Summary
Day two of Design Ops 2023 kicks off with a focus on practical design operations. The host welcomes attendees on behalf of Rosenfeld Media and recaps day one’s theme about the evolving nature of design ops. She explains the conference structure, including sessions sponsored by companies like Fable, Balsamiq, and Laina, which offer valuable content without sales pitches and do not overlap with main programming. Attendees are encouraged to engage via Slack channels like DOS 23 general and sponsor-specific channels, with clear instructions on how to ask speaker questions in dedicated threads. The conference team offers prompt support for technical issues and community management. Resources such as session decks, videos, and notes curated by David Nicholson, a senior UX designer and volunteer search and rescue team member, are made accessible soon after sessions to allow participants to stay present during talks. The host also reminds attendees of the community code of conduct, emphasizing kindness and respect in the virtual space and encouraging participants to report any discomfort or misconduct. Social events, such as the community mixer moderated by Lou, further support peer connection in this increasingly complex field.
Key Insights
-
•
Design Ops 2023 is structured around themes spanning three days, with day two focused on practical design operations.
-
•
Sponsor sessions are high-quality, fully optional, run on Zoom, and do not overlap with the main program.
-
•
Slack is a critical communication hub for attendee engagement, including sessions, Q&A, and community support.
-
•
To ensure speaker questions are noticed, attendees must post questions in talk-specific pinned threads on Slack.
-
•
Resources like video recordings, slide decks, and session notes are posted on the conference website shortly after sessions.
-
•
David Nicholson serves as the conference’s dedicated scribe, helping attendees avoid note-taking pressure.
-
•
Sponsors support the conference with both financial investment and by offering benefits like free software trials.
-
•
Social events such as the Design Ops community mixer foster real-time peer connection and venting opportunities.
-
•
The conference enforces a code of conduct to maintain kindness, respect, and positive virtual community vibes.
-
•
There are multiple support channels for any conference-related technical or community issues, ensuring smooth attendee experience.
Notable Quotes
"A little color purple to start the day. Good morning."
"Sponsor sessions do not overlap at all with the main programming. It is 100% fully optional."
"If you have any questions for the speakers, you really need to put your question in the thread specific to the talk."
"You don’t have to take notes; session videos and decks will be shared as soon as possible."
"David Nicholson is the reason why you don’t have to write very fast."
"Sponsors bring so much color and so much light into the community."
"Slack is a huge part of how we are going to be engaging in today’s conference."
"The code of conduct is on every page of our site; it includes procedures for getting assistance."
"If you feel uncomfortable or bullied, please let us know because it’s very important to keep the vibes positive."
"You can also reach us quickly by going to help-desk-customer-service for any tech or support issues."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The System Usability Scale’s question about needing a technical person to use the system is confusing and inaccurate for screen reader users."
Sam ProulxSUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
December 9, 2021
"Government is seven plus years behind industry – not bleeding edge, more like the dull butter knife edge."
Michael LandEstablishing Design Operations in Government
February 18, 2021
"We stuck with NPS because it was a pure metric with a long history we could trend, instead of muddying things with loyalty or revenue."
Shipra KayanHow we Built a VoC (Voice of the Customer) Practice at Upwork from the Ground Up
September 30, 2021
"People care about titles way too much. I had a guy whose business card said star-bellied sneak—love that."
Ian SwinsonDesigning and Driving UX Careers
June 8, 2016
"We went from a team of 80 to 170 overnight, and that was a wide open cheeks flushed moment for me."
Isaac HeyveldExpand DesignOps Leadership as a Chief of Staff
September 8, 2022
"Stepping into the shoes of design gave stakeholders a new admiration for the design process and strengthened our relationship."
Amy EvansHow to Create Change
September 25, 2024
"We are stronger when we work together towards a unified goal – that’s our super healing power."
Kate Koch Prateek KalliFlex Your Super Powers: When a Design Ops Team Scales to Power CX
September 30, 2021
"You lie to yourself more than anyone else; the lie is that you are completely rational and objective."
Dave GrayLiminal Thinking: Sense-making for systems in large organizations
May 14, 2015
"You have to push against 200,000 years of human evolution to get researchers to create reusable knowledge."
Matt DuignanAtomizing Research: Trend or Trap
March 30, 2020
