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.
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 Ops professionals often come from varied, non-design backgrounds, which enables them to bridge design and business effectively.
-
•
Design Ops Assembly began as a small meetup and grew into a global community of nearly 1,000 members focused on mutual learning and resource sharing.
-
•
Empathy and building genuine relationships are critical to successful design Ops leadership and adoption across organizations.
-
•
Common current challenges include remote onboarding and offboarding, adapting tooling like Figma, and managing team burnout.
-
•
Psychological safety is essential in teams to allow vulnerability and honest communication, crucial for preventing burnout.
-
•
The discipline of design Ops is maturing, prompting new focus on leadership development and supporting senior practitioners.
-
•
Community building in a virtual world requires balancing large group momentum with small, meaningful breakout connections.
-
•
Design Ops roles vary widely across organizations, from chief of staff functions to specialized operational teams.
-
•
Maintaining open, recruiter-free community access encourages diverse voices and equity in design Ops knowledge sharing.
-
•
Future goals include global expansion, better compensating contributors, integration with related disciplines, and increasing operational scalability for the community.
Notable Quotes
"I don’t come from a design background at all. It’s my dirty secret."
"We started as a meetup of maybe less than 10 people running small design Ops teams, and now we have almost 1,000 members."
"Don’t feel like you need to make it up or recreate the wheel. Somebody has an answer for you."
"Design Ops people are always kind of in the background, wanting to help and nurture others."
"You have to build relationships outside the design org to be an effective advocate for design work."
"Leading with research and insights will save you time and help make better product decisions."
"The relational aspect of design Ops is key — you’re like a hostage negotiator using tactical empathy."
"Psychological safety is huge: building teams where people feel safe to be vulnerable and honest."
"One big question is will design Ops ever have a cohesive definition or will it always be ambiguous?"
"We want to keep the community open and inclusive, no recruiters allowed, so every voice can contribute."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
More Videos
"We have been applying implicit reaction testing since 1999, which distinguishes us from many others."
Daniela Magaña Flores Ariane Rahn Jeff Ephraim BanderAhead of Competition: Learn What UX Benchmarking Can Do for Your Business Today
March 10, 2022
"GPT is like a master chef who’s traveled the world sampling and learning from every cuisine imaginable."
Savina HawkinsHarnessing AI in UXR: Practical Strategies for Positive Impact
March 26, 2024
"Restoration is not just about replanting trees; it’s about rebuilding entire ecosystems."
Alex Hurworth Bonnie John Fahd Arshad Antoine MarinDesigning a Contact Tracing App for Universal Access
October 23, 2020
"Every claim, observation, and recommendation inside Hits has its own URL to enable precise sharing and tracking."
Matt DuignanHITS, Microsoft's internal human insight system: From research library to living body of knowledge (Videoconference)
July 16, 2019
"Making something easier isn’t always better; it can create addictive behaviors - Aza Raskin, inventor of infinite scroll."
Craig VillamorDesign Systems for Ethical Design (Videoconference)
January 26, 2023
"Treat your stakeholders like research participants — no judgment, open listening, mouth usually closed."
Ovetta SampsonTurning UX Passion into Real Product Influence
June 7, 2023
"UX assets are our business assets. How do we talk about our UX assets as business assets?"
Rima Campbell Amrit S BhachuIncrease Productivity and Drive Business Impact
September 24, 2024
"Design ops teams are mostly a team of one, so many of you are probably in the same boat I was."
Amy Gawronski ZuccaroAdvice for DesignOps Employee #1
September 29, 2021
"Systems of value determine whose knowledge we increase and whose knowledge we diminish."
Victor UdoewaBeyond Methods and Diversity: The Roots of Inclusion
March 26, 2024
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How can teams identify the most impactful moments to intervene in user security behavior?
How does the adventure navigation pattern provide user agency over AI-driven content feeds?
How might subscription services be redesigned using thinking styles to better address user financial and emotional concerns?