Summary
We will cover some of the key principles and guidelines of collaborative DesignOps and share experiences of setting up design operations using a tech platform. You will know more about how to: Define a design process and convert it into a design roadmap. Share design goals and measure impact. Manage design processes and activities. Get started with curated set of tools, templates and best practices.
Key Insights
-
•
Design functions are rapidly growing but lack operational cohesion, causing scaling difficulties.
-
•
Traditional devops tools are task-centric and don't cater well to design workflows, creating integration challenges.
-
•
Four stakeholder groups in design ops have distinct needs: leaders, Ops managers, product managers, and design producers.
-
•
Design leaders want predictable roadmaps and strong team health metrics to manage delivery.
-
•
Design Ops managers aim to standardize processes and reuse organizational knowledge across teams.
-
•
Product managers seek transparency and accountability in design timelines and resource utilization.
-
•
Design producers prioritize creative autonomy but need automated reporting and feedback mechanisms.
-
•
A customizable design process library (e.g., Lean UX, Double Diamond) supports flexible workflow adaptation.
-
•
Centralized document repositories with rich search capabilities enable better knowledge reuse and context retrieval.
-
•
Integration with Jira and Slack allows two-way syncing of design activities and keeps teams aligned without disrupting favorite tools.
Notable Quotes
"The glue that binds strategy, execution, and measurement is missing in rapidly growing design functions."
"Traditional devops tools are more task and issue-centric, but designers think in processes and workflows."
"Design managers need predictable roadmaps and healthy teams to meet project goals and timelines."
"Product managers often see design work as a black box and want transparency and accountability."
"Design producers love their creative tools and want reporting to be automated, not manual."
"You can define your own design process, whether it’s Lean UX, Double Diamond, or something custom."
"All documents—PDFs, audio, video, Figma, Mural—live in a central repository searchable by project context."
"We support Google HEART metrics to show design impact aligned with business goals."
"Our Jira integration will be two-way so you can link design activities to epics, user stories, or tasks."
"We don’t want anyone to change their favorite tools; we build plugins to share wireframes or prototypes directly."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
More Videos
"Knowing in action is the intuition practiced by competent designers, a core of artistry."
Yoel SumitroActions and Reflections: Bridging the Skills Gap among Researchers
March 9, 2022
"A kickback is a free flowing and life giving gathering that transforms and electrifies throughout the night."
Zariah CameronReDesigning Wellbeing for Equitable Care in the Workplace
September 23, 2024
"Forrester found that design thinking teams move twice as fast from idea to market because they’re closer to their users."
Doug PowellDesignOps and the Next Frontier: Leading Through Unpredictable Change
September 11, 2025
"Reviewing decisions out loud held everyone accountable and made it harder for Jeff to forget or change his mind."
Darian DavisLessons from a Toxic Work Relationship
January 8, 2024
"We’re not in the business to make friends, we’re in this business to help companies make better decisions—even if that means killing ideas."
Mike OrenWhy Pharmaceutical's Research Model Should Replace Design Thinking
March 28, 2023
"One operations person for every ten designers is when you start to feel the pain of coordination."
Jacqui FreyScale is Social Work
March 19, 2020
"Values determine the team environment you create; they permeate through leadership and affect performance and happiness."
Kim Holt Emma Wylds Pearl Koppenhaver Maisee XiongA Salesforce Panel Discussion on Values-Driven DesignOps
September 8, 2022
"You own the design system, which gives you the unique ability to integrate that accessibility thinking into all of your components."
Samuel ProulxFrom Standards to Innovation: Why Inclusive Design Wins
September 10, 2025
"Gender-coded words influence someone’s decision to apply and feel they belong even within internal career ladders."
Laine Riley ProkayHow DesignOps can Drive Inclusive Career Ladders for All
September 30, 2021
