DesignOps: A Conduit for Inclusion
Summary
Accessibility and inclusion, two extremely important topics for every organization, and certainly of paramount concern to the design function. What role can DesignOps play in advancing these initiatives? As the new Director of Design Operations, Laura sees the numerous opportunities across the business – in research, communications, tooling and more. She is leading the way, forging a path, and allowing other teams to jump aboard. Takeaways: How Design Operations can directly and indirectly improve the experience of prospective employees, and also to our customers on the receiving end of our products by helping everyone design for (all) humans.
Key Insights
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Accessibility was initially treated as a compliance checkbox but evolved into an integral, ongoing discipline within design operations.
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Housing accessibility within UX and design operations enables better cross-team collaboration due to UX’s focus on experience and connections.
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Starting accessibility initiatives with a dedicated lead, Kim Collins, helped establish momentum and relationships across the organization.
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Formalizing accessibility and inclusion in hard and soft skill frameworks makes them tangible expectations for designers' growth.
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Creating concrete roles and responsibilities documents is more effective than broad mandates in guiding accessibility practices.
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Building relationships through frequent, informal conversations (like coffee chats) uncovers allies and supports cultural change.
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Embedding accessibility into lead rituals and development stories helps integrate it tightly into existing workflows.
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A large platform rebuild presents a unique opportunity to design accessibility into foundational systems rather than retrofit it.
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Developing a standardized hiring rubric across teams helps reduce subjectivity and promote inclusivity in recruitment.
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Taking a step back from tactical design accessibility leadership enabled Laura to adopt a broader strategic view across product, tech, and design.
Notable Quotes
"Accessibility was viewed as a check mark, a thing to do and check off the list, not as a way of doing things."
"We had to start small and that’s okay, especially when starting with a team of one."
"Design operations is kind of like an experimentation ground where people are already invested and willing to try things."
"It helps to find shared goals, areas that both groups feel passionate about and where they can make a big difference."
"Putting accessibility and inclusion in writing makes it real and formal, not just a spoken idea."
"Rules and responsibilities documents give people concrete steps they can take towards accessibility."
"Kim Collins had about three coffees a day with different people just to get to know them and build connections."
"Don’t be afraid to keep knocking on their door or follow up, even if there are too many messages to answer in a day."
"Bringing a plan, even if it’s wrong, gets people to respond and engage more than waiting for the perfect idea."
"When you embed accessibility early in a platform rebuild, it alleviates a lot of chasing things down later on."
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