Advice for DesignOps Employee #1
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
70% of design ops teams consist of a single person, making Amy's advice widely relevant.
-
•
Understanding the specific problem that led to the creation of the design ops role helps prioritize early work.
-
•
Role boundaries between design ops and creative leadership must be established explicitly to avoid conflicts.
-
•
Building relationships across departments is critical, with IT and HR often being the most valuable allies.
-
•
Career development paths are a high-impact initial focus area for design ops in new teams.
-
•
Addressing research tool gaps and training can dramatically improve design maturity and stakeholder buy-in.
-
•
Operating in a large, bureaucratic organization requires persistence to identify and reach the right contacts.
-
•
Saying 'I don't know' but following up by figuring out the answer creates realistic expectations and builds trust.
-
•
Not being a people manager can be an advantage for design ops as it enables an objective, consultative stance.
-
•
Close, frequent one-on-ones build trust and uncover both personal and operational team challenges.
Notable Quotes
"I promise you they did not get up one morning and think, ah, yes, what my team needs is design ops."
"The catalyst that got your head count approved is the problem you should tackle first."
"If your head of design has been used to doing everything by themselves, establish early on what lives in your world and what lives in theirs."
"Making friends will help you in all sorts of ways. Relationship building has been about 75% of the game in my job."
"People will tell you what frustrates them. Boy, will they tell you what frustrates them."
"I am always super candid about not knowing things. I say, I don't know that, but I'll figure it out."
"Nobody has all the answers and we're human. That's okay."
"Bring the people who are blocking you into the process and have them see with their own eyes what you're doing."
"There is nothing more frustrating than showing up on day one as a new employee and then being like, well, your computer didn't come in yet."
"My job is part therapist. Career development and goals are basically asking what people want to be in five years."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"I tried to do everything all by myself at first and it didn’t catch on because no one else knew I was doing it."
Shipra KayanHow we Built a VoC (Voice of the Customer) Practice at Upwork from the Ground Up
September 30, 2021
"Categories are dangerous but not bad."
Peter MorvilleThe Architecture of Understanding
May 13, 2015
"Only one internal hire on the UX team was a huge misopportunity for us."
Renee ReidBecoming a ResearchH.E.R (Highly Enterprise Ready)
June 3, 2019
"For some users, AI products are not just tools, they are relationships."
Dane DeSutterKeeping the Body in Mind: What Gestures and Embodied Actions Tell You That Users May Not
March 26, 2024
"Sometimes accessibility isn’t perfect, but consistency lets me shop on Amazon in my sleep because of muscle memory."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
October 3, 2023
"While technical errors matter, broader issues like content relevance and navigation create more mission failures."
Andrew Custage Michael MallettThe Digital Journey: Research on Consumer Frustration and Loyalty
March 29, 2023
"The nitty gritty is a space to become resources for each other so people know who to talk to when they have questions."
Shelby SwitzerMaking Space for Community Knowledge-sharing in a Distributed World
December 10, 2021
"If we want our value to be defined as anything other than studies run, we must learn how to trace and articulate the actual business impact."
Llewyn PaineCoexisting with AI: A practical guide for researchers to navigate tools, ethics, and integration
March 11, 2025
"A living systems lens urges us to see wholes, holes, and interdependent relationships in organizations."
Robin BeersNavigating organizational systems: Rethinking researcher’s role in driving change
March 13, 2025
