Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Closing Keynote: Amplify. Not Optimize.
Gold
Thursday, October 24, 2019 • DesignOps Summit 2019
Share the love for this talk
Closing Keynote: Amplify. Not Optimize.
Speakers: Dave Malouf
Link:

Summary

We currently describe, frame, and promote Design Operations as being all about efficiency. While we might not ever say the term “ROI” out loud, we certainly sell DesignOps as means for optimizing our organizations’ investments in their design and research teams and infrastructure. But if DesignOps is going to truly be the game-changer it can and should be, we need a better framing. We need a new framework, one that emphasizes the topline—the creation of value—over bottomline fixation on resource optimization. We need a framework that accounts for supporting the projects, people, and practice of design over the groupings of pixels and management of components. This new framing is at the root of DesignOps framework that Dave Malouf will share in his closing keynote.

Key Insights

  • Design is fundamentally about amplification—raising the value of products, teams, and systems beyond their original state.

  • Great design happens through great designing, emphasizing the verb of design as an active, ongoing process rather than a fixed noun.

  • Different design activities require unique cadences; a one-size-fits-all sprint or timebox approach does not suit design work.

  • Intentional physical spaces with adaptable features encourage serendipitous collaboration and balanced individual focus.

  • Balancing qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights is crucial for effective design operations.

  • Collaboration is distinct from coordination; true collaboration involves shared workspaces and simultaneous engagement.

  • Designers require different motivation and reward systems than other organizational roles to unlock their best work.

  • Exploration and ideation ('the first diamond') are vital phases that must be nurtured in design processes to foster innovation.

  • Design operations has existed implicitly but naming it helps formalize the practice that supports better design outcomes.

  • Safe environments where designers have agency to take risks are necessary for meaningful exploration and adaptive work.

Notable Quotes

"I discovered that what I love in life is design amplification — that's what I do, that's what makes my calling."

"Design's chief value is that design amplifies, turning a 10 from an engineering team into an 11 or a 12."

"The sweet spot isn't static; it's a continuum defined by how much more value we can create in the system."

"Great design happens because of great designing — if you think of design as a noun, you're missing the value."

"Different design activities happen best at their own appropriate cadence — a week, two weeks, or three weeks isn’t a universal answer."

"You’ve been giving away your own language by playing with the language of others — break through that Stockholm syndrome."

"Collaboration is when you work together; coordination is when you work apart and then come back."

"Better design happens when we explore many narratives that put people at the center."

"You need to meet people where they are and who they are to engage them properly in design."

"A team has to know how to do its work unconsciously so it can detect when things go awry and react instantaneously."

Gina Mendolia
Therapists, Coaches, and Grandmas: Techniques for Service Design in Complex Systems
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Smitha Papolu
Theme 3 Discussion
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Adam Cutler
People + Places + Practices = Outcomes
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Angelos Arnis
Navigating the Rapid Shifts in Tech's Turbulent Terrain
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Michael Weir
Mixed Methods and Behavioural Science (Videoconference)
2023 • Rosenfeld Community
Susan Simon-Daniels
War Stories LIVE! Susan Simon-Daniels
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold
Sharon Bautista
Time to Make the Donuts: How User Research Helped Bridge Disparate Teams
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks Day 1
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Dominique Ward
The Most Exciting Time for DesignOps is Now
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Victor Udoewa
Radical Participatory Design: Decolonizing Participatory Design Processes
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Jemma Ahmed
Convergent Research Techniques in Customer Journey Mapping
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold
Onur Kocan
Understanding the Strategy for Civic Design in a Complex City: Istanbul
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Michelle Chin
The DesignOps Starter Kit
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Mitchell Bernstein
Organizing Chaos: How IBM is Defining Design Systems with Sketch for an Ever-Changing AI Landscape
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Dave Malouf
Panel: Design Systems and Documentation
2017 • DesignOps Summit 2017
Gold
Fredrik Matheson
First-time users, longtime strategies: Why Parkinson’s Law is making you less effective at work – and how to design a fix.
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold

More Videos

Monty Hammontree

"We changed the language to revolve around assumptions, hypotheses, experiments, and making sense of data."

Monty Hammontree

The Future of UX Research (Videoconference)

December 3, 2020

Liz Ebengo

"Redemption means buying back or restoring something to its rightful place, transforming adversity into hope."

Liz Ebengo

The Burden on Children: The Cost of Insufficient Post-Conflict Services and Pathways Forward

December 4, 2024

Billy Carlson

"I tell people to find inspiration from existing designs and bring those into your wireframes to look like real products."

Billy Carlson

Tips to Utilize Wireframes to Tell an Effective Product Story

June 6, 2023

Saara Kamppari-Miller

"Traditional UX tools like sticky notes are not accessible to everyone, including blind users or those with invisible disabilities."

Saara Kamppari-Miller

Inclusive Design is DesignOps

September 29, 2021

Ian Swinson

"Careers as ladders, which is how HR wants it to be because it fits financial models, but careers aren’t linear—they’re jungle gyms."

Ian Swinson

Designing and Driving UX Careers

June 8, 2016

Jonathon Colman

"People assumed Facebook was always listening to their conversations because we didn’t clearly explain how and why the feature worked."

Jonathon Colman

How to Maximize the Impact of Content Design

January 8, 2024

Maria Skaaden

"We were told, can you please make the user experience exactly the same a year from now."

Maria Skaaden

Continuous Design: One eye on the horizon and the other on the next wave

November 8, 2018

Bryce Benton

"I learned from Molly that the lunatic asylum is now called the Austin State Hospital, and I've encoded that in a Python script."

Bryce Benton

[Demo] AI-powered UX enhancement: Aligning GitHub documentation with USWDS at Austin Public Library

June 4, 2024

Marc Fonteijn

"Men in this report consistently report higher income than women, but don’t draw early conclusions — seniority levels and positions matter."

Marc Fonteijn

First Insights from the 2025 Service Design Salary(+) Report

December 4, 2024