Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
What happens to your DesignOps team when your Design organization hits scale? Juggling the growth of your product, your people, and your processes is a demanding challenge, and strains the jack-of-all-trades skillset of even the most seasoned DesignOps practitioner. This continues the conversation we started at the DesignOps Summit about how we scaled and reshaped our UXOps team at Salesforce into two discrete tracks and we dive deeper into four themes: UX Product & UX Team Ops Design & DesignOps Team Maturity Design Ops Role Clarity and Career Ladders The Future of DesignOps
Key Insights
-
•
Unconventional career paths such as ballet and game design can lead into design operations, bringing diverse perspectives.
-
•
The design maturity model helps determine when to hire dedicated design operations roles, typically around 14-20 designers.
-
•
Design Ops teams face challenges balancing broad responsibilities like onboarding, delivery, culture, and tooling at scale.
-
•
Splitting design Ops into Team Ops (culture, systems, community) and Product Ops (delivery, strategic partnerships) improves clarity and impact.
-
•
Measuring and proving the value of design Ops requires defining clear, discrete, and measurable service offerings aligned to products and teams.
-
•
COVID-19 accelerated global collaboration and forced design Ops teams to adopt experimental communication methods and virtual socialization.
-
•
Maintaining team connections remotely involves virtual coffee chats, stand-ups with fun elements, weekend updates, and design crit-style feedback meetings.
-
•
The future of design Ops may blur roles with PMs and TPMs, focusing more on empowering teams and less on rigid titles.
-
•
Design Ops is evolving from supporting design teams only to influencing broader organizational processes and cultures.
-
•
Intentional, targeted communication and roadshow efforts are vital to re-educate the organization about changes in Ops structures and roles.
Notable Quotes
"My path into design Ops was winding—I started as a professional ballet dancer before falling in love with academia and design."
"Around 14 to 20 designers is usually the tipping point where having a dedicated design ops person starts to make sense."
"If adding a design program manager gives each designer back even one hour a day, you might make your entire team more efficient."
"We realized we were solving problems of a design practice when our organization had actually scaled to an organizational level."
"Trying to do all things well can mean doing all things kind of not so great—specialization became necessary."
"We created separate tracks so people can self-organize, leverage the right skills, and grow their careers in focused ways."
"Our team Ops Charter is about amplifying and celebrating the work and impact of design and design Ops."
"COVID has maybe made us a better global team by forcing us to figure out how to work across time zones and communication preferences."
"Employee experience and customer experience are inextricably tied—operationalizing design Ops impacts both."
"Design Ops might not just support design anymore—our work is requested by non-designers and solving broader business problems."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
More Videos
"We all walked away better for it."
Randolph Duke IIWar Stories LIVE! Randy Duke II
March 30, 2020
"This is a moment to rethink identity beyond UX and get creative with income streams and career paths."
Corey Nelson Amy SanteeLayoffs
November 15, 2022
"When executives start questioning your research details, that’s a good sign they’re engaged and trusting the process."
Landon BarnesAre My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?
March 10, 2022
"We’re often stuck on a hamster wheel of short-term metrics like daily or monthly active users that don’t capture long-term success."
Amy BucherHarnessing behavioral science to uncover deeper truths
March 12, 2025
"Momentum in users is like energy in fluid—strong motivation drives fast, decisive movement."
David SternbergUncovering the hidden forces shaping user behavior
July 17, 2025
"Anecdotal feedback from team members helps leaders understand the real impact of change."
Deanna SmithLeading Change with Confidence: Strategies for Optimizing Your Process
September 23, 2024
"Designers have power. We get to decide who gets heard, who gets included, who gets excluded."
Jennifer StricklandAdopting a "Design By" Method
December 9, 2021
"Around 14 to 20 designers is usually the tipping point where having a dedicated design ops person starts to make sense."
Rachel Posman John CalhounA Closer Look at Team Ops and Product Ops (Two Sides of the DesignOps Coin)
November 19, 2020
"Creating and holding space is like putting bumpers up in bowling so people know they won’t fail if they engage."
Gina MendoliaTherapists, Coaches, and Grandmas: Techniques for Service Design in Complex Systems
December 3, 2024
