As organizations continue to establish and mature their in-house design teams, it turns out there’s very little common wisdom on what makes for a successful design organization. Books and presentations tend to focus on process, methods, tools, and outcomes, leaving a gap of knowledge when it comes to organizational and operational matters.
In this talk, Kristin Skinner discusses how to coordinate efforts and structure teams within large organizations. She covers:
- Realizing the Potential of Design
- Organizational Models / The Centralized Partnership
- The 5 Stages of Design Organizations
- The 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations
She also stresses the impact that design can have on business and highlights the importance of design managers in coordinating in-house efforts, advocating for quality, and enabling culture.
More information can be found in Kristin's book with Peter Merholz, Org Design for Design Orgs: Building and Managing In-House Design Teams, published by O'Reilly in August 2016.
http://orgdesignfordesignorgs.com/
Management and managerial skills training manual.pdf
Org Design for Design Orgs
1. ORG DESIGN
FOR
DESIGN ORGS
KRISTIN SKINNER
MANAGING DIRECTOR, ADAPTIVE PATH
HEAD OF DESIGN MANAGEMENT, CAPITAL ONE
kristin@adaptivepath.com
@adaptivepath
@bettay
2. GENERATES NEW BUSINESS VALUE SOFTWARE IS EATING THE WORLD
2004
2011
Why are Companies Investing in Design?
7. First User Experience Firm in US
Elements of UX
Experience Design
Subject to Change
Service Design
This is Service Design Thinking
Acquired by Capital One
Enterprise Service Design
Orchestrating Experiences
This is Service Design Doing
Org Design for Design Orgs
2001
2002
2007
2007
2011
2012
2014
2015
2016
A (very) brief history
ADAPTIVE PATH
8. 400 clients, 13 years, 12 countries, and 19 financial institutions
Consumer Brands
Sonos
Samsung
Hitachi
General Electric
Crayola
Thule
Asics
Financial Services
American Funds
Ameriprise Financial
BBVA Compass
Deutsche Bank
Morningstar
And many more*
Government
NASA
San Francisco Innovation
Team
United Nations
Healthcare
Connecture
John Muir Health
Mercy Health
UCSF Medical Center
UCSF School of Nursing
Media
AOL
Getty Images
Harvard Business Review
O’Reilly
PBS
SK Telecom
Technorati
Thomson Reuter
Non-Profit
Ashoka Changemakers
The Exploratorium
McKesson Foundation
National Public Radio
Richland Public Library
USC
Technology
Adobe
Ask.com
Flickr
Google
Microsoft
Mozilla
MySpace
Palm
Skype
Snapfish
Sun
Twitter
Travel & Tourism
Airbnb
Carnival Cruises
Cathay Pacific
Rail Europe
Princess Cruises
Vail Resorts
Retail
eBay
Nike
Lowe's
REI
Trek
Zappos
*That we can’t tell you about
ADAPTIVE PATH
9. At Capital One, we work across the enterprise
US CARD
ADAPTIVE PATH
CARD
DESIGN
TEAM
BANK
BANK
DESIGN
TEAM
FINANCIAL SERVICES
FS DESIGN
TEAM
ADAPTIVE PATH AT CAPITAL ONE
10. ADAPTIVE PATH AT CAPITAL ONE
REIMAGINE
EXPERIENCES
SIMPLIFY
BUSINESS
Line of Visibility
We look at the entire system, inside and out
11. ADAPTIVE PATH AT CAPITAL ONE
We’re composed of three groups with interrelated missions
SERVICE EXPERIENCE DESIGN
EVENTS NON-PROFITS
DESIGN MANAGEMENT
ADAPTIVE PATH
ADAPTIVEPATH.ORG
13. DESIGN MANAGEMENT
Design Managers are the GPS of the design
organization. We help to provide visibility and
context, illuminate paths, help navigate
roadblocks, and ensure alignment to help build
an ecosystem of products and services to best
serve our customers.
