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.
DesignOps Community Sensing Session
Summary
Join us to explore the future of the DesignOps role, as well as the joys and challenges folks are facing in that role.
Key Insights
-
•
Design operations struggles less with ideas and more with organizational culture and ways of working that hinder idea adoption.
-
•
Many design ops practitioners feel isolated as 'teams of one,' facing challenges defining their role and gaining recognition.
-
•
Leadership support is a crucial variable influencing design ops success, with some having strong champions and others lacking basic resources.
-
•
Scaling design ops functions risks losing the humanity and startup agility that early-stage teams enjoy.
-
•
Internal organizational operations directly influence customer experiences externally, creating a feedback loop of impact.
-
•
Community events and cohorts foster solidarity and shared learning invaluable to those navigating ambiguous roles.
-
•
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven shifts in work practices, emphasizing remote efficiency but also risking increased bureaucracy.
-
•
There is tension between adopting bureaucratic scaling systems and maintaining human connection within growing design ops teams.
-
•
Iterative development in design ops means many contributions build foundations for future success even if not immediately visible.
-
•
Active curation of conference content grounded in real participant feedback ensures relevance and practical usefulness for the community.
Notable Quotes
"Organizations weren’t suffering from a lack of ideas, they were suffering from ways of working and culture that didn’t allow good ideas to get heard."
"I see design ops as deeply linked to how internal operations influence what our customers experience."
"The biggest challenge I see is scaling without losing our humanity."
"There’s still folks who are entering saying I’m a team of one, no one knows what I do."
"Having a 'dope' leader who champions design ops changes everything."
"Sometimes you’re just laying the foundational bricks so an idea or process can get off the ground."
"We want to prevent our community from the dehumanizing impulses often brought on by bureaucratic scaling."
"This conference is a polished snapshot of conversations already happening at scale in the community."
"We’re seeing a bifurcated experience between teams ready for virtual work and those struggling with it."
"Evangelizing and doing design ops day-to-day is a tough balance when resources are slim."
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
"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
"Sixty-one factors influence students’ decisions when choosing a college—that’s a lot more than you might think."
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 design ops team helped designers print in BBA’s complicated systems, something they had to do alone after we lost the ops team."
Benjamin RealShowing the Value of DesignOps by Not Having a DesignOps Team
October 21, 2020
"Research ops is like the most punk thing you can do in the experience design space."
Kate TowseyAsk Me Anything (AMA) with Kate Towsey
April 2, 2025
"The core of it is really putting yourself in that other person’s shoes—it’s basic but essential empathy."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"People with disabilities often won’t ask for help; they simply go to an accessible competitor instead."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
March 28, 2023
"Users with physical challenges often can see and interpret prototypes but may need help clicking through them because assistive tech may not support the prototype system."
Sam ProulxPrototype Reviews, People With Disabilities, and You
October 1, 2021
