Summary
Lou Rosenfeld welcomed attendees to Design Ops Summit 2023, acknowledging the growth of the design operations practice since 2017 and the challenges faced by the community in 2023, including loneliness due to layoffs or being the sole design ops practitioner in their organizations. She encouraged attendees to use the summit to build connections and friendships to mitigate isolation. Lou introduced Bria Alexander, the MC and curator, who described the conference's three themes: Changing Design Ops curated by John Kuda, Practical Design Ops (her own), and Design Ops Plus curated by SAR Compre Miller. Bria highlighted the high-quality, non-sales-pitch sponsor sessions available to all, emphasizing their synchronization with the main program. Lou and Bria stressed using Slack for interaction, noted the availability of digital swag, and announced networking events like Cozy Juicy Reel and a community mixer to foster social bonds. The conference also provides note-taking support through Manuel Herrera, a new sketch noter replacing the longtime contributor MJ. Throughout, Lou emphasized kindness, respect, and adherence to the code of conduct to ensure an inclusive and supportive virtual environment for all attendees.
Key Insights
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Design Ops Summit provides a rare opportunity for design ops professionals who often work alone to connect and build lasting friendships.
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2023 has been a difficult year, with many attendees facing loneliness from layoffs or isolation in their roles.
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The conference is organized around three curated themes: Changing Design Ops, Practical Design Ops, and Design Ops Plus.
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Sponsor sessions are free, high quality, and run without overlap with the main program, making them accessible to everyone.
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A strong emphasis is placed on Slack as the primary space for discussion, questions, and community interaction.
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To improve engagement, attendees are urged to post questions in thread-specific channels for each talk to ensure visibility.
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Digital swag bags and interactive social events like games and community mixers help recreate the social aspects of in-person conferences virtually.
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Manuel Herrera, a seasoned visual thinker and educator, replaces the longtime sketch noter MJ to help relieve attendees from taking notes.
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The conference fosters diversity and inclusion, reflected in Bria Alexander's role and broader community values promoted throughout the event.
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The Rosenfeld team highly encourages openness and kindness to maintain a supportive and inclusive virtual environment, enforced via a published code of conduct.
Notable Quotes
"By showing up, you're doing so not just for yourselves, but for everyone else that’s here."
"Many of you are the only design ops person in whatever room you're in for as much as 362 days a year."
"Please make the connection. This is a great time to find people who can be with you those other 362 days a year so you don’t have to be so lonely."
"Design Ops Summit 2023 is back baby."
"Sponsor sessions are not sales pitches; they are free and provide incredibly high quality content."
"Please post your question in the thread associated with the talk because otherwise, it’s really hard to keep track."
"We have swag, so please check out our amazing offers in our digital swag bag."
"This conference would never be what it is without our sponsors giving us all the time, effort, energy, and intent."
"Our goal is to keep the vibes good and create a loving, supportive, and informative community."
"Manuel Herrera is here to take the burden of note taking off us so you can listen, focus, and be in the moment."
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