What We Do
14. What We Do
Coordinate Efforts Prioritize & Plan Advocate for Quality Enable Culture
DESIGN MANAGEMENT
15. To be published September 2016
Early Release Available Now from O’Reilly
Topics (partial list):
→ Realizing the Potential of Design
→ Organizational Models
→ The 5 Stages of Design Organizations
→ The 12 Qualities of Effective Design
Organizations
16. → Margaret Gould Stewart, Facebook
→ Bob Baxley, Pinterest (formerly Apple)
→ Catherine Courage, Docusign (formerly Citrix)
→ Dave Cronin, GE
→ Kaaren Hanson, Medallia (formerly Intuit)
→ Mike Davidson, Twitter
→ Prof. Sara Beckman, Haas School of Business
→ Milissa Tarquini, Scripps (formerly AOL)
Interviews with Design Leaders
→ Chris Avore, Nasdaq
→ Secil Watson, Wells Fargo
→ Lesley Mottla, M. Gemi, formerly Zipcar
→ Braden Kowitz, Google Ventures
→ Leah Buley, Forrester (formerly Intuit)
→ Maria Giudice, Autodesk (formerly Facebook)
→ Chris McCarthy, Kaiser Permanente
→ Sabine Junginger, Author and Design Professor
20. Definition
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
21. Definition
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Prototype
Customer
empathy Ideation
Experience
strategy
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
22. Definition
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Prototype
Customer
empathy Ideation
Experience
strategy
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
23. Definition
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Prototype
Customer
empathy Ideation
Experience
strategy
Prototype
solutions
Flesh out
solution Refine
Sketch
options
Test
prototypes
User test Build
Plan Ship
Analyze
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
24. Definition Execution
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
Working through tradeoffs to deliver optimal solution,
aka “Build the thing right.”
Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Prototype
Customer
empathy Ideation
Experience
strategy
Prototype
solutions
Flesh out
solution Refine
Sketch
options
Test
prototypes
User test Build
Plan Ship
Analyze
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
25. Definition Execution
Definition
/ Requirem
ents
Iterative design
Im
plem
entation
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
Working through tradeoffs to deliver optimal solution,
aka “Build the thing right.”
Ideation/Generation
Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Prototype
Customer
empathy Ideation
Experience
strategy
Prototype
solutions
Flesh out
solution Refine
Sketch
options
Test
prototypes
User test Build
Plan Ship
Analyze
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
26. Definition Execution
Definition
/ Requirem
ents
Iterative design
Im
plem
entation
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
Working through tradeoffs to deliver optimal solution,
aka “Build the thing right.”
Ideation/Generation
Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Prototype
Customer
empathy Ideation
Experience
strategy
design makes strategy concrete
Prototype
solutions
Flesh out
solution Refine
Sketch
options
Test
prototypes
User test Build
Plan Ship
Analyze
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
27. Definition Execution
Definition
/ Requirem
ents
Iterative design
Im
plem
entation
Strategy and plan,
aka “Build the right thing.”
Working through tradeoffs to deliver optimal solution,
aka “Build the thing right.”
Ideation/Generation
Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Prototype
Customer
empathy Ideation
Experience
strategy
design makes strategy concrete design supports delivering experiences
Prototype
solutions
Flesh out
solution Refine
Sketch
options
Test
prototypes
User test Build
Plan Ship
Analyze
By Peter Merholz, http://peterme.com. If you use it, please attribute it. Thanks.
Initial
Insight
30. Centralized Internal Services
Your in-house agency
Project-based, organized by function
PROS
Strong design community
Clear lines of authority
Wide range of projects
Interface consistency
Efficiencies of work product
Optimized headcount
CONS
Design is not strategic
Little influence on important
“upstream” decisions
Designers point of view easily
dismissed
Us vs Them
Business unit disconnection
35. P
E E
E E
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
D
Decentralized and Embedded
36. D
P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
D
Decentralized and Embedded
37. D
P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
D D
Decentralized and Embedded
38. D D
P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
D D
Decentralized and Embedded
39. D D
P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
D D D
Decentralized and Embedded
40. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
D D DDD
Leadership
Decentralized and Embedded
41. Decentralized and Embedded
Everyone Gets A Designer!
