Introduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
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."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"I don’t come from a design background at all. It’s like my dirty secret."
Meredith Black Elyse HornbacherBuilding Community and Common Trends to Look for in 2021
December 17, 2020
"Web3 offers a unique chance to get involved early before some of the ethical challenges of Web2 take root."
Tricia WangThe most popular design thinking strategy is BS
January 27, 2022
"We’re trying to build a design operations role that balances top-down governance with bottom-up community building."
Michael LandEstablishing Design Operations in Government
February 18, 2021
"Sometimes you won’t be in the room for tough conversations, so having stakeholders who understand your views is vital."
Bassel Deeb Will OsbornDo More With Less: Equip and Lead Design Orgs Through Adversity
October 2, 2023
"We herded all of our unicorns and named them appropriately with clear, meaningful titles."
Tanya SnookDesigning the team experience: Building culture through onboarding
November 4, 2021
"Developers are protective of their code, so AI coding tools naturally landed with them first."
Allan LowsonRehashing the Double Diamond: Collaborating across functions with AI-assisted prototyping
June 9, 2026
"Sustainability is already in our DNA as UX people because we talk about less is more and good design is as little design as possible."
James ChudleyDecarbonising User Journeys: How minimising enables us to do more with less
February 19, 2025
"I wish I knew it was okay to invest in relationships; that’s how incremental change happens."
Scott Jensen Sarah Delaney Carmen LiuShort Take #2: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
"We learned that hiring for the specific design team’s needs works better than a one-size-fits-all DPM approach."
Brennan HartichCommunicating and Establishing DesignOps as a New Function
November 7, 2018
