Summary
AI's impact on DesignOps tools: forget the if part--we've squarely moved on to when and how. The real question is this: are you ready for how AI will change your work as a DesignOps professional? Join us for a panel discussion with the companies that are envisioning or already utilizing artificial intelligence to dramatically change the practice of Design Operations.
Key Insights
-
•
AI is best framed as a powerful junior assistant rather than an autonomous intelligence in design operations.
-
•
Limina uses AI primarily for operational support like onboarding, marketing, and synthesizing contract details, avoiding client data input.
-
•
Environmental impact is a key consideration in adopting AI, as AI technologies have significant carbon footprints relevant to organizations pursuing sustainability certifications like B Corp.
-
•
Balsamiq focuses on low-fidelity wireframing and is cautious about rushing AI integration due to ethical and market pressures.
-
•
Ethical concerns about AI include potential job displacement, intellectual property issues, and legal risks raised by hallucinated AI outputs.
-
•
AI can enhance onboarding by offering personalized, self-service chat interfaces that provide only relevant context and documentation as needed.
-
•
Current AI tools aid UX research by automating transcription and summarization but cannot yet reliably generate deep user insights without expert oversight.
-
•
AI is poised to act as a conversational interface or connective tissue linking design systems across disciplines such as design, engineering, and product management.
-
•
Successful AI integration requires human experts to train and guide AI with precise prompts and taxonomies to avoid bias and irrelevant output.
-
•
Organizations may develop proprietary AI models specialized to their internal knowledge bases and workflows, requiring roles like AI engineers dedicated to that purpose.
Notable Quotes
"People tend to forget that the A in AI stands for artificial, which is basically fake intelligence."
"Think of AI more like a junior associate, a really powerful one, not a replacement."
"We haven’t put any client data into generative AI — just information about our own organization and processes."
"AI itself has a very large carbon footprint, so we have to balance adoption with our environmental goals."
"We’re experimenting but not yet planning AI product releases; the space is so open and exciting."
"There’s a difference between generating prompts and actually generating useful design outputs that fit your unique vision."
"We see AI as a tool that can quickly sketch ideas and ask thoughtful questions to take designs to the next level."
"The relationship with AI is like having a gopher or minion — don’t give it the final decision."
"AI can serve as a conversational broker, helping non-designers interact naturally with design systems."
"AI is a great automated assist, but it is not yet an insight generator like we hope for in UX research."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"A producer is probably in JIRA day-to-day, running tasks, creating tickets and epics, while a program manager tracks board-level timelines."
Panel Discussion: Communicating the Value of DesignOps
November 7, 2018
"Three quarters of users who fail their mission don’t come back, risking lost revenue and market share."
Andrew Custage Michael MallettThe Digital Journey: Research on Consumer Frustration and Loyalty
March 29, 2023
"Horst Rittel introduced wicked problems to describe problems where consensus on definition is difficult, and calling them problems can be misleading—maybe they’re better called messes or tangles."
Hugh DubberlyProblems with Problems: Reconsidering the Frame of Designing as Problem-Solving
June 19, 2019
"Does communal proximity guarantee the right to engage in research? This is a complicated question without easy answers."
Sahibzada MayedThe Politics of Radical Research: A Manifesto
March 27, 2023
"If you’re a product manager, you don’t do very much design work anymore; you care about it but step away from the Figma."
Christian CrumlishAMA with Christian Crumlish, author of Product Management for UX People
March 24, 2022
"We have to push every button, pull every lever, tackle ethics at individual, collective, and systemic levels."
Cennydd BowlesResponsible Design in Reality
June 9, 2021
"Design leaders with shared ownership at the C-suite table impact revenue and product research significantly."
Fatimah RichmondThe Future of ReOps as a Strategic Function: A Roadmap for Getting There
March 25, 2024
"Apple really premiered mobile accessibility in a very exciting way with the iPhone 3GS and VoiceOver."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
November 17, 2022
"Simple, low-fi prototyping tools can get you tons of feedback without much upfront design work."
JP Allen Holly HoldenNavigating the UX Tools Landscape
October 1, 2021
