The Many Paths Of Design Operations
Summary
When Rachel pivoted from content design to design operations, it turned out that she had a different understanding of what this meant than her VP, who envisioned a conventional program manager. Rachel brought a very different perspective and set of skills to the role — which was a learning experience for both of them. In becoming involved with the various design ops communities, and later, when she was interviewing to hire three new team members, Rachel was fascinated by the variety of backgrounds of people both already practicing and looking to enter the field. Some are more like what her VP expected, focused on milestone planning and tracking, resource allocation and budgeting. Others design and implement processes and manage shared toolsets. Some serve as chiefs of staff (which can also mean many different things). Some plan and host team meetings, ceremonies, and retreats. Others focus on research ops. And many — especially teams of one — do a little bit of everything. More and more leaders are beginning to understand the value of design operations — but some think the function should look or behave a certain way. DesignOps pros, though, know that every team and organization is different, and the only way they and their teams can succeed is by tailoring their approach to address those specific needs. This facilitated conversation will explore what brings people to DesignOps, how their backgrounds inform their practice, and how design ops practitioners can give themselves the permission and fuel they need to make this argument and structure things the way they believe will have the most impact.
Key Insights
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Design ops professionals often come from highly diverse and non-linear career paths, including architecture, education, and communications.
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Transferable skills like communication, stakeholder management, and user experience knowledge are key assets in design ops roles.
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Listening tours and stakeholder interviews early in a design ops role are critical to understand team needs and priorities.
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Hiring candidates with unconventional backgrounds brings unique perspectives and strengthens design ops teams.
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Imposter syndrome is common but can be reframed as discovering superpowers and strengths.
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Quick wins are essential for demonstrating the value of design ops and securing additional resources and buy-in.
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Systems thinking and service design skills are valuable for improving internal design team experiences such as onboarding.
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Building genuine relationships with colleagues is crucial for design ops success and collaboration.
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Sharing and celebrating wins through communication and change management plans increases design ops visibility.
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Communities like Design Ops Assembly provide critical support and knowledge sharing for those developing their design ops careers.
Notable Quotes
"Relationships are a currency and if you have strong connections, you’ll be rich in your career."
"I’m not looking for cookie cutter candidates; I want to hear someone who’s taken the less traveled, maybe more challenging route."
"I dreamed about work every night for a year as I was learning the language of corporate tech jargon and ux terms."
"Once I got my foot in the door, the biggest challenge was learning the vocabulary and culture."
"Imposter syndrome was my superpower; the gaps I saw were actually strengths."
"Start with quick wins, show value, and communicate loudly to get buy-in for more design ops capacity."
"Each design org has unique needs, but discovery and listening tours uncover where we can make the biggest impact."
"Hiring people who are relentlessly seeking improvement will grow your team and your work."
"Service designers on our design ops team focus on improving internal designer experiences like onboarding and hiring."
"Don’t fight who you are meant to be; your background and story are your superpowers."
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