Design Ops stands for design operations, which has emerged as a critical framework for scaling design efforts and improving collaboration within a software development company or design agency. This article serves as a study guide, exploring the fundamental concepts, team structures, and implementation strategies of DesignOps, providing valuable insights for entrepreneurs and design leaders looking to enhance their design team's operational efficiency and impact.

So, what is DesignOps?

Design Ops (Design Operations) is a methodology that standardizes team design processes, documentation, and business practices to improve communication, collaboration, and user experience. In simple words, it coordinates and enhances collaboration between design and operations. At its core, DesignOps encompasses the elements of your design team that support the creation of value. Similar to how DevOps revolutionized software development by breaking down silos, DesignOps aims to streamline design workflows and help design teams to work more efficiently and effectively within a product team.

DesignOps addresses several key team management challenges, including:

• Managing team growth
• Hiring designers with desired skills
• Creating efficient, organized business processes or workflows
• Improving the quality of team deliverables for greater impact

The scope of DesignOps is intentionally broad to accommodate the varied needs of different organizations. Rather than being a rigid framework, it serves as a tool to help address and facilitate change for design and product development teams, workflows, and improve the overall quality of projects.

Evolution of DesignOps

DesignOps has evolved as a response to the growing complexity of design work in modern companies. As design teams expanded and their work became more integral to product development, the need for structured operational support became evident. DesignOps emerged as a discipline that provides this support while allowing designers to focus on their core creative work.

The relationship between DesignOps and DevOps

While DevOps focuses on merging development and operations to deliver applications and services at high velocity, DesignOps applies similar principles to design processes. By merging these two approaches, you can maintain effective collaboration and improved design within all phases of application development. Organizations that successfully integrate these approaches can achieve higher-quality design and testing for improved user experience and application quality.

DesignOps team structures

The structure of a DesignOps team should be derived from the team's specific challenges and needs. According to Nielsen Norman Group, there are five common DesignOps team structures, each suited to different organizational contexts:

Scattered structure

In this model, DesignOps efforts are taken on by other roles, for example a design manager or a product manager, as part of their day-to-day job responsibilities. Within the organization, “DesignOps” is likely unused as a term and unknown as a formalized concept.

Dedicated structure

Here, DesignOps is a team of one dedicated person who identifies and develops programs for the largest pain points of the design team, often initially in a reactive way. This structure might be overwhelming for this single person responsible for the processes.

Specialized structure

In this approach, a DesignOps role is divided across a few people who manage or oversee specific aspects of DesignOps full-time. This structure works until the number of design teams grows and they expand, so a small DesignOps team is unable to manage them.

Distributed structure

This structure features DesignOps roles distributed and dedicated to individual teams throughout the organization, focusing on team-to-team coordination and alignment. In simple words, each design team has its own DesignOps support.

Elevated structure

At this level, DesignOps scales to become a separate entity, providing centralized resources and programs that affect and benefit the entire organization. This structure focuses on greater vision and automation. That's the approach that Ronas IT opt for and can help establish within other companies.

It's important to note that these structures should not be viewed as progressive steps in a maturity model, but rather as potential approaches suitable for different contexts. The appropriate structure depends on the overall organizational structure, goals, and level of need for formalized DesignOps programs.

Design processes and DesignOps

The design process forms the backbone of DesignOps implementation. A standardized yet flexible process enables teams to work consistently while adapting to specific project needs.

Standardizing design processes

Standardization is a key aspect of DesignOps. By documenting and formalizing a design workflow, teams can provide consistency in their approach and output. This doesn't mean creating rigid procedures, but rather establishing a baseline that can be adapted as needed.

No research methods on how to effectively provide great design will be helpful if there's no systematization within the team. To start standardizing your design practice and implement DesignOps:

• Take stock of current internal processes
• Prioritize which processes to document based on need
• Outline each part of the process based on current understanding
• Look for areas where time is being lost and identify automation opportunities
• Prioritize critical processes first, then expand from there.

Design processes standardization at Ronas IT

At Ronas IT, standardizing our design processes isn't just about creating rules — it's about fostering creativity and design thinking while providing quality and consistency within our projects. This part narrates our journey in DesignOps as we streamlined our approach to interface design projects.

