Summary
We will cover some of the key principles and guidelines of collaborative DesignOps and share experiences of setting up design operations using a tech platform. You will know more about how to: Define a design process and convert it into a design roadmap. Share design goals and measure impact. Manage design processes and activities. Get started with curated set of tools, templates and best practices.
Key Insights
-
•
Design teams are scaling rapidly, with design recruitment growing tenfold in the past two years, demanding new tools and processes.
-
•
Current DevOps tools like Jira are inadequate for managing Design Ops due to fundamental differences in work styles and workflows.
-
•
There is a significant gap between strategizing design, executing it, and measuring its impact, which Design Ops platforms must bridge.
-
•
Design Ops encompasses multiple user roles including design managers, Design Ops managers, product managers, and design producers, each with distinct needs.
-
•
Design managers focus heavily on maintaining team health while achieving goals, whereas Design Ops managers emphasize process standardization and knowledge reuse.
-
•
Product managers seek transparency into design timelines and deliverables, viewing design as a black box without clear visibility.
-
•
Design producers prioritize creative autonomy and prefer working within beloved tools like Figma, resisting workflows that interrupt their creative process.
-
•
Qubits enables quick creation of standardized design roadmaps by offering flexibility in process choice (Agile UX, Clean UX, Design Sprint) and team assignments.
-
•
Tracking design metrics aligned to business outcomes is crucial for demonstrating design’s ROI and justifying design investments.
-
•
Integrations with tools such as Jira, Slack, Google Drive, Figma, and analytics platforms are essential for seamless collaboration and data-driven insights in design teams.
Notable Quotes
"Design teams are growing really fast, and design recruitment has gone 10x or more in the last two years."
"Design Ops being pushed under the umbrella of DevOps with tools like Jira is not right; the playgrounds are incompatible."
"Design managers care deeply about team health and achieving goals simultaneously."
"Design Ops managers want to standardize the design process and organizational knowledge to bring clarity and confidence."
"Product managers feel design is a black box, with no visibility into timelines or accountability."
"Design producers want to stay in their favorite tools like Figma and avoid being forced into additional tools or reporting."
"You can create a design roadmap in Qubits in just half a minute based on your chosen design process."
"Our platform aligns the entire design team with a process so everyone knows their activities and timelines."
"Design metrics are how businesses measure design’s ROI, so tracking these is essential."
"We aim to integrate deeply with Jira, Slack, Google Drive, Figma, and analytics tools to remove silos and improve collaboration."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We are witnessing the most rapid loss of biodiversity in human history."
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
"People felt designs were self-evident and too much explanation was a barrier to using the patterns."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"You need to learn the vocabulary, tools, and processes your peers know and understand where they are inadequate."
Nathan ShedroffDouble Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically
March 31, 2020
"Apple premiered mobile accessibility in a very exciting way with the iPhone 3GS and VoiceOver announcement at WWDC."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
November 17, 2022
"Product and design teams are usually the best initial stakeholders to engage for rapid research programs."
Feleesha SterlingBuilding a Rapid Research Program (Videoconference)
May 18, 2023
"Culturally resonant experiences can influence society in ways governments only dream of, with velocity and speed."
Neil BarrieWidening the Aperture: The Case for Taking a Broader Lens to the Dialogue between Products and Culture
March 25, 2024
"Knowledge management isn’t just about preserving work, it’s about retaining motivated, growing people."
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