Program-based
PROS
Business units gain control
Part of the team
Design included throughout entire
lifecycle
Feeling of ownership
Quick iterations post-launch
CONS
One narrow problem for a long time
Lonely
Fractured user experience
Less efficient use of time and people
44. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
D D DDD
Leadership
45. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
D D D
DD
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
Leadership
46. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
D D D
DD
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
Leadership
47. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
D D D
DD
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
Leadership
48. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
D D D
DD
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
Leadership
49. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
D D D
DD
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
Leadership
CS
50. D D
DP P P P P P
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
E
E
E
DE
D D
DD
DESIGN
PRODUCT
MGMT
ENGINEERING
Search/
Browse
Product
Page
CheckoutPersonalizationUGC/
Reviews
Leadership
Centralized Partnership
CS
51. Centralized Partnership
Best of both worlds
Designers supported in career, development,
and day-to-day.
Design teams maintain commitment across a meaningful set of
products/features.
Yet centralization helps maintain a holistic view across the entire
customer experience.
Freedom to shift after ‘tours of duty’.
Not disrupted by inevitable re-organizations.
53. Deliver at all levels of scale
10,000 ft
1,000 ft
The Big Picture
Integrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits
54. Deliver at all levels of scale
10,000 ft
1,000 ft
The Big Picture
Integrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits
100 ft
Strategy
Requirements, briefs, desired results, planning, vision,
campaign concepts
55. Deliver at all levels of scale
10,000 ft
1,000 ft
The Big Picture
Integrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits
100 ft
Strategy
Requirements, briefs, desired results, planning, vision,
campaign concepts
10 ft
Structure
Flows, service blueprints, wireframes, wayfinding, navigation,
brand standards and guidelines, visual language
56. Deliver at all levels of scale
1 ft
Surface
Typography, color, layout, interface design, spacing, animation,
transitions
10,000 ft
1,000 ft
The Big Picture
Integrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits
100 ft
Strategy
Requirements, briefs, desired results, planning, vision,
campaign concepts
10 ft
Structure
Flows, service blueprints, wireframes, wayfinding, navigation,
brand standards and guidelines, visual language
57. Proposed levels of scale
1 ft
Surface
Typography, color, layout, interface design, spacing, animation,
transitions
10,000 ft
1,000 ft
The Big Picture
Integrated view of company’s entire offering, brand traits
100 ft
Strategy
Requirements, briefs, desired results, planning, vision,
campaign concepts
10 ft
Structure
Flows, service blueprints, wireframes, wayfinding, navigation,
brand standards and guidelines, visual language
40%
5%
15%
40%
%
58. Structure of each design team
4-7 folks
Singular strong leadership
• Manages down – gets the most and best out of their team
• Manages across – collaborates with cross-functional partners
• Manages up – presents to executives and other stakeholders
Best organized around business problems, not
functions
Spread of skills – strategy, planning, research,
IxD, IA, writing, visual design, prototyping
10,000 ft
1 ft
10 ft
100 ft
1,000 ft
D
D
D
D
DD
CS
60. Let’s say you have a set of product teams…
Growth Seller Tools
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Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
61. Keep teams focused on customer types
Growth
Seller Tools
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Browse
Product Page
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and Checkout
Reviews
62. Keep teams focused on customer types
Growth
Seller Tools
Search/
Browse
Product Page
Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
D D
D D
TL
63. Keep teams focused on customer types
Growth
Seller Tools
Search/
Browse
Product Page
Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
D D
D D
TL
D D
D D
TL
64. Keep teams focused on customer types
Buyer
Design
Team
Growth
Seller Tools
Search/
Browse
Product Page
Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
D D
D D
TL
D D
D D
TL
65. Keep teams focused on customer types
