at Slalom Build, wrote this article about DesignOps, product design, and how instilling a certain mindset could help product teams scale. In the last three years, a lot has changed, not only in the world but also in the craft, and this article reflects its evolution and its continued relevance.
The world was different back then, and it would change even more just a month after the article’s publication date. A global pandemic meant that we all needed to shift from the comfort of our collaboration spaces into isolation. What could that mean for design and productivity? Well, it turns out we became more productive, but we lost some things along the way. For most of us, both product designers and researchers, collaborative sessions in front of a whiteboard were replaced with long hours in meetings. Quick chats between designers and engineers became Slack huddles. And the list could continue. The way we use our tools shifted drastically, and our craft had to adapt.
Back when that article was published, a tool called Figma was just beginning to gain traction among designers, persuading some early adopters to transition from Sketch. Today, Figma dominates and does so effectively. It helped bridge the gap between design and development in a meaningful way, encouraging designers to approach their work from an engineering perspective. Designing products with an atomic design mindset became imperative. Atoms evolved into ions, and design systems became ubiquitous. It became impossible to think about starting a project without one. Our clients demanded clarity in the design process, necessitating an evolution in the way we work around design and creating a new opportunity to evolve DesignOps from within.
Most of us, including product designers, user researchers, and experienced architects, work to make life easier for our users. These users include not only those who will ultimately use the product we design but also the engineers tasked with building it, the product managers responsible for aligning expectations with clients, and those who may need to interact with the designs at any stage of the process. Therefore, we need to accommodate their needs as part of the experience we are designing.
Adapting to those needs is more important than ever, and therefore, the incorporation of DesignOps into the design process has become a necessity to ensure a successful project. But what does it mean to embed DesignOps in your design process today?
Process, People, and a Touch of Technology
The DevOps mantra, “process, people, technology,” resonates when looking back at what Chris discussed in that first article. The focus should not solely rely on the tools to do the job, as DesignOps encompasses much more. Process and people are equally important in enabling its success.
Predicting which tools we will use soon is challenging, and relying solely on them can set us up for failure, especially in these times when emerging technologies, such as generative AI (artificial intelligence), are transforming the industry and the way we work. It makes more sense to focus on aspects that are easier to future-proof. If we stop using familiar tools and are forced to switch, how can we ensure that everyone can still do their best work?
What we do to create experiences and the people involved in the process — users, stakeholders, and our teams — are integral to crafting products meaningfully at scale. These elements are equally important in creating an efficient process that embraces input and insight from all stakeholders.
Revisiting What DesignOps Is
To discuss the importance of DesignOps, we need to clarify what it is and what it is not. DesignOps is not your design system, Figma, a center of excellence (CoE), designers working with engineers, or design handoffs. In other words, DesignOps is not WHAT you do as a designer, but HOW you do it and its impact on the products and services you design. Whether you are consciously implementing DesignOps or not, if a team of designers is working on something, they’re likely doing DesignOps, either effectively or ineffectively.
Since DesignOps is about the “how,” it involves how your team collaborates, how design is structured within the organization, how the work gets done, and how it creates an impact.
DesignOps, when embedded as part of the design process, should enable designers to get started faster, structure their work in a way that’s easy to track and measure, and offer visibility to those who need access to the deliverables produced along the way. In some organizations, DesignOps may also take the form of a specialized role responsible for defining and overseeing the processes, tools, and individuals in the design process. In technology building, we can’t always rely on a specialized role, so we’ll focus on DesignOps as a mindset and best practices, and how to apply it to organizations at each stage of the product lifecycle, from innovation to delivery.
DesignOps at Slalom Build
Slalom Build creates software that businesses run on, designs and implements the experiences their customers rely on, and supports organizations of all sizes and industries in using technology to improve people’s lives. The role of DesignOps at Slalom Build affects two different areas: the internal design organization within Slalom Build; and the external role, where they enable clients by creating technology.
Internally at Slalom Build, DesignOps plays a key role in enabling every in-house designer to have the tools and resources they need to do their best work for clients. Although it’s not necessarily part of the process, everyone contributes to creating a well-functioning and design-focused organization. This support involves sharing resources and deliverables with colleagues to ensure that the focus of the design process starts with the people as a whole.
When working for clients, DesignOps, even if not explicitly defined as part of the Product Engineering Methodology (PEM), is embedded in the ways of working and the design process used by the team of experienced designers to deliver their work. As discussed earlier, they don’t have DesignOps as a dedicated role at Slalom Build, but everyone embraces it as one of the core aspects of their role, ensuring that they enable everyone to do their best work.
DesignOps in Mobilization
The mobilization phase is the first stage of a project, in which designers, researchers, stakeholders, and users engage in different exercises to try to understand the pain points better and start to shape potential solutions to fix or improve them.
Incorporating DesignOps into our project framework holds the potential to streamline design workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and improve the overall design experience. By optimizing the collaboration between designers, researchers, and other stakeholders, DesignOps ensures that design work aligns with project goals, timelines, and user expectations, and as such, it’s important to embrace its full potential alongside the design process.
