Summary
Design groups are no longer fringe in large corporations. We’ve grown up, and our numbers have multiplied; which is exactly what we wanted. However, we now face the challenge of integrating—at scale—with our organization’s cultural and operational fabric. Understanding which stakeholders are most needed to support our DesignOps ambitions is a great place to start garnering influence and yielding intended outcomes. Relationship maps are a powerful tool to humanize the process and chart the course.
Key Insights
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Design tools have evolved from craftsmanship to emphasize collaboration and communication.
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Designers are now influencing processes throughout organizations, rather than just creating individual outputs.
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Relationship maps help navigate complex organizational dynamics and foster cross-departmental collaboration.
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The role of design leaders is to create connections between designers and other teams to promote empathy and understanding.
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Creating a task force of volunteers from various departments can facilitate broader engagement in design initiatives.
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Establishing common ground and mutual benefits can enhance cooperation across departments.
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Aligning activities with personal values can energize team efforts and improve collaboration.
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Expressing gratitude and recognizing team contributions fosters a positive culture and motivates participants.
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The introduction of new design tools requires careful consideration of both immediate and long-term impacts on the organization.
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Successful design integration involves bridging the gap between engineers and designers through shared tools and processes.
Notable Quotes
"I'm a systems thinker and I love connecting dots for a living."
"Relationship maps help us move beyond the org chart to look at relationships needed for us to get things done."
"The tools and processes alone are not enough. This story is all about people."
"Designers are no longer fringe players in their companies."
"We need to integrate with the rest of the company better."
"Designers now have more responsibilities and budgets, which come with higher expectations."
"Getting people to work with you requires showing them what they will gain from collaboration."
"Acknowledge the contributions of others; it’s a thankless business and every inch is earned."
"We now have over 1900 employees subscribing to Envision, which is more than the number of designers we have."
"I never had worked with the IT team before, but I had to get this done."
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