Summary
Experience the fantastical world of navigating rabbit holes, unlocking doors with hidden keys, and racing against the clock as Carla Casariego and Sarah Spencer take you through their adventures in creating and sustaining an agile DesignOps org at Express Scripts.
Key Insights
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User-centered design was initially new and needed to prove value in a tech-heavy healthcare company.
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Collaboration with product owners and engineers through multi-disciplinary 'full kit teams' was key to success.
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Scaling a small design ops team required strategic prioritization and saying no to protect focus.
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Introducing Agile ceremonies gradually helped the team adopt new ways of working without overwhelming them.
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Look ahead sprints created space for innovation and built credibility with stakeholders by validating ideas with real users quickly.
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Aligning design sprint cadence with engineering sprints fostered shared vocabulary and smoother collaboration.
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Design ops expanded beyond design support to owning operational value streams like talent pipeline, governance, and contracts.
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An acquisition caused disruption but design ops helped shield the team from chaos, maintaining focus on craft.
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Continuous roadmapping and transparent backlogs improved visibility for partners and stakeholders.
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Learning from external communities and peers accelerated their growth and strategy formation in design operations.
Notable Quotes
"I really enjoy solving complex problems and finding ways to streamline and operationalize processes."
"Our digital experience team was small and we had to strategically align with product and engineering to support priorities."
"We coined the term full kit team because you needed the full set of people to produce exceptional experiences."
"Saying no was really hard, but it's saying yes to the right things and protecting our vision."
"Look ahead sprints gave us a playground to test new ways of working and deliver validated user feedback rapidly."
"We had to meet in the middle with Wonderland time; neither side could fully bend but collaboration won out."
"Our expansion into governance and operational functions took loads off the creative teams who didn't want to handle that."
"After the acquisition, design ops helped protect the experience team from paperwork and disruptions."
"Our journey has required constant reflection, introspection, and looking outward for inspiration."
"Information is power – establishing cadences and roadmaps gave everyone visibility and alignment."
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