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 Community and Common Trends to Look for in 2021
Summary
In this call we speak with our foremost DesignOps community experts Meredith Black and Elyse Hornbacher. Touching on their backgrounds and the creation of the DesignOps Assembly, trends we are seeing in the community and for DesignOps in general, future trends in 2021, and why we need community now more than ever.
Key Insights
-
•
Design operations roles vary widely based on organizational size, needs, and individual backgrounds, making a single definition elusive.
-
•
Many successful design Ops practitioners come from non-design backgrounds, including program management, agency work, and administrative roles.
-
•
Building and nurturing a community like Design Ops Assembly enables practitioners to avoid isolation and share best practices.
-
•
Empathy and understanding others’ priorities are critical to gaining organizational buy-in for design processes.
-
•
Remote work has shifted key challenges to onboarding, offboarding, maintaining culture, and facilitating informal social interactions.
-
•
Tooling is a hot topic, with many organizations embracing Figma but also grappling with how best to utilize vendor tools and measure outcomes.
-
•
Leadership in design Ops involves fostering psychological safety and modeling healthy work behaviors to combat burnout.
-
•
There is growing demand for learning and development programs within design Ops to keep teams engaged and growing.
-
•
The future of design Ops includes focusing on senior leadership development, global inclusivity, and cross-functional integration.
-
•
Effective design Ops practitioners often act as translators between business and design languages, bridging gaps within organizations.
Notable Quotes
"I don’t come from a design background at all. It’s like my dirty secret."
"When we first started, we didn’t know what the hell we were doing and learned from each other."
"Design Ops people are always kind of in the background, wanting to help and nurture."
"There’s this friction of being a servant leader in a leadership position."
"A lot of people are just beginning and feel like, I’m not doing this alone, but I still don’t know what I’m doing."
"Showing people that design Ops will make their lives easier is key to adoption."
"I became the Whisperer of the group because I could translate what the business needs were and what the design needs were."
"Tactical empathy is critical—it takes time and effort, but it’s always worth it."
"The biggest challenge is how to facilitate casual conversations that aren’t work process focused in a virtual world."
"If you lose the human relationship aspect, then you’re not really doing design operations."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"With how of work now separated from where we work, the design process stays the same—thinking holistically for all personas and touchpoints."
Lavy Kumar Kat Temple Shan Sebastian Tara Jensen Jenn ChouFuture of Work
June 9, 2021
"Design and research at Compass have become so integrated that we become these powerful partners driving the product vision."
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
"Closing the distance is about connecting not only with customers but also between cross-functional team members."
Monty HammontreeThe Future of UX Research
December 3, 2020
"The C-suite often sees big change as resistance to change rather than needs for careful transition and impact understanding."
Benjamin RealShowing the Value of DesignOps by Not Having a DesignOps Team
October 21, 2020
"Adoption is crucial; build your community early by involving them in co-design and pilots."
Kate TowseyAsk Me Anything (AMA) with Kate Towsey
April 2, 2025
"Breaking enterprise into small segments lets you apply research methods effectively at scale."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"Consistency reduces cognitive load not just for screen reader users but for people with ADHD and other cognitive challenges."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
March 28, 2023
"For screen reader users, you often need to build entirely new prototypes using systems like Microsoft Word or Google Docs to convey semantic information."
Sam ProulxPrototype Reviews, People With Disabilities, and You
October 1, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How do research operations teams manage the tension between consolidating tools and needing specialized capabilities?
How can organizations manage the noise created by non-expert researchers conducting user research?
How does aligning on strategic objectives enable team autonomy and better prioritization?