A foundation built on quality assurance

To keep our design work top-notch, we follow a core set of principles that serve as our guiding stars:

Embrace the design system

Our journey begins with the diligent use of the design system as a blueprint for every project. It makes every design choice intentional and aligned with our overarching vision. By consistently updating and maintaining a comprehensive UI kit, we weave continuity and cohesion into our designs.

Prototype and review

Prototyping isn't just a step; it's a strategic move to visualize and refine our ideas. Through stage-by-stage reviews, we make sure everyone is on the same page, from conception to completion. This collaborative environment inspires innovation while keeping quality checks seamless.

Continuous enhancement

Quality is a moving target. We are committed to the relentless improvement of our components and design system. By raising our baseline standards, we guarantee that our designs surpass client expectations and industry norms.

Navigating through design creation stages

Concept creation

The initial phase of an application design process is all about concept creation. Our team crafts 2–3 app screens to nail down the visual style, color palette, and typography.

In this phase, our goal is to synchronize our vision with the client's expectations. By presenting early concepts, we save time on revisions later in the process. This is where we define the essence and mood of the future application, setting the tone for every subsequent decision.

Mind mapping

Once the concept is solidified, we shift focus to mind mapping. A UX designer maps out the product's core functions and user paths to make sure everyone — clients and each design team member alike — are on the same page.

Through dynamic discussion and collaboration, we clarify user actions and workflow, shaping a shared understanding of the project's direction. Transparency here eliminates guesswork, aligning designer insights with client business requirements seamlessly.

Creating fully-fledged design

The heart of our UI and UX design process lies in the design development stage. Crafting detailed user screens, we integrate business processes and client needs identified in the mind map into an intuitive design.

Here, our focus is not only on visual appeal but also on ensuring usability and feasibility. Each design undergoes thorough review and refinement, culminating in a robust Figma file ready for the developers. Figma is an ideal design tool for us because it offers real-time collaboration, cross-platform accessibility, and integration with development workflows, enhancing efficiency and teamwork across design and development teams.

The success of our standardized process hinges on balancing creative exploration with structured execution. At Ronas IT, our narrative doesn't end here; it's an ongoing journey towards design excellence, driven by collaboration, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of quality. Of course, we keep all our principles, processes, and design system thoroughly documented.

Documentation and knowledge sharing

An information architecture in place is a major part of the DesignOps mindset, just like all the automation and process streamlining practices. A DesignOps handbook serves as a central resource that aligns your organization with your UX design culture, principles, and philosophy. It breaks down your design system, design process, and design standards, and helps to create consistent, high-quality designs. This handbook can also include collaboration structures, templates, and tool usage instructions.

When creating documentation, it's important to treat it as an evolving product rather than aiming for immediate perfection. Start with the most critical information and iterate as needed.

Design systems and DesignOps

Design systems are integral to DesignOps as they provide a standardized set of components, design patterns, and guidelines that streamline the design process and provide consistency across products. What is DesignOps without a well-defined design system? It is a framework that lacks the consistency and efficiency needed to maintain persuasive design strategies across various projects, potentially leading to fragmented user experiences and increased time spent on redundant design tasks. So, let's see what it consists of.

Components of a design system

A comprehensive design system typically includes:

• Visual design elements, including color palettes, typography, iconography
• User interface design components and patterns
• Interaction design guidelines
• Documentation and usage guidelines
• Integration with development frameworks

Managing and evolving design systems

Design systems require ongoing maintenance and evolution. DesignOps plays a crucial role in:

• Establishing governance processes for the design system
• Managing contributions and updates
• Providing alignment with product roadmaps
• Communicating changes to stakeholders
• Measuring adoption and impact

Our approach to design system at Ronas IT

At Ronas IT, we've developed a design system to create both consistent and scalable interfaces across various applications. This design system acts as a comprehensive resource, equipping our team with pre-made components and essential materials to speed up the design process. The system is described in our internal documents, stored within our workspace and available to the design team, while its components are available for copying in Figma files. This provides a fast project start.

Implementing design system

When we start a new design project, our team follows a structured approach. We begin by creating a new project file, into which we duplicate our design system setup. Thus, all variables, text styles, and components remain consistent with our established standards. As projects evolve, we adapt color variables, typography, and component styles to align with the unique requirements of each project. This flexibility allows us to update components, maintaining cohesion without overhauling everything at once.

