Design Operations aims to amplify the value of design and increase investment in design through establishing the right tools, processes, and culture. It focuses on setting teams up for success, increasing organizational value, and continuous improvement. Key aspects of Design Operations include establishing principles and goals aligned with organizational strategy, defining an organizational structure that scales with design's impact, developing teams through resources like training, using tools and workflows to streamline collaboration, and appointing a Design Operations Leader. The overall goal is to justify further investment in design by clearly communicating and measuring its value.

1. Design Operations
Dave Malouf - @daveixd
MURAL Webinar - 8 Mar 2017

2. How do we amplify
the value of design
investment, and thus
increase that
investment further?

3. What Design Ops is NOT
• DevOps for Designers
But extrapolates a lot from what DevOps is based on.
• Project Management
Though project and team management are important pieces.
• Delivery
Which is really just a subset of project management anyway, but
more traditional design markets focus on delivery when using the
term “operations”.

4. DevOps
Not Developer Operations
•Is IT operations built
around the goals of
continuous integration &
continuous delivery (CI/
CD)
•Is foundational
component of digital
transformation.

5. Lessons learned from DevOps
• Continuous Integration /
Continuous Delivery
(CI/CD)
• Automation / self-healing
Software used to build,
maintain, check software
• Measure as you go
• Share, Share, Share
• Cattle vs. Pets
• Culture matters: Openness,
Accountability, Autonomy
Culture of Learning (at pace)

6. How can design be
plugged into CI/CD?

7. What is Design
Operations
#DesignOps
#DesOps
… the tooling,
lubrication, and rails
that amplify the
value of a design
team.

8. 1. Set up your team for success
2. Increase the value of your
organization’s investment
in design
Goals of Design Operations:

9. What is Design Ops?
Rails are things that keep you focused and having
direction: Values, principles, strategy, org structure
Lubrication are the things that keep things flowing
smoothly: Human Resources, collaborative systems,
and spaces.
Tooling are the things that keep work happening:
format interoperability, workflows, governance

10. The largest obstacle to
design success is the
misalignment of the
value proposition that
design itself provides an
organization.

11. Value …
… answers the question, “why should I come
to you?”
… justifies investment through perceived
return.
… suggests what should be measured to
understand return on that investment.

12. Proposed value of design
• Driving Understanding & Empathy
• Creating Clarity & Behavioral Fit
• Exploration
• Envisioning

13. Tools to create that value
• Storytelling
• Visual Thinking
• Information Presentation
• Workshops
• Prototyping/Simulations

14. The value of design
is as relevant to the
organization as it is
to its customers.

15. Principles
Tell us good from bad.
They are not
• Common sense
• Your process
• Latest trends
They are
• Your differentiators
• Brand voice
• Reflective of your customer’s
special needs

16. Organizational
Structure
“Now where should I put
my design organization this
year … ok, this week.?”
•Scaling over time
•Transforming vs.
building
•Cultural issues/values

17. If you aren’t working to
get your top design
leader to be a peer with
both engineering and
product you are doing it
wrong.

18. Designing Your Organization
• Requires the whole team across functions.
• Based on understanding the value of design
contribution to your organization.
• Guided by a “roadmap” towards a strategic
vision.
• Focus on balancing required skills.

19. Human
Resources
It’s all about the people.
•Recruitment
•Onboarding
•Career path
•Compensation
•Benefits
•Rewards & Recognition
•Development & Education

20. Developing your team
• Keep team’s skills balanced.
• Move from generalists to specialists as your
organization scales.
• Invest in your people; they deserve it and
you need it.

21. Collaborate
Openness, Transparency,
Instruction, and Criticism.
•The right tools to
increase engagement
•The right space(s) to
externalize work.
•The right mindset to
contribute, critique, and
instruct.

22. Collaboration should
feel natural and
fluid. If it requires
effort there is room
for improvement.

23. Collaboration is
working together.
Coordination is
working apart and
reporting back.

28. Credit: Layout & Structure t o Dylan Wilbanks

29. Tools
Software, equipment,
supplies
•Interoperability of formats
•Keeping people connected
•Enabling remote
experiences
•Connecting designers to
stakeholders &
collaborators

30. IT & Procurement need
to empower managers
and individual
contributors.

31. Your tool chest
• Collaboration
• Real-time
• Async
• Whiteboards/
post-its
• feedback/review
• Asset Management
• Testing and data
collection
• Knowledge Mngt
• Version control
• Networked storage
• Project & Resource
Management

32. Workflow
Intake, Collaboration, and
Delivery
•The connections and
processes that move
to go.
•Contributing to
continuous delivery
& learning.

33. Governance matters
• Decision making
• Autonomy
• Risk management
• Security & Privacy

34. Design
Operations Leader
•The role needs to start
immediately.
•1st by the head of design,
•Then a part-time role of a
line manager.
•Finally a full-time
position

35. The role includes
Team project mngt
Team communications
Team culture mngt
Team wide critiques
Procurement lead
Recruiting lead
Design system owner
Team IT Administration

36. Design Operations Lead
has a systems oriented
mind, experience in
different design contexts,
and is an influencer.

37. Qualifications for a Design Operations Leader
Systems: can map flows, relationships, and goals to
understand complexity and communicate it clearly.
Design depth: Community depth to gain insights. Plus
personal experience to extrapolate solutions.
Relationships: Needs to be able to build a wide net around
themselves to align and influence.
Understanding & Alignment: facilitate differing view
points to drive organizations towards action.

38. Culture
Put a bow on it
Take the culture of
learning of DevOps,
and infuse it with
empathy, inclusion,
and vision.

39. Making it happen
• Boil bays > sounds > gulfs > seas > oceans
• Be sure to include and collaborate
• Drill hard into aligning value and meaning
• Measure continuously, adjust accordingly
• Imagine success and work to make it happen

40. “Climbing Strategy Mountain”
Workshop:
Toronto - Apr 7
San Francisco - Jun 7
Dublin - Jul 4
Brighton - July 11
http://bit.ly/StratMtn
Dave Malouf
me@davemalouf.com
@daveixd || @Des_Ops
http://medium.com/@daveixd