Design Operations facilitates faster delivery and consistent product experiences through the support and optimization of designers, processes, and tools.
DesignOps isn't just for designers. It's for stakeholders, developers, and anyone vested in the success of a digital product or service. It aims to simplify the complex interplay between design and business.
As the Director of Design Operations at RBC Wealth Management, I was tasked with providing support, growth frameworks, and improved efficiencies across our design teams and beyond. Through extensive research and 7+ years of experience managing product design teams at RBC Wealth Management, I was able to organize the vast and sprawling DesignOps landscape into more manageable themes, or pillars. Within each of these pillars, I created multiple initiatives that, although linked to one another, I could treat as a single project.
Ensuring the design team understands their roles, has access to and awareness of available training, education, and career opportunities, and are happy and motivated in their work. Examples of initiatives within the Design Team pillar include:
• Recruiting
• Onboarding
• Roles & responsibilities
• Skills inventory
• Career paths
• Training & education
• Team culture
A digital design system offers a centralized, consistent framework for creating user interfaces across products and teams. By providing reusable components, standardized styles, and clear guidelines, it streamlines design and development. This leads to faster production, improved collaboration, better user experiences, and easier scalability and maintenance over time. Examples of initiatives within the Design System pillar include:
• Training & education
• Governance model
• Intake process for updates
• Accessibility guidelines
Making sure the design team has access to and working knowledge of industry tools required to effectively create digital experiences, communicate with team members and stakeholders, and efficiently manage their workload. Examples of initiatives within the Design Tools pillar include:
• New tool research
• License management
• Installation documentation
• Training resources
Enabling the design team to operate at an optimal level of efficiency through the standardization of the design process (or phases), and accounting for a reasonable amount of flexibility determined on a project-by-project basis. Examples of initiatives within the Phases pillar include:
• Project intake
• Ideation sessions
• Risk documentation
• Design reviews
• Design QA
• Measuring success / impact
A set of systems, structure, processes, governance, and cadence that a team runs to execute on their strategy and turn it into results. Together, they define how a team operates. Examples of initiatives within the Operating Model pillar include:
• Team goals & objectives
• Team structure
• Collaboration & communication
• Measure & track performance