Summary
As Design Operations leaders, we are constantly playing a game of breadth verses depth. It can be easy to get caught diving deep into fire drills or one-off problems, and never having time to scale your efficient operations to the greater team. In this talk, Cassandra will guide you through the process of defining and deploying an operational strategy. With this strategy, you will scale the impact of design operations without increasing the size of your program management team. She'll provide tips on how to get buy in from your key stakeholders to ensure their investment and guarantee their adoption of your strategy as their own. With this practical toolset, you can define your operational vision, empower yourself and your partners to deploy it, and finally get yourself the bandwidth you’ve needed to be more strategic.
Key Insights
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The design operations strategy is crucial for navigating large teams and projects.
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A strong design operations structure prevents miscommunication and chaos.
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Identify and document existing processes instead of reinventing the wheel.
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Conduct interviews with stakeholders to understand current pain points.
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Create a 'skeleton deck' to effectively organize processes and promote feedback.
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Embrace imperfection; 'share early and share ugly' can lead to better collaboration.
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Incorporate cross-functional stakeholders for a holistic approach to process design.
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Focus on the cyclical nature of operational improvements for sustainable impact.
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Test and iterate solutions to ensure they meet team needs effectively.
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Schedule regular time for individual reflection to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Notable Quotes
"Our small but mighty design operations team gets put on the biggest problems happening day to day."
"It's hard to pull your head above water and think about the big picture."
"Design operation strategy needs to be a strong structure; it is the foundation your team sits upon."
"Anytime there are a lot of people involved in a project, there's room for miscommunication and duplicative work."
"Don't reinvent the wheel – ask your team what already exists and build from there."
"Ugly is actually better. I'm a champion of ugly decks."
"This is not a net new process; you are just documenting the way we do things."
"How might we communicate status consistently across teams?"
"Be deep in the weeds with one team before scaling to others."
"Focus on process updates as you move between tactical and strategic work."
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