12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations
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Transcript of 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations
The 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations
Peter Merholz [email protected] @peterme
Why are companies investing more in design?
Generates new business value Software is eating the world
Everything is, or is becoming, a service
All design is service design
The Three-Legged Stool
product/service
busi
ness
tech
nolo
gy
desi
gnAdapted from Don Norman
2013-2014 Lost in first round of playoffs
2014-2015 NBA Champions
Foundation 1. Shared sense of purpose 2. Focused, empowered leadership 3. Authentic user empathy 4. Understand, articulate, and create value
Management 9. Treat team members as people, not resources 10. Diversity of perspective and background 11. Foster a collaborative environment 12. Manage operations effectively
Output 5. Support the entire journey 6. Delivers at all levels of scale 7. Establish and uphold standards of quality 8. Values delivery over perfection
12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations
Foundation 1. Shared sense of purpose 2. Focused, empowered leadership 3. Authentic user empathy 4. Understand, articulate, and create value
1. Shared sense of purpose
FOUNDATION
Ugh. Mission statements? A “vision”?
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Service
Loyalty
Honesty
Integrity
Purpose:Connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, low-cost air travel.
To become the World's Most Loved, Most Flown, and Most Profitable Airline.
Vision:
Values:Warrior SpiritServant’s HeartFun-LUVing AttitudeWork the Southwest Way
Dedication to every client's success
Innovation that matters, for our company and for the world
Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships
Sample mission statement for design teams
We’re not here just to make it pretty. Through empathy, we ensure meaning and utility. With craft, we elicit understanding and desire. We wrangle the complexity of our offering to deliver a clear, coherent, and satisfying experience from start to finish.
How well do people know what the design team stands for? Can they articulate its values? Purpose? Do they feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves?
ASSESSMENT
2. Focused, empowered leadership
FOUNDATION
Design Director
Design Director
Design Director
Design Director
VP of Product
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Who's the head of design?
that guy
A design team needs to be in charge of its own destiny, and this requires:
Focused leadership with autonomy and executive access.
Focused leadership
Head of Design
Design Director
Design Director
Design Director
VP of Product
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Autonomy
Head of Design
Design Director
Design Director
Design Director
VP of Product
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Executive Access
Head of Design
Design Design Design
VP of Product
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
Dir of PM
CEO
Does design leadership have autonomy and access? Is design leading design? Can they shape their org as they see fit? Are they two or fewer rungs from the CEO?
ASSESSMENT
3. Authentic user empathy
FOUNDATIONFOUNDATION
How deeply do people understand their users? How frequently are they exposed to users and their efforts? What sway does qualitative data have? Are executives and other stakeholders making decisions based on this empathy?
ASSESSMENT
4. Understand, articulate, and create value
FOUNDATION
From Adaptive Path’s 2003 report Leveraging Business Value: How ROI Changes User Experience:
Our research revealed that using ROI and other valuation methods helps to evolve design competency within organizations. The valuation methods provide tools for developing and measuring a design strategy as a component of a larger business strategy: The ability to “value” user experience design makes it a visible and credible business lever on par with marketing, research and development, and channel strategy. As a result, applying ROI measuring techniques to user experience investment decisions has a positive impact on how [design] teams are structured and perceived within an organization.
“
”
DesiredBehavior
BehaviorMetric
ValueMetric
FinancialOutcome× =Business
Opportunity
Linking Elephants
Connect design with value through behavior
DesiredBehavior
BehaviorMetric
ValueMetric
FinancialOutcome× =
Widen relationship
Open a new account
Actual financial services client example
$ per mo
$13.5 milper month
Value of opening an account
$45,000per acct
Number of accounts opened / mo
301 per month
BusinessOpportunity
Is the team equipped to talk in the language of business and value? Do they recognize that it’s not about “design”, but instead design’s role in a larger effort? Value can be “hard” (conversion, engagement) or “soft” (brand representation). Is there a shared understanding of what success looks like?
ASSESSMENT
Output 5. Support the entire journey 6. Delivers at all levels of scale 7. Establish and uphold standards of quality 8. Values delivery over perfection
5. Support the entire journey
OUTPUT
management marketing design engineering manufacturing sales support
adapted from Rob Brunner’s talk at 2016 O’Reilly Design Conference
management marketing design engineering manufacturing sales supportmanagement marketing design engineering manufacturing sales support
adapted from Rob Brunner’s talk at 2016 O’Reilly Design Conference
management marketing design engineering manufacturing sales support
management
marketing
design
engineering
manufacturing
salessupport
adapted from Rob Brunner’s talk at 2016 O’Reilly Design Conference
management
marketing
design
engineering
manufacturing
salessupport
One design team to tie it all together
One design team to tie it all together
Software Products Hardware Products Environments Marketing and Communications
Interaction Design Information Architecture Visual Design Prototyping
Industrial Design WayfindingInterior Architecture
Brand Identity Design Graphic Design Information Design Motion Graphics Packaging
The Journey
Service Design
How capable is the team in delivering across the entire customer journey? How broad is the skillset? How are relationships with specialist vendors? How integrated is the team to all corporate functions?
