The Future of DesignOps is Tool Consolidation
Summary
Tired of juggling a dozen different tools? Join us for a live conversation about the rising trend of tool consolidation in DesignOps, led by Great Question CEO Ned Dwyer. He'll be joined by Jadyn Aguilar, Head of Design Operations and UX Research at Gusto, to discuss the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of tool consolidation in DesignOps. If you're part of a team aiming to streamline workflows and reduce overhead, this session is a must. You’ll walk away with practical insights and advice for consolidating your own toolstack.
Key Insights
-
•
Gusto reduced tool context switching from 10+ to fewer tools, streamlining research workflows.
-
•
Close partnership with IT enabled holistic visibility around tool use across teams and prevented siloed decisions.
-
•
Empathy towards IT and procurement teams facilitates smoother tool consolidation conversations.
-
•
Intentional change management including surveys and stakeholder feedback helped secure buy-in across the org.
-
•
Tool consolidation led to a cultural shift enabling greater democratization of research and customer centricity.
-
•
Trade-offs are inevitable; prioritizing optimization over perfection allows practical progress.
-
•
Piloting selected modules before full rollout reduces disruption and supports phased adoption.
-
•
Visual mapping of research journeys exposes process gaps and opportunities for automation.
-
•
Reducing manual tasks through automation (e.g. incentive processing) gave the team more time for strategic work.
-
•
Building a strong business case covering cost savings, efficiency, and participant experience eases procurement approval.
Notable Quotes
"We were using 10 different tools to do bite-size pieces of the research flow internally."
"We think holistically about the impact of introducing or removing tools across the org."
"Everybody approaches it with a lot of curiosity and empathy."
"If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word. That same idea applies to tool consolidation."
"It’s not consolidation for consolidation’s sake, it needs to be intentional and mindful of trade-offs."
"Tool consolidation opened up space for conversation and collaboration across teams."
"We mapped the process visually to see gaps and where we could reduce context switching."
"Consolidation improves participant experience by building trust through a consistent outreach process."
"Piloting modules first helps avoid rip-and-replace thrash and eases change management."
"A strong case highlighting cost savings and efficiencies makes procurement conversations easier."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Users want to feel that their dollars are making a difference and want clear storytelling about their impact."
Marissa Cui Rachel He Michael Leggett Manos SaratsisClimate Design Product Showcase
March 13, 2024
"AI cannot replace user research, usability testing, or domain expert validation."
Snehal PendharkarConducting pre-research with AI agent personas: Pressure-testing concepts for expert workflows
June 10, 2026
"Toxic stress makes people dumb, reducing their cognitive ability by half."
Alla WeinbergHealing Toxic Stress
September 23, 2024
"In the wickedness of enterprise UX, craft keeps you grounded amidst competing perspectives and political eddies."
Uday GajendarThe Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX
May 13, 2015
"Leadership Dichotomies are not opposites but spectrums where leaders find their dominant position and comfort range."
Jason Mesut Martina Hodges-Schell Jose CoronadoUnmasking Design Leadership: Navigating leadership without neglecting ourselves
October 30, 2025
"Usability testing is the gateway drug for research; similarly, incremental measurement can be the gateway for strategic design."
Alfred KahnA Seat at the Table: Making Your Team a Strategic Partner
November 29, 2023
"Involving people with disabilities from the start reveals impact and usability issues that automated testing simply cannot catch."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
October 3, 2023
"Designers are not trusted unless they bring data to the table."
Leisa ReicheltThe Five Dysfunctions of Democratized Research at Scale
March 30, 2020
"Welcome to the AI party, we've got 10 years of research to share."
Dan SafferWhy AI projects fail (and what we can do about it)
May 14, 2025
