DesignOps as an aid to the organization’s design expertise
In many organizations, design has taken a central position as part of product development, business strategy and improving the customer experience. When design becomes an integral part of a company’s operations, its management and optimization become more and more complex. DesignOps, i.e. Design Operations , was developed to meet this need and helps organizations build efficient, flexible and unified design processes.
What is DesignOps?
DesignOps is basically the “operational control” of design processes. It focuses on managing design teams, streamlining design processes, and making effective use of design-related tools and resources. Its goal is to improve the operation of design teams and facilitate their cooperation with other departments of the organization.
The purpose of DesignOps is to remove obstacles that slow down or prevent the progress of designers’ work. It creates the framework and structures that support the design process, often focusing on three key areas:
- People: Roles, responsibilities and competence development of team members.
- Processes: Optimizing design processes, defining and documenting design practices.
- Tools and resources: Supporting design with the right tools and technologies needed to get the job done smoothly.
The benefits of DesignOps for the organization
1. Scalability and efficiency
One of the biggest advantages of DesignOps is its ability to scale design processes as teams and projects grow. When an organization has complex design needs and multiple teams, without a systematic approach, design can quickly become disjointed. DesignOps enables the centralization and alignment of processes, ensuring that teams can work efficiently, regardless of the size of the organization.
By using DesignOps, organizations can:
- Reduces design bottlenecks and ambiguities
- Get better use of time in design teams
- Harmonizes the use of tools and methods of operation, which reduces overlaps and improves the flow of work
2. Unity and quality
DesignOps helps organizations ensure that all projects follow the same design principles and standards. This creates a more consistent and higher-quality end result, especially in large companies where different departments and many teams work. Common design tools, components and design systems help to ensure that the final results are consistent and of high quality at the level of the entire organization.
3. Better cooperation with other departments
Design teams often work closely with developers, marketing and business. DesignOps ensures that design processes can be smoothly integrated with other teams, which improves workflow and collaboration between different departments. Well-organized processes and tools enable clearer communication and reduce project delays or planning errors.
4. Management of design resources and expertise
Effective management of design resources is the central task of DesignOps. It includes, among other things:
Skills development and training: DesignOps is responsible for ensuring that team members have the necessary skills and that competence is continuously developed. This can mean both training in technical tools and a deeper understanding of design principles.
Allocation of resources: As an organization grows, it is important that design resources are properly distributed. DesignOps helps manage how designers’ work is distributed between different projects and ensures that the right resources are available at the right time.
5. Maintenance and development of design systems
Design systems are an integral part of many modern organizations that invest in digital products and services. DesignOps is often responsible for managing, maintaining, and updating design systems, which ensures that design components and styles are up-to-date and easily accessible throughout the organization. This reduces duplication of work and helps development teams build more efficiently and faster.
How to deploy DesignOps?
The implementation of DesignOps in an organization often starts with small steps, for example with the mapping of design processes and optimization of tools. The following steps will help you integrate DesignOps:
Process mapping and development: Start by identifying the current design processes and assess which steps are inefficient or where collaboration is not going well. These processes can be optimized and made more efficient with the help of DesignOps.
Selection of tools and technologies: Choose design tools that support collaboration between teams and streamline processes. For example, tools like Figma are popular because they allow real-time collaboration and sharing of components between teams.
Clarification of responsibilities: Define clearly who is responsible for the different areas of DesignOps, such as resource management, organizing trainings and maintaining design systems.
Building Culture: DesignOps is not only a technical process, but also a Cultural change. Collaboration, openness and continuous learning must be promoted within the organization in order to get the most out of DesignOps.
Summary
DesignOps is an integral part of the design expertise management of a modern organization. It helps to scale, improves the efficiency of processes and ensures that the design work is uniform and of high quality. DesignOps acts as a kind of bridge between design teams and the rest of the organization, facilitating collaboration, resource management and continuous development of design processes.
When organizations strive to meet the growing design challenge and create innovative, user-oriented products, DesignOps provides a framework for optimizing design expertise and bringing design to a central position in business development.
