Summary
DesignOps as a practice is still relatively new—but the activities have been around long enough that we’re increasingly challenged to justify and quantify what we do. Accordingly, we need to address not just what is DesignOps, but how do we prove its value? What outcomes can we genuinely promise? And how do we know we are successful? In this group exercise, we’ll identify techniques, tactics, and tools for proving (and even measuring) value, and describing the outcomes that matter most.
Key Insights
-
•
62% of surveyed design organizations still don’t know how to measure design ops value effectively.
-
•
Common barriers include limited time, resource constraints, difficulty involving the right stakeholders, and lack of proven value.
-
•
Measuring the value of design is uniquely challenging due to varying organizational constraints and differing maturity stages in design ops.
-
•
Behavioral resistance, such as inconsistent data logging, undermines efforts to capture accurate operational metrics.
-
•
There is no industry standard for measuring design or design ops impact, creating confusion and inconsistency.
-
•
Established frameworks, like Google HEART and Facebook’s mixed methods, provide useful starting points for measurement.
-
•
A proposed eight-type measurement taxonomy was developed collaboratively with community input and analysis by Abby Covert.
-
•
Design ops measurement can be categorized into three focus areas: people, practice, and platform, each contributing to predictable outcomes.
-
•
Sentiment and engagement metrics, along with attrition and retention data, are key indicators for happier, better, and more effective design teams.
-
•
Interactive collaboration and community feedback are essential to creating realistic, adaptable tools for measuring design ops value.
Notable Quotes
"The day I no longer have to convince you felt good, but it’s not good enough."
"We keep trying different things but still don’t quite know how to measure our value."
"Limited time or resources is something every single team struggles with, not just design ops."
"Operationalizing design means creating the space for the team to do their best work within any constraint."
"Every organization has unique constraints, so success must be defined within your context."
"People really hated logging their billable hours, which shows how behavior affects measurement."
"Most companies persist in measuring the wrong thing because they focus only on data, not behavior or sentiment."
"Google HEART framework is useful because it sets goals and maps relevant metrics across teams."
"There are three key themes in design ops: people, practice, and platform — all necessary for predictable outcomes."
"You can’t have effective teams without happy designers and better designers — these outcomes are all interdependent."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Knowledge is power; empowering communities leads to better conservation outcomes."
Alex Hurworth Bonnie John Fahd Arshad Antoine MarinDesigning a Contact Tracing App for Universal Access
October 23, 2020
"We started to ask ourselves, does every new Design Ops practitioner need 10 years of experience like Lisa and I? What opportunities are we missing by not having more junior roles?"
Laine Riley Prokay Lisa GordonCarving a Path for Early Career DesignOps Practitioners
September 9, 2022
"Everyone wanted to know what was the official pattern and who was accountable for it."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"Rather than aiming for the chief strategy officer directly, build relationships with junior strategists who are more accessible."
Nathan ShedroffDouble Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically
March 31, 2020
"Accessibility is an ongoing process where we iterate, improve, and expand, and mobile-first makes the journey easier."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
November 17, 2022
"At LinkedIn, rapid research uncovered trends across products that helped reduce duplicate work."
Feleesha SterlingBuilding a Rapid Research Program (Videoconference)
May 18, 2023
"Culture is the most influential factor impacting people's perceptions and values today."
Neil BarrieWidening the Aperture: The Case for Taking a Broader Lens to the Dialogue between Products and Culture
March 25, 2024
"The real question is what is it about delivering the value of design at scale."
John DevanneyThe Design Management Office
November 6, 2017
"The higher up you go, the more qualities like bravery matter compared to methodology."
Katy MogalBut Do Your Insights Scale?
March 12, 2021