Summary
What do you do when Mergers and Acquisitions is your company’s growth strategy and all the products look different. Key design principle to solve this is UX Consistency. But how much consistency is needed? How can you engage all these different teams and align them on a common goal, especially in a decentralized product design environment? Lastly, having design alignment or a common design system is not enough, but ensuring that all the products implement the agreed design consistency across product. Learn how you can influence and scale to achieve balanced user experience across all products.
Key Insights
-
•
Design consistency is crucial for user experience across different products in a company.
-
•
Mergers and acquisitions create unique challenges for maintaining a unified design ethos.
-
•
Balancing consistency and flexibility allows teams to cater to specific user needs while maintaining overall coherence.
-
•
Creating visual comparisons of existing products can effectively communicate the need for design consistency to stakeholders.
-
•
A hybrid design model can facilitate both centralized oversight and localized creativity.
-
•
Design leaders should aim for 30-40% consistency to encourage innovation without compromising user experience.
-
•
Fostering a sense of community among designers across teams helps break silos and promotes collaboration.
-
•
Quarterly updates and clear expectations for implementation build accountability into design processes.
-
•
Involving cross-functional teams early on ensures broader buy-in for design decisions.
-
•
Addressing cultural differences is pivotal in aligning design approaches in a global context.
Notable Quotes
"Consistency is the key principle in design and in life."
"When things behave the same way, users don’t have to worry about what will happen."
"A picture is worth a thousand words."
"Identify the minimum consistency needed, not cookie cutter design."
"We broke down all the teams into groups to research, come back with proposals, and vote."
"You need to understand and listen to all the parties to make it a collaborative process."
"Human capital design talent is the most valuable asset; empower them in decision making."
"Follow a service model rather than an authoritative model."
"Sometimes compromise is necessary for the greater good."
"Engagement and communication with all stakeholders are essential for success."
More Videos
"How can we put a chatbot in the product instead of only at the end of the process?"
Noz UrbinaRapid AI-powered UX (RAUX): A framework for empowering human designers
May 1, 2025
"Not just making things up here on stage; there's actually an underlying structure."
Jim KalbachJazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration
June 4, 2019
"I still do this today. I make a service map when I know I need to grow a team fast."
Holly ColeUnderstanding Experiences: When you have to do more than work
November 8, 2018
"We have harmony between design and development, and now a common language to align our processes."
Jack BeharHow to Build Prototypes that Behave like an End-Product
December 6, 2022
"Welcome to day two of Design Ops 2023. If you can believe it, we are halfway through our programming today."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
October 3, 2023
"Organizations must build a culture of safe experimentation and reward curiosity."
Erika FlowersAI-Readiness: Preparing NASA for a Data-Driven, Agile Future
June 10, 2025
"Equipped with the right tools, we can truly meet students where they are."
Kristin SkinnerFive Years of DesignOps
September 29, 2021
"In jazz music, there's what's called 'the head.'"
Jim KalbachJazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration
November 6, 2017
"The purpose of design is to help create a just and equitable world for everyone."
Surya VankaUnleashing Swarm Creativity to Solve Enterprise Challenges
June 10, 2021
