Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Building a New Home for the Atlassian Design System
Summary
Having a design system is a de facto necessity when building cohesive enterprise software. The challenge is how does it all come together with a single location, a source of truth, a website? How does a cross-functional team marshal the resources with political and technical willpower to achieve this goal? It’s no easy feat as Jennie Yip, Atlassian design systems lead, explains in this Medium essay. This fireside chat will dig deeper into the problems addressed and lessons learned, with Jennie and also Charles Lee, the engineering lead. Hearing their stories will inspire and inform all of us in our design system journeys. We hope you will join us!
Key Insights
-
•
Multiple sources of truth in design systems cause inconsistencies and confusion, as seen with the button component font weight differences across specs, design files, and code.
-
•
Design systems should treat code as the source of truth while making design tools like Figma an integrated extension of that truth.
-
•
The Constellation project aims to create a single, consistent destination for design and development documentation, consolidating 50+ guidelines and 27 out of 60 components.
-
•
Collaboration between designers and engineers early in the process is critical to align priorities, avoid scope creep, and build trust.
-
•
Governance in design systems works best as shared execution through community trust and enabling teams, rather than policing or harsh compliance enforcement.
-
•
Workshops and detailed documentation are essential for onboarding new team members quickly and preserving knowledge amid team changes.
-
•
Live code examples embedded in documentation reduce maintenance burdens and ensure consumers always see current component behavior.
-
•
Versioning pace needs balancing—too frequent releases burden product teams trying to keep up and can hinder adoption.
-
•
Research methods like card sorting and usability testing directly influence information architecture and navigation improvements in the new documentation.
-
•
Buy-in from leadership and stakeholders grew through repeated demos and a unified team vision, highlighting the value and reducing skepticism over time.
Notable Quotes
"We kept feeling the same consistent pain around some truths for our design system."
"Kate said she considers live code to be the source of truth because she can't trust the design site due to inconsistencies."
"Code is definitely considered the source of truth; we're working hard to make Figma an extension of that."
"Governance is not policing; we're here to help you create the best experience and save time."
"Workshops often reveal gaps in documentation, which is a spicy take but true."
"It's really about finding a way to link all the different aspects to bring everything together to tell the story."
"Continuous adaptation is key; you're adapting to the system as much as adopting it."
"If you can't get buy-in for collaboration between engineers and designers, start from the bottom and talk more early and often."
"Updating and adopting design system components is company time, so a slower release schedule helps teams keep up."
"We absolutely need feedback loops so engineers and designers can influence the design system and keep it relevant."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Employees can take as much or as little time off as they want, so long as their job gets done."
Lavy Kumar Kat Temple Shan Sebastian Tara Jensen Jenn ChouFuture of Work
June 9, 2021
"Even though Craig and I work closely every day, we haven’t met in person yet, which shows how remote collaboration works well for us."
Andreas Huebner Amy Takata Craig BrookesWhat Is It Like To Be Part of The UX Team at Compass?
March 11, 2021
"Conjoint analysis was used by Apple and Samsung to determine the financial value of specific product features."
Ricardo MartinsUnlocking the power of advanced quantitative methods
March 12, 2025
"We built a Mount Rushmore of design thinking engineers to help the culture resonate with developers."
Monty HammontreeThe Future of UX Research
December 3, 2020
"For me, ideally one design ops manager per 14 designers is the ratio that works best."
Benjamin RealShowing the Value of DesignOps by Not Having a DesignOps Team
October 21, 2020
"Be a magnet for skills around you; build partnerships with legal, procurement, HR to share the load."
Kate TowseyAsk Me Anything (AMA) with Kate Towsey
April 2, 2025
"Building an internal research practice is critical for long-term value and integration of insights."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"If it didn’t come from Amazon or Costco, I probably don’t own it because I know the experience will be consistent."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
March 28, 2023
"Including people with disabilities in prototype reviews can be different based on the assistive technology they use and their needs."
Sam ProulxPrototype Reviews, People With Disabilities, and You
October 1, 2021
