Summary
DesignOps teams are increasingly being leveraged to solve ambiguous organizational problems like career development, culture or belonging—they’re cornerstones for any successful team. Creating a measurable strategy for these problems is complex, and it can be hard to prove the value of dedicating full-time resources to maintain this work in the long-run. Based on our learnings at Pinterest, I’ll share tactical approaches you can take to craft programming for this problem space, define what ideal states look like and how you can measure and prove value.
Key Insights
-
•
Design teams can play a critical role in addressing organizational and people problems.
-
•
Staying connected with team members through feedback mechanisms is essential for understanding issues.
-
•
Defining specific, solvable problems allows teams to generate actionable ideas.
-
•
Utilizing design thinking principles helps in empathizing with team members and innovating solutions.
-
•
Measurement of solutions is crucial for demonstrating impact and securing resources.
-
•
Regular reporting on progress builds credibility and support within the organization.
-
•
Pilot testing ideas before full-scale implementation reveals their viability and areas for refinement.
-
•
Collaboration with diverse team members can enhance the brainstorming process.
-
•
Setting realistic metrics helps gauge success and identify areas for improvement.
-
•
Establishing a roadmap based on feedback and performance metrics guides future growth.
Notable Quotes
"Design operations teams are being leveraged to solve these organizational people problems."
"What if your team had a dedicated resource to solve these problems?"
"We wanted to break down some of that subjective feedback that we'd been hearing."
"Does your question give you enough room to explore new ideas?"
"When we did this, leadership saw that we were really pushing to create solutions."
"The pilot didn’t go well, but it's just an opportunity to learn."
"We wanted to improve role comprehension by defining a list of skills."
"Love letters are great. They continually highlight work that improves the product."
"Our metrics increases were more than we estimated they would be."
"We can design an experience for our people and measure its impact."
More Videos
"Design has been in the DNA of MailChimp really since day one."
Jacqui FreyFlow and Superfluidity for Design Orgs
November 7, 2018
"Every time we communicate, we are indeed sharing a basic need for human connection."
Laura Gatewood Laine ProkayBeyond Buzzwords: Adding Heart to Effective Slack Communication
September 23, 2024
"When insights are communicated poorly, they lose value."
Johanna KollmannInsights-Driven Product Strategy: Get your Research to Count
December 6, 2022
"Take advantage of our sponsor sessions because they are really high quality and free."
Bria AlexanderDay 3 Welcome
September 25, 2024
"It's really important to create educational content for an audience like yours."
Billy CarlsonIdeation tips for Product Managers
December 6, 2022
"It’s crucial to bridge connections between different teams to avoid siloed insights and foster collaboration."
Catherine DubutBridging Physical and Digital Spaces: Approaches to Retail Service Design
March 18, 2021
"Creating intentional moments for connection is essential for a geographically distributed team."
Kim Holt Emma Wylds Pearl Koppenhaver Maisee XiongA Salesforce Panel Discussion on Values-Driven DesignOps
September 8, 2022
"When you experience problems with different disciplines, keep Sturgeon's biases in mind."
Adrian HowardSturgeon’s Biases
September 25, 2024
"Designers can be a little enigmatic and protective of our work."
Asia HoePartnering with Product: A Journey from Junior to Senior Design
November 29, 2023
