Design Planning and Management Support
Summary
- What components am I working on next?
- What screens use those components?
- How many components and templates are complete?
- What content types will be using those components?
- As we partner with you, we will include our design planning and management templates and tools along with the design deliverables. You will see the tools in action during our collaboration, and we will empower you to own and manage the tools going forward.
- Or, maybe you would prefer the mentorship or coaching approach? We can get to know your current state, introduce you to our process and tooling best practices, and guide you through the learning process
Key Insights
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Design information is highly fragmented across multiple tools and formats, creating inefficiencies for teams.
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Design work operates at multiple 'altitudes'—from pixel-level UI to big-picture strategy—each requiring different but interconnected inputs.
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User research is necessary but only one part of a complex information landscape needed for informed design.
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A single source of truth is unrealistic; instead, interconnected hubs forming a 'constellation' better represent design knowledge.
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A dedicated design planning and management (DP&M) tool serves as a vital hub to connect disparate inputs and show relationships.
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DP&M tools enable designers and leads to tailor views specific to their roles, improving visibility and decision-making.
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Managing and maintaining design information requires cultural adoption and leadership to ensure consistent use and updates.
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DP&M tools are scalable and useful for both large, specialized design ops teams and small organizations with multi-role individuals.
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Integrations between popular tooling like Figma and Jira with DP&M tools remain challenging and require improvement for seamless workflows.
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Using DP&M tools reduces onboarding ramp time and context switching by consolidating scattered knowledge into an accessible, connected database.
Notable Quotes
"User research is really only part of the information schema that we’re talking about."
"We don’t need a north star, we need a constellation that allows us to see the full picture."
"The missing hub is the design planning and management tool."
"A designer working on a new component needs to understand not just that component but the templates using it and overall approach."
"Design teams face challenges because inputs live in PDFs, Figma files, Slack messages, spreadsheets, and more."
"DP&M tools pull together necessary reference materials and design deliverables, showing how they relate to each other."
"This isn’t more work—it's consolidating work that’s already happening scattered across tools into one connected place."
"Fostering a culture of use and leadership is essential to make these tools part of daily rituals."
"Through DP&M, designers get more contextual detail than what might be captured in a Jira ticket."
"We encourage you all to be your own heroes and connect your own documents."
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