Research
Collaborative Ideation: DesignOps is a tool that enables more efficient user research. As such, tasks like collecting qualitative and quantitative data, running user interviews, surveys, or usability testing are always predefined by a set of accessible frameworks. These frameworks can be adapted to the specific needs of the project.
Documentation: Documenting is a critical step in the process, and DesignOps plays a crucial role by providing frameworks that guide the organization and definition of foundational work. This allows teams to focus on the content outcome of their research and design decisions, rather than spending unnecessary amounts of time defining the best structure for documentation.
Iterative Approach: Design is an iterative process. DesignOps enhances this process by providing transparency, ensuring that those responsible for updating designs can focus on creating new versions. It also offers support to every stakeholder involved in the process
Ideation
Brainstorming Sessions: Arrange for regular brainstorming sessions where team members from different backgrounds come together to ideate. Brainstorming fosters creativity and brings out different perspectives.
Prototyping: Use prototypes to visualize ideas. This not only helps in getting feedback but also in refining the idea itself. Using frameworks such as atomic principles to create prototypes allows for easy adaptation to feedback and quick iteration. This simplifies the process of making changes and scaling designs without the need to reinvent patterns each time.
Feedback: Encourage a culture where every team member can give and receive feedback. Constructive feedback is essential during the ideation phase.
Validation
Usability Testing: Once the design is ready, conduct usability tests. This will help in confirming the designs against real users. Any gaps or shortcomings can be addressed before the final release.
Stakeholder Review: Always keep stakeholders in the loop. Regular reviews ensure that the product is aligned with business goals and aims.
A/B Testing: For more data-driven decisions, employ A/B testing, which can help in choosing between two design variations based on user preference and performance.
With thorough validation of the designs by various groups and DesignOps’ support in organizing and documenting findings, it’s easier to ensure that feedback is reflected in the design iterations. This process, readying them for development, maintains transparency and allows for traceability of the changes back to the original findings
DesignOps in Product Delivery
Handoff Documentation: Ensure that there’s clear documentation for design handoffs. This will minimize back-and-forth between designers and developers.
Version Control: Just like in development, keep versions of designs. This ensures that everyone is working on the latest version and can also help in tracing back any changes if needed, thanks in part to some governance defined by the tool used to create those designs. For example, Figma’s built-in version control enables you to view the changes that happened to a file over time—allowing teams and people reviewing designs to preview old versions and compare changes that were driven by decisions taken alongside the process. Defining those resources as part of the project’s workflows is also a role of DesignOps.
Feedback Integration: After product release, collect feedback. It can be from users, stakeholders, or internal teams. Integrate this feedback into future designs or iterations of the product.
Continuous Collaboration: Ensure that there is continuous collaboration between design and development teams, even after the product is delivered. This ensures that any design enhancements or changes can be incorporated efficiently.
Scaling DesignOps
Scaling DesignOps, especially while working as a designer on a project for a client, may seem like a challenge. But it’s entirely possible and can significantly enhance efficiency and the quality of work, helping both the current project and future design work for the client. To enable a scalable DesignOps strategy, it’s crucial to:
- Define the goals and outcomes of implementing DesignOps with the client: Communicating the value and role of DesignOps with the client will create visibility on the need to establish a DesignOps function and demonstrate the benefits of investing in it.
- Incorporate feedback from others and involve key players: DesignOps, although focused on design, should be carried out by something other than the designer in charge. Invite stakeholders to collaborate, helping them see the value firsthand.
- Keep the documentation alive: It’s essential to ensure that documentation reflecting critical aspects of the design process stays up to date, reflecting any changes in the agreement on ways of working as requirements evolve. This documentation serves as a reliable source of truth for those seeking to understand the process better and see its value.
- Embrace continual learning: A critical aspect of DesignOps is ensuring it remains relevant and useful as the project evolves. This requires ongoing monitoring and reflection to identify improvements and optimize it for the ever-changing project requirements.
- Embrace design advocacy: DesignOps plays a crucial role in enhancing visibility around the design work within a project, as well as across the broader design community. It provides a forum for designers and design-minded individuals to discuss challenges and opportunities. By ensuring that everyone’s opinions are heard, documented, embedded, and taken into consideration, DesignOps lays the foundation for a community of practice (CoP).
Conclusion
DesignOps is more than just a buzzword. It’s an approach and a process to ensure that the design doesn’t just look good, but also works well and adds value.
DesignOps is more important than ever in today’s rapidly evolving design landscape, primarily due to the increasing complexity of design projects, the demand for seamless and user-centric digital experiences, and the necessity for efficient collaboration. DesignOps helps the design team streamline their workflows, maintain consistency across projects, and enhance their agility in responding to dynamic user needs and market trends. As design plays a pivotal role in shaping how users interact with products and services, DesignOps’ emphasis on efficiency and cross-functional cooperation is crucial for delivering high-quality design solutions in a time-sensitive and competitive environment.
Whether it’s research, ideation, validation, or product delivery, following DesignOps best practices ensures that the product is user-centric and efficient and that it delivers real value to the end users and the business.
Initially written by Chris Bueno, with contributions and editing by Luis Hermosilla