Buyer
Design
Team
Seller
Design
Team
Growth
Seller Tools
Search/
Browse
Product Page
Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
D D
D D
TL
D D
D D
TL
66. Keep teams focused on customer types
Buyer
Design
Team
Seller
Design
Team
Growth
Seller Tools
Search/
Browse
Product Page
Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
D D
D D
TL
D D
D D
TL
Buyer
Experience
67. Keep teams focused on customer types
Buyer
Design
Team
Seller
Design
Team
Growth
Seller Tools
Search/
Browse
Product Page
Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
D D
D D
TL
D D
D D
TL
Buyer
Experience
Seller
Experience
68. Buyer
Design
Team
Seller
Design
Team
D D
D D
TL
D D
D D
TL
Growth
Seller Tools
Search/
Browse
Product Page
Shopping Cart
and Checkout
Reviews
Buyer
Experience
Seller
Experience
D
Keep teams focused on customer types
72. Stage 1: The Initial Pair
HD
PD
Head of Design
•creative
•managerial
•operational
•(and, at this stage,
a maker)
73. Stage 1: The Initial Pair
HD
PD
Head of Design
•creative
•managerial
•operational
•(and, at this stage,
a maker)
Product Designer
• Structure
and/or
• Surface
76. HD
PD PD
PD
CS CD
PD
Content Strategist
•Voice and tone
•Content structure
•Copywriting
Communication Designer
• Visual designers
• Online and offline
• Brand
• Information design
Stage 2: Full Team
83. DM
HD
PD
PD
CS CD
PDDM
PD
CS CD
PD
PM
TL
PDPD
CS PD
UXR UXR
SD
Service Designer
•Strategy and
Structure
•Integrates across
teams
Design Program
Manager
•Communications
•Organizational
effectiveness
•Operations
Stage 4: Coordination to Manage Complexity
84. DM
HD
PD
PD
CS CD
PDDM
PD
CS CD
PD
PM
TL
PDPD
CS PD
UXR UXR
SD
Service Designer
•Strategy and
Structure
•Integrates across
teams
Design Program
Manager
•Communications
•Organizational
effectiveness
•Operations
Design Manager
•Might be Team Lead
•People manager
•Still practices
Stage 4: Coordination to Manage Complexity
85. Stage 5: Distributed Leadership HD
UXR
PM
PM
UXR
DD DD
CrD
UXR
UXR
CT CT
PDPD
CS PD
PDPD
CS PD
DM
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
SD SD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
DR
TL
TL
DM
DM
DM
86. Stage 5: Distributed Leadership HD
UXR
PM
PM
UXR
DD DD
CrD
UXR
UXR
CT CT
PDPD
CS PD
PDPD
CS PD
DM
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
SD SD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
DR
Design Director
•Oversees a swath of
teams/experiences
•Integrates across
teams
TL
TL
DM
DM
DM
87. Stage 5: Distributed Leadership HD
UXR
PM
PM
UXR
DD DD
CrD
UXR
UXR
CT CT
PDPD
CS PD
PDPD
CS PD
DM
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
SD SD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
DR
Design Director
•Oversees a swath of
teams/experiences
•Integrates across
teams
TL
TL
DM
DM
DM
Creative Director
•Focused solely on
creative leadership
•Establishes quality
standards
88. Stage 5: Distributed Leadership HD
UXR
PM
PM
UXR
DD DD
CrD
UXR
UXR
CT CT
PDPD
CS PD
PDPD
CS PD
DM
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
SD SD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
DR
Design Director
•Oversees a swath of
teams/experiences
•Integrates across
teams
TL
TL
DM
DM
DM
Creative Director
•Focused solely on
creative leadership
•Establishes quality
standards
Director of Research
•Leads research team/
efforts
•Insights hub
89. Stage 5: Distributed Leadership HD
UXR
PM
PM
UXR
DD DD
CrD
UXR
UXR
CT CT
PDPD
CS PD
PDPD
CS PD
DM
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
SD SD
PD
CS CD
PD
PD
CS CD
PD
DR
Design Director
•Oversees a swath of
teams/experiences
•Integrates across
teams
TL
TL
DM
DM
DM
Creative Director
•Focused solely on
creative leadership
•Establishes quality
standards
Director of Research
•Leads research team/
efforts
•Insights hub
Creative Technologist
•Prototypes new
experiences
•NOT a Front-end Dev
90. The Roles, Revisited
Leadership
Head of Design
Design Manager/Director
Creative Director
Team Lead
Director of Research
Director of Design Program
Management
Core Design
Product Designer
Communication Designer
Content Strategist
UX Researcher
Service Designer
Design Program Manager
Creative Technologist
92. Foundation
1. Shared sense of purpose
2. Focused, empowered leadership
3. Authentic user empathy
4. Understand, articulate, and create value
12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations
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
93. Thank You
KRISTIN SKINNER
MANAGING DIRECTOR, ADAPTIVE PATH
HEAD OF DESIGN MANAGEMENT, CAPITAL ONE
kristin@adaptivepath.com
@adaptivepath
@bettay