Summary
We have all heard the old saying “communication is key” but as the landscape of technology widens so do the options we have for communication tools using that technology. To talk about the challenges and opportunities that our organizations face when solving the communication conundrum, we have invited three people working in three different areas where communication is key for organizations with designers: research insights, workflow management and design systems management. Facilitated by Abby Covert.
Key Insights
-
•
Design operations suffer from too many fragmented tools and need unified systems.
-
•
Users want collaborative tools that filter noise and surface only what's important.
-
•
Collaboration in companies requires control mechanisms such as approvals and private comments, contradicting the idea of anarchy.
-
•
Integration between design and development is hindered by translation losses between design and code.
-
•
True agile and cross-functional collaboration are rare due to team turnover and lack of trust.
-
•
Collaborative tools have democratized feedback, increasing ownership across teams.
-
•
Different roles like designers, engineers, and business analysts have distinct needs from design tools.
-
•
Customization of collaborative tools and workflows is essential to fit diverse team processes.
-
•
AI and design systems combined with research can enable automated, smarter design decisions.
-
•
Future collaboration tools should respect users' focus time and reduce constant interruptions.
Notable Quotes
"There are too many things all over the place. I would like to use my magic wand for making them one system."
"A lot of these tools bring more noise into people’s day to day lives. It’s really hard to stay involved and still find time to get your own job done."
"Collaboration is actually not anarchy in companies. There’s always this need for control."
"Translation is a traitor because meaning is lost in translation between design and code."
"The dream of cross-functional agile collaboration is there, but it’s quite hard to realize that because teams don’t have enough time to build trust."
"With collaborative tools, feedback has become a democratic process, and people feel more ownership of the project."
"Design is not only limited to designers. Business analysts and engineers can design too, supported by designers."
"The hardest thing is knowing when to stop talking about something and start building it."
"Eventually, I expect AI to help create designs by combining patterns from meta design systems and research, making design more about crafting experiences."
"I want my collaboration tool to be like the Nest thermostat of my workday, knowing when I’m heads down and when I’m open to communication."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We can’t predict the future; all we can do is make the best guesses based on what we know right now."
Jeff GothelfWho does what by how much?
November 20, 2025
"Urban air mobility business is expected to be profitable by 2028, helping solve dense city congestion."
Teresa SwinglerLook, Up in the Sky! UX/UI for Aerospace
October 27, 2022
"We have eight million prototyping tools but not many tools that help us spend more time in the problem space."
Andrea GallagherThe Problem Space
May 16, 2019
"It takes vision, leadership, and a certain level of mastery of uncertainty to find opportunity in change."
Jon FukudaTheme One Intro
October 2, 2023
"You’ll never have enough context; being able to act with incomplete information is a crucial skill."
Deanna Washington Tim Allen Jeff Courcelle John Maeda Matt Raw Erica TjaderScaling Success: Paving the Path from DesignOps to VP
October 4, 2023
"Clarity and cruelty are different things; you want directness without belittling."
Joshua GravesWe Need To Talk: Addressing Unmet Expectations (Part 2 of 3)
April 28, 2025
"Start small, revisit a past study, synthesize related findings, or take a step towards creating something like a playbook for your own organization."
Katie HansenFinding the unknown in the known: Harnessing meta-analysis and literature review
March 12, 2025
"Going from 100 to 200 people, suddenly product managers started hearing from a dozen people a week with conflicting requests."
Shipra KayanHow we Built a VoC (Voice of the Customer) Practice at Upwork from the Ground Up
September 30, 2021
"I was much more interested in talking to clients, understanding the scope, and translating that into what designers would build."
Courtney KaplanTaking it to the next level: Career paths in DesignOps
November 8, 2018