Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
Join us for a discussion about Michael's path into the federal government, working to solve problems and design better products and services for the American public and attempting to establish design operations at a government agency and across government.
Key Insights
-
•
Design in government is nascent and misunderstood, often seven or more years behind private industry.
-
•
Design efforts in agencies like USCIS tend to be fragmented, resembling mushroom patches without coordination.
-
•
Most government designers are contractors with limited voice and influence over processes and tooling.
-
•
Government hiring categories lack modern roles for designers, making federal design career paths nearly nonexistent.
-
•
The US Digital Service uses a 'tour of duty' model, akin to Peace Corps for nerds, bringing rotating experts for impactful projects.
-
•
Building design operations requires diplomacy and relationship management across multiple teams and leadership levels.
-
•
COVID-19 and budget constraints have posed significant challenges to building design teams and conducting in-person collaboration.
-
•
A centralized design system and research operations are critical to unify dispersed design efforts and share learnings.
-
•
Service design is largely undeveloped in government but essential for improving the delivery of public services beyond digital aspects.
-
•
Bureaucracy hacking and adaptability are vital skills for advancing design functions within the complexities of government processes.
Notable Quotes
"It's kind of Peace Corps for nerds – people come in for a tour and try to have impact at scale."
"Government is seven plus years behind industry – not bleeding edge, more like the dull butter knife edge."
"There are lots of little mushroom patches of design sprouting up, but they're disconnected and not sharing."
"Most of our designers are contractors; they have limited voice because they’re bound by contracts."
"In government, the org chart really matters – it influences who talks to whom and who gets to interface."
"You don’t want so much governance that people can’t be creative, but you need just enough to help their process."
"Hiring specs for federal designers don’t exist as we expect—jobs are often classified as public affairs or other unrelated titles."
"We’re trying to build a design operations role that balances top-down governance with bottom-up community building."
"The biggest bottleneck is the bureaucracy, like the Paperwork Reduction Act, we have to creatively navigate that."
"Design Ops in government requires a lot of diplomacy – it’s about managing relationships and stakeholder expectations."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Including people with disabilities from day one builds a strong accessible foundation."
Sam ProulxAccessibility: An Opportunity to Innovate
November 16, 2022
"Anticipating and acting on risk turns uncertainty into inspiration for informed action."
Sarah BrooksTheme 3 Intro
December 10, 2021
"Sponsor sessions are free to anyone whether they’re attending this conference or not."
Louis RosenfeldFounder’s Welcome
December 6, 2022
"The heroes framework helps show the specific contribution design ops makes through measurable impact categories."
Rachel Posman John Calhoun"Ask Me Anything" with Rachel Posman and John Calhoun, Authors of the Upcoming Rosenfeld Book, The Design Conductors
September 25, 2024
"You really have to use a broader net of the titles and levels you’re looking for because you’re not gonna find the perfect fit just within the title."
Abbey SmalleyToday’s Design Ops and Programs Landscape & Career Paths
October 4, 2023
"Using tools like 11 Labs, we instantly generated voices with emotion and appropriate cadence for characters."
Maverick Chan Claire LinFrom Doodle to Demo: AI as Our Storytelling Partner
October 23, 2025
"The biggest challenges are lack of visibility into the work, proving value, and coordinating and collaborating across teams."
Kristin SkinnerTheme 1 Intro
September 29, 2021
"I am usually the only designer on the team, and it gets difficult to get the information needed for design decisions."
Ruzanna RozmanGetting in Flow with Your Team
January 8, 2024
"Without data, we are just a person with an opinion — you can’t measure performance or impact without data."
Patrizia BertiniDesignOps + KPIs = Measure your Impact!
January 8, 2024
