Week 7, 2019
Invision’s Design Maturity: Research, Model, and Findings
Each week I share three ideas for how to make work better. And this week, the focus is once again on the connection between strategic design and business performance. Let’s dig right in.
Last year saw the publication of McKinsey’s report on the Value of Design (see w52 2018). It was the first of its kind: a large-scale study on design and its benefits. Not to be outdone, Invision (the product design platform) recently published its own report, this one entitled Design Maturity.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Research
In producing their report, McKinsey surveyed some 300 organizations worldwide. A respectable number. Invision, however, surveyed 2,200 organizations — making it the by far largest survey on strategic design ever done. And that’s important for a couple of reasons, not least because the large sample size enabled the authors to drill down into specific industries, regions, and organizational sizes without jeopardizing statistical significance. That being said, the study is of the self-reporting variety, meaning that if Person X reports being “very influential” in her organizations, there’s no way to validate whether or not that’s factually correct. It’s a perception. And while that should not disqualify the study, it’s definitely something we should keep in mind when considering its findings.
2. The Model
Invision’s study asked respondents to assess their relative impact on a number of design and business-related metrics, ranging from product quality on the one hand to business profitability and market position on the other. Respondents were then grouped into five levels depending on their (again, self-reported) impact. The end result is the Design Maturity model from which the report takes its name — a model with five levels, each one with a memorable name, and each one associated with a short statement meant to signify its prevailing view of design. Level 1 (Producers) is where we find the least mature organizations, characterized by the view that design “is what happens on the screen”. On the other side of the spectrum, we have Level 5 organizations (Visionaries) that equate design to business strategy.
3. The Findings
Invision found that 5% of the organizations were Level 5 Visionaries. They also found that for these select few, the design had “become core to business strategy, impacting the most elusive business benefits of all — design IP and valuation”. In addition to practices employed by their less mature counterparts (e.g., design research, rapid prototyping, and split testing) these top performers also spent time on trendsetting and foresight, product/market validations, and the creation of cross-platform design systems and strategies. Importantly and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, these organizations were found in a variety of industries ranging from transportation to healthcare. Less surprisingly, however, was that they skewed small. Due to complexity and scale, large organizations were found to be at a disadvantage.
Invision’s study makes for an interesting read. I particularly appreciate how the levels double as a mental model against which to measure design readiness! But when it comes to connecting design with business value… well, I think I’ll stick with referencing McKinsey.
At the end of the day, I find Invision’s reliance on self-reported impact troublesome. (And I suspect it might suffer from selection bias as well, assuming Invision surveyed organizations already using its platform). McKinsey’s findings seem much more reliable; rather than asking respondents to self-report on both design practices and impact, like Invision did, McKinsey combined self-reported design practices with financial analysis using objective sources like annual reports, etc.
Still, Invision’s report is a welcome addition to the growing body of evidence that design is a strategic imperative. It’s yet another sign that strategic design is finally coming of age.
That’s all for this week.
Until next time: Make it matter.
PS. It’s important to read the endnotes. I did. And in doing so I noticed that one of the report’s authors, Stephen Gates, listed “Metallica” as one of his previous design clients. How awesome is that?! Turns out Gates did design work for Metallica’s Blackened whiskey ;-)