ASSESSMENT
6. Deliver at all levels of scale
OUTPUT
A team I inherited…
CDCDCD
CDCD
CD
CD
CD
UXR
UXR
UXR
PjM
VP
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD
PD
10,000 ft
1 ft
10 ft
100 ft
1,000 ft
VPUXR UXR
CD CDCD CDCD
CD
CDCDPjM
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPDPD
PDPD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
UXR
1 ft
SurfaceTypography, colour, layout, interface design, spacing, animation, transitions
10,000 ft
1,000 ft
The Big PictureIntegrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits
100 ft
StrategyRequirements, briefs, desired results, planning, vision, campaign concepts
10 ft
StructureFlows, service blueprints, wireframes, wayfinding, navigation, brand standards and guidelines, visual language
You need presence at all levels of scale
With a breakdown something like this…
1 ft
SurfaceTypography, colour, layout, interface design, spacing, animation, transitions
10,000 ft
1,000 ft
The Big PictureIntegrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits
100 ft
StrategyRequirements, briefs, desired results, planning, vision, campaign concepts
10 ft
StructureFlows, service blueprints, wireframes, wayfinding, navigation, brand standards and guidelines, visual language
40%
5%
15%
40%
How capable is the team across all levels of scale? How well is the Big Picture translated to the specifics? How capable is the team in engaging in matters of strategy?
ASSESSMENT
7. Establish and uphold standards of quality
OUTPUT
Engineering quality:Uptime, speed of performance, number of bugs
Design quality:Um….I know it when I see it?
Establish quality standards…Brand characteristics Experience principles Design guidelines Measures of success Exemplars of quality work
Trawl http://ibm.com/design/
…and uphold quality standards
Process is not a proxy for quality
From usability.gov
Just how good is the stuff produced by the design team? Is there a shared understanding of quality, and resources designers and others can refer to? Are designers able to maintain focus? Or are they spread too thin? How often have you said “No” to work not worth doing?
ASSESSMENT
8. Value delivery over perfection
OUTPUT
quality delivery
How productive is the design team? Remember: It’s not about design. It’s about design’s contribution to a larger effort. Is perfectionism getting in the way? How nimble and flexible is the team?
ASSESSMENT
Management 9. Treat team members as people, not resources 10.Diversity of perspective and background 11.Foster a collaborative environment 12.Manage operations effectively
9. Treat team members as people, not resources
MANAGEMENT
It's not about balance.
It’s about sanity and fresh thinking.
Do team members feel respected as people? Or just employees? Are they managed by job title? Or by whom they are? Can they bring their whole selves to work? Can they get needed separation from work?
ASSESSMENT
10.Diversity of perspective and background
MANAGEMENT
Understand the market
Product Strategy
Prototype
Customer empathy Ideation
Experience strategy
Prototype solutions
Flesh out solution Refine
Sketch options
Test prototypes
User test BuildPlan Ship
Analyze
Initial Insight
Understand the market
Product Strategy
Customer empathy Ideation
Prototype solutions
Sketch options
Test prototypes
Initial Insight Plan
Divergent thinking benefits from diversity of perspectives
That team…
CDCDCD
CDCD
CD
CD
CD
UXR
UXR
UXR
PjM
VP
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD
PD
That team…
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD
PD
White men in their 20s
Black man in his 20s
White man in his 30s
White woman in her 20s
Asian woman in her 20s
Different diversitiesEducational / intellectual Gender Race Ethnicity Geography Age Neurotypicality
How broad are the backgrounds and experiences of team members? Is there diversity from educational, institutional, gender, race, and ethnicity perspectives? How well does the team avoid groupthink?
ASSESSMENT
11.Foster a collaborative environment
MANAGEMENT
Diversity is not enough; the culture must be inclusive.
This doesn’t mean bland politeness Great design comes from tension and collision of different perspectives Perspectives shared through honest critique Honest critique requires candor For candor to not offend requires mutual respect Leaders speak last… if at all
Environments
How supportive are the design team’s practices and environment? Do people work alone, or with others? How healthy is cross-functional collaboration? Can the team ‘get real’ with one another without incident? Are there spaces to support collaborative work?
ASSESSMENT
12.Manage operations effectively
MANAGEMENT
Does your team suffer these issues?• trouble coordinating internally, particularly around
process, communications, and file management • difficulty collaborating with other parts of the organization • inappropriate staffing on projects and programs • lack of visibility into related work streams • duplicated efforts • non-existent measurement
Little “o” Operations
Annual planning ensuring adequate headcount Compensation packages that are fair for the market Adjustments to performance reviews to suit designers Facilities and IT to support collaborative work styles Policy changes to support real customer research
Big “O” Operations
How effective is the design team? Do people feel like they’re spinning their wheels, putting in a lot of effort but seeing few results? Are projects/programs appropriately staffed? Does the team have the resources they need to do great work? (Machines, devices, physical space)
ASSESSMENT
Peter Merholz [email protected] @peterme
Thank you for your attention and involvement!