Organizing projects

Adhering to a single-file principle for each application, we organize our design files based on the number of applications planned within a project. For instance, if we develop both an iOS app and a marketing site, we create separate design files for clarity and organization. This method facilitates efficient project management and communication. Our design files further incorporate several core pages that provide a seamless workflow.

Curating our component library

Our UI kit page features components that are frequently used across projects. The decision to create a component is based on its recurrence, cross-screen usability, and independent functionality within the design. We avoid components that cannot stand alone, such as borders for input fields. Components are categorized with meaningful frame titles like buttons, icons, and headers to foster clarity and ease of use.

Refining typography with type kits

Type kits in our design system are constructed with a robust collection of variables and text styles, ensuring all text elements adhere to a unified set of standards. When necessary, new text styles are added thoughtfully, enhancing flexibility across mobile and desktop versions without disrupting established typographic harmony.

Embracing collaboration

We use comments extensively for design reviews, clarifying potential interface functionalities, and supporting open dialogues. Once comments have been addressed, they are marked as resolved to keep the focus on current issues. Our design review process parallels code reviews, ensuring every design is rigorously vetted through a checklist before progressing. Of course, we let our clients into documents for approvals and comments.

Balancing creativity and process

The most effective design system and DesignOps implementations strike a balance between structure and flexibility, providing guidance without stifling creative thinking. That's why we support workshops and professional training within our team allowing for exchanging knowledge and thinking out of the box.

These are just a few of the design system elements that we've developed over the years of creating designs for our clients' projects. If you're interested in fully experiencing our approach to design, do not hesitate to contact us.

How does DesignOps help businesses?

After discussing the essence of Design Ops practices, let's recap why DesignOps is a good thing for businesses with design teams. Here are the key ways DesignOps helps businesses:

Boosts efficiency and productivity

DesignOps streamlines a design workflow, standardizes processes, and manages tools, enabling designers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more on creative work. This leads to faster delivery of high-quality designs and reduces bottlenecks, allowing businesses to launch features and products more quickly.

Enhances consistency and quality

By implementing design systems and best practices, DesignOps helps to make design outputs consistent across products and platforms. This consistency strengthens brand identity and UX design, which are crucial for customer satisfaction and retention.

Improves cross-functional collaboration

DesignOps acts as a bridge between design and other departments and specialists such as product managers, developers, and a marketing team. This alignment helps information and work sharing between these departments, leading to the elimination of delays and misunderstandings. The overall result and clear benefit is faster work on the client's product.

Scales design effectively

As organizations grow, DesignOps provides the structure needed to scale design teams and processes without sacrificing quality. It helps identify the right roles, manage resources efficiently, and avoid burnout, helping the team handle increased demand.

Increases innovation and team satisfaction

By removing operational barriers and clarifying roles, DesignOps creates a positive work environment where designers feel supported and motivated. This reduces turnover, encourages innovative thinking, and leads to higher-quality work.

Reduces costs and redundancy

Standardized workflows and shared resources prevent duplicated efforts and unnecessary rework, optimizing the use of time and budget across teams.

In general, DesignOps empowers businesses to deliver better products, faster and at scale, while maintaining a motivated and high-performing design team.

The future of DesignOps

Several trends, that impact other fields of development, are shaping the evolution of Design Operations at the moment. Here are a few things to keep your eyes on:

Integration of AI and automation in design workflows: AI is increasingly embedded in design tools, automating repetitive tasks such as asset generation, layout suggestions, and user research analysis. This frees designers to focus on higher-level problem-solving and creativity.

Closer alignment between design, product, and engineering operations: This focuses on cross-functional teams adopting shared tools, documentation standards, and communication protocols to streamline collaboration.

More sophisticated design systems that bridge design and development: Design systems are evolving into comprehensive platforms that encompass visual styles, interaction patterns, accessibility guidelines, and code components. Also, accessibility and inclusivity are increasingly “baked in” by default, with accessible components and documentation integrated into the design system

Conclusion

Implementing DesignOps practice is not about having perfect processes and workflows, but about evolving and refining practices to fit your team's needs. The most successful DesignOps implementations are those that are tailored to the specific challenges and goals of the organization.

At Ronas IT, we've developed a design system that enables us to start projects quickly, collaborate seamlessly between teams, enhance communication with our clients, and create efficiently. Whether you need a design for your mobile application or web product, or if you require comprehensive development services, we're here to help. Simply let us know by filling out the short form below.