Summary
DesignOps has matured practices, refined workflows, and scaled design systems. But have we become too focused on design itself? While optimizing pixels and processes, a transformative opportunity remains untapped. As operational silos multiply across organizations and sector-agnostic regulations for digital products grow increasingly complex, a dangerous ambiguity emerges: Who actually owns compliance implementation? A wave of regulations impacting all digital product organizations in Europe demands cross-functional action, yet ownership remains fragmented: legal understands requirements but lacks implementation expertise. Product prioritizes features over compliance. Design identifies constraints without solutions. Engineering relegates compliance to the backlog. The result? Compliance becomes everyone’s concern and no one’s responsibility. This case study explores how the Eu Accessibility Act enforcement in June 2025 revealed this hidden dysfunction: budget disputes, role confusion, and mounting organizational friction. In this leadership vacuum, DesignOps emerged as the strategic architect that: – Aligned product, design, legal, and engineering around shared accountability – Embedded compliance directly into R&D workflows – Became the connective tissue that unified previously siloed operations This ownership gap will grow exponentially more dangerous for organizations navigating Europe’s complex regulatory landscape. This talk explores how DesignOps must evolve from tactical facilitator to compliance-by-design architect: breaking down operational silos, reducing implementation costs, and delivering compliant innovation at market speed. The question isn’t how well we can optimize design workflows. It’s whether we’re ready to lead the transformation our organizations desperately need.
Upcoming events
Scaling User Research with AI: Continuous Discovery of User Needs in Minutes
DesignOps without Boundaries: Building More with What You Have
Bridging Design and Code: AI-Powered Design System Integration
Practical DesignOps: From Ideas to Tools That Teams Actually Use
More Videos
"Hypertext notes coexist on the same level and link to each other arbitrarily, creating emergent structures."
Jorge ArangoExploding the Notebook: How to Unlock the Power of Linked Notes (2nd of 3 seminars)
April 19, 2024
"After 10 years, managers who first encountered civic design still believe it’s the right approach and continue to use it."
Christian BasonInnovating With People: Unleashing the Potential of Civic Design
December 8, 2021
"When you change people’s workflows, you are literally changing power dynamics."
Sofia QuinteroBeyond Tools: The Messy Business of Implementing Research Repositories
March 10, 2022
"One theme was very clear and that was around the future."
Alana WashingtonTheme 3 Intro
October 1, 2021
"Two-thirds of our internal team had experienced a late or lost delivery, reflecting real customer frustration."
Anat Fintzi Rachel MinnicksDelivering at Scale: Making Traction with Resistant Partners
June 9, 2022
"We use Alexa’s personification for good, fun, and delight, but we don’t advertise, especially because there may be kids listening."
Amy MarquezINVEST: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"Recording videos with voiceover to walk through user flows has become invaluable for sharing complex scenarios."
Chris HodowanecAgile + User Experience: How to navigate the Agile landscape as an UX Practitioner
November 16, 2022
"The biggest mistake in communication is the illusion that it has happened."
Janaki KumarInnovate with Purpose
June 14, 2018
"We need to advocate for equity, not equality, by measuring harm and understanding power imbalances among users."
Sarah Fathallah Alba VillamilBeyond insights: Rethinking the role of researchers as stewards of organizational wisdom
March 13, 2025
