Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Standardizing Design at Scale
Gold
Friday, September 9, 2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Share the love for this talk
Standardizing Design at Scale
Speakers: Candace Myers
Link:

Summary

This session is aimed at how design ops can innovate in and drive standardization across large design teams, enabling craft, quality UX and velocity in productization. By attending this session you will learn: Is standardization right for your team? How to approach standardization based on the needs or profile of your design team How to drive influence and create systems that are strong, extensible and will stick creating real impact for your team.

Key Insights

  • Standardization at scale requires balancing quality, scope, velocity, and craft across diverse teams and domains.

  • Biased standards, like soap dispensers favoring light skin and male-based crash test dummies, reveal the need for inclusive design at scale.

  • Creating a cohort of senior design architects democratizes design innovation and levels up the broader team’s craft.

  • Automation through no-code platforms connects fragmented tools, improving real-time data flow and reducing manual work.

  • Data visualization dashboards help design ops measure capacity and prioritize resources effectively, enhancing decision-making.

  • Human-centered design ops involves empathizing deeply with designers and operationalizing solutions that scale universally yet feel personal.

  • Reducing cognitive load by automating routine decisions can free designers to focus on higher-value work.

  • Removing single points of failure in teams ensures continuity and resilience amid churn.

  • Leadership endorsement is critical to encourage designers’ adaptability and cross-domain skill sharing.

  • Building community within and across design teams fosters connection, inclusion, and sustainable innovation.

Notable Quotes

"Standardization lives deep in my heart partially because of the teams that I’ve worked on and also because I’ve just had so many domains under the umbrellas of my teams over time."

"The Cheesecake Factory has basically cracked the code across what I am deeming four tenets of standardization at scale: quality, scope, velocity, and craft."

"The automatic soap dispenser was designed based on a bias by standard and distributed widely with the bystandard."

"Women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured and 17% more likely to die in a car accident because crash test dummies are modeled after the average male."

"We needed a mechanism for scaling The Architects influence and craft to the team, exposing the team to their talents while being inclusive of different points of view."

"Without automation, none of these tools are talking to each other, and operational overhead for your Ops and DPM teams is actually absurd."

"If it feels uncomfortable to get techie for a design ops professional, you’re probably in the right space."

"Human centered design Ops is about making sure nobody thinks they’re a robot."

"Reducing cognitive load means some decisions should just be made for the team to free mental bandwidth."

"Community building is what it’s about. The connection between the humans is the future of scaled innovation."

Ask the Rosenbot
Ilana Lipsett
Anticipating Risk, Regulating Tech: A Playbook for Ethical Technology Governance
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi
Contextuality problem: Exploring the Benefits of Qualitative and Quantitative Research
2023 • QuantQual Interest Group
Etienne Fang
The Power of Care: From Human-Centered Research to Humanity-Centered Leadership
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Chris Geison
What is Research Strategy?: A Panel of Research Leaders Discuss this Emergent Question
2021 • Advancing Research Community
Clara Kliman-Silver
UX Futures: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Design
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Bria Alexander
Day 3 Welcome
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Dr. Jamika D. Burge
A Genuine Conversation about the Future of UX Research
2024 • Advancing Research Community
Peter Merholz
The Mysterious Case of the Missing UX Career Path
2022 • DesignOps Community
Chris Hodowanec
Agile + User Experience: How to navigate the Agile landscape as an UX Practitioner
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Sam Proulx
Accessibility: An Opportunity to Innovate
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Aditi Ruiz
A PM State of Mind: Empathy Mapping Your Product Manager, Pt. 1
2022 • Design in Product 2022
Gold
Savina Hawkins
Harnessing AI in UXR: Practical Strategies for Positive Impact
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Gonzalo Goyanes
Design ROI: Cover a Little, Get a Lot
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Ned Dwyer
Right horses for the right courses – how and when to democratize research
2025 • Advancing Service Design 2025
Conference
Niko Laitinen
Adaptable Org Design for Resilient Times
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Theresa Neil
Designing for Wellness: Specializing in Healthcare
2024 • Rosenfeld Community

More Videos

Doug Powell

"Business leaders are super busy, data-driven, competitive, and have a finely tuned bullshit meter."

Doug Powell

Closing Keynote: Design at Scale

November 8, 2018

Mila Kuznetsova

"Giving parents something meaningful to do during sessions helps keep them engaged and supportive."

Mila Kuznetsova Lucy Denton

How Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices

March 9, 2022

Sarah Gallimore

"We created a Wizard of Oz smoke and mirrors prototype—a simple text message thread between a parent and this service—just to get enough buy-in."

Sarah Gallimore

Inspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future

November 18, 2022

Lada Gorlenko

"Simply asking stakeholders what success looks like for them in a project is a powerful way to start meaningful conversations."

Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne Rogondino

Theme 1: Discussion

January 8, 2024

Alnie Figueroa

"Our goal is to be AI fluent, not necessarily AI experts."

Alnie Figueroa

The Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft

September 10, 2025

Landon Barnes

"Research is not as easy as putting on a shoe and just doing it; it requires careful consideration and alignment with imperatives."

Landon Barnes

Are My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?

March 10, 2022

Emily Eagle

"In public radio, your listener can’t rewind. We have to design for thoughtful user progression."

Emily Eagle

Can't Rewind: Radio and Retail

June 3, 2019

Malini Rao

"The curse of hyper-focus means you lose peripheral vision and miss the larger context and customer needs."

Malini Rao

Lessons Learned from a 4-year Product Re-platforming Journey

June 9, 2021

Asia Hoe

"Assume positive intent, practice a service mindset, and curiosity over ego — remember we’re all in this together."

Asia Hoe

Partnering with Product: A Journey from Junior to Senior Design

November 29, 2023