Summary
Measuring DesignOps value is surprisingly complicated. Many practitioners would agree with the sentiment that measuring their impact feels aspirational at best, and theoretical at worst. Anecdotal evidence and praise from partners (“I don't know what we’d do without you!”) is nice, but doesn’t add up to proof that DesignOps is a worthy return on investment. In this talk, we’ll share two novel approaches to measuring DesignOps success from our upcoming book, The Design Conductors: Your Essential Guide to Design Operations. These methods–the “Jobs to Be Done” and “HEROES” frameworks–can be used to uncover and define measures of value that more accurately capture the impact DesignOps (and design) has on a business and its stakeholders. We will also share some tested rubrics that DesignOps can use to prioritize and implement these new measures.
Key Insights
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Measuring design ops value is inherently difficult due to fluid goals, small teams, and reliance on outdated business metrics.
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Traditional business measurement frameworks often fail to capture the human-centered impact of design ops.
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Jobs to Be Done framework helps design ops understand and measure the real 'jobs' their stakeholders need accomplished, focusing on outcomes rather than tools or processes.
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The Hero’s Framework divides design ops impact into six categories—Health, Effectiveness, Readiness, Outcomes, Ecosystem, and Sentiment—covering broad organizational and societal value.
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Prioritizing what to measure is critical; not all metrics indicate meaningful impact, so teams must focus on what aligns with their organization’s mission and context.
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Design ops metrics can overlap with those used by design management and other functions, and this overlap is acceptable and can show broader organizational value.
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Organizational context, such as expansion versus contraction phases, affects which design ops metrics should be prioritized for maximum impact.
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Outcome-driven factors encourage teams to focus on improving metrics over time rather than static measurements, driving progress and tangible improvements.
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Making design ops work visible at every organizational level is more effective for securing investment than endless justification.
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Practical application of these frameworks, like the Gen AI Summer Camp case, shows how design ops can boost team readiness and use measurable data to demonstrate impact to leadership.
Notable Quotes
"Measuring wrong can cost you a half billion dollars, but also what you measure and how you measure matters a lot."
"Design ops isn’t rocket science, but between us it might actually be harder."
"Design ops is a flexible and adaptable practice, meaning our goals and our outcomes are usually more fluid than stable."
"Applying traditional business frameworks to design ops is like trying to fit a star in a box."
"Design teams don’t want to buy a design ops drill. They need a quarter inch hole that requires a little bit of program management."
"Healthy teams are the foundation of a healthy organization."
"Visibility is the most vital thing for UX leaders to be focused on."
"Endlessly justifying yourself rarely changes others’ opinions. It just positions design ops as something that’s up for debate."
"We choose to measure design ops value not because it is easy, but because it is hard."
"Narrowing your measures through the lens of organizational factors will help focus on what matters and refining them makes them durable and lasting."
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