Advice for DesignOps Employee #1
Summary
You have heard of DesignOps. You know how it can benefit your team. Your designers are tired of chasing requirements and dealing with tooling. But you have no idea where to start with establishing the practice in your organization. This session will help you evaluate what parts of DesignOps you need to implement, and how you can start to introduce the concept to your team.
Key Insights
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70% of design ops teams consist of a single person, making Amy's advice widely relevant.
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Understanding the specific problem that led to the creation of the design ops role helps prioritize early work.
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Role boundaries between design ops and creative leadership must be established explicitly to avoid conflicts.
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Building relationships across departments is critical, with IT and HR often being the most valuable allies.
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Career development paths are a high-impact initial focus area for design ops in new teams.
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Addressing research tool gaps and training can dramatically improve design maturity and stakeholder buy-in.
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Operating in a large, bureaucratic organization requires persistence to identify and reach the right contacts.
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Saying 'I don't know' but following up by figuring out the answer creates realistic expectations and builds trust.
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Not being a people manager can be an advantage for design ops as it enables an objective, consultative stance.
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Close, frequent one-on-ones build trust and uncover both personal and operational team challenges.
Notable Quotes
"I promise you they did not get up one morning and think, ah, yes, what my team needs is design ops."
"The catalyst that got your head count approved is the problem you should tackle first."
"If your head of design has been used to doing everything by themselves, establish early on what lives in your world and what lives in theirs."
"Making friends will help you in all sorts of ways. Relationship building has been about 75% of the game in my job."
"People will tell you what frustrates them. Boy, will they tell you what frustrates them."
"I am always super candid about not knowing things. I say, I don't know that, but I'll figure it out."
"Nobody has all the answers and we're human. That's okay."
"Bring the people who are blocking you into the process and have them see with their own eyes what you're doing."
"There is nothing more frustrating than showing up on day one as a new employee and then being like, well, your computer didn't come in yet."
"My job is part therapist. Career development and goals are basically asking what people want to be in five years."
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