Meet the Teachers Series: Taking your DesignOps to the Next Level

work·shop /ˈwərkˌSHäp/ noun: a meeting at which a group of people engage in intensive discussion and activity on a particular subject or project.

Instructors:

Kristine Berry, IBM Z DesignOps Program Director [bio]

Jenny Price, DesignOps Lead and Manager, IBM [bio]

Kristine and Jenny will be leading this workshop, Taking your DesignOps to the Next Level, starting Monday, August 29, 2022.  We asked them to tell us a bit more about the curriculum beyond the standard website blurb (full description below).  Here’s what they told us.

In a nutshell, what problem are you helping people solve at your workshop?

We’re focused on uncovering how we might bridge the gap for teams who understand that DesignOps can increase the impact and effectiveness of their design teams but need to figure out how and where to focus those DesignOps resources for maximum benefit for the team and return for the business, and wider organization.

Who are those people, and why is it so important to them to solve it?

This workshop is for any DesignOps practitioner or manager who invests in design teams, whether they are just getting started or already have a dedicated team, whether they have a large or small design team, whether their design practice is emerging or mature, and whether they are looking to scale their capabilities at the organizational level. Understanding their biggest DesignOps gaps and pain points, finding solutions and creating a prioritized roadmap to bring back to their teams will help them take their DesignOps practice to the next level.

Does your approach represent a departure from previous approaches to addressing the challenge?

Our approach is unique in that we offer a quantitative and qualitative way to measure DesignOps strengths and weaknesses, and then we bring great DesignOps minds together to brainstorm ideas, opportunities, experiments and refine solutions while applying Enterprise Design Thinking practices. 

Can you provide a brief anecdote/story about the problem/topic that illustrates it, and, ideally, your approach to solving it?

As one example, a design team set forth in defining performance goals for the year. The DesignOps practitioner had a “gut feeling” of where the DesignOps practice should focus but wanted to share data with the leadership team to validate this direction. They used the DesignOps assessment to generate a score for each of the four pillars we’ll be diving into during the workshop. Sure enough, one area of focus was validated (Yes, the team needs to work on defining better metrics) and a secondary one was highlighted (the role of design) that they hadn’t considered a priority before taking the assessment. This data was shared with the leadership team, who brainstormed solutions that they are executing together to address the biggest DesignOps needs of the organization.

Workshop Description

In this workshop, you will explore how you might build and scale essential areas of DesignOps to support sustainable design teams – whether you’re just getting started with DesignOps or already have a mature practice. Jenny Price and Kristine Berry, two IBM DesignOps leaders, will lead you through a framework (based on IBM Design Thinking) to assess your DesignOps capabilities and identify opportunities for growth. You will walk away with a customized, actionable roadmap for your team and organization’s path forward towards a sustainable and scalable DesignOps program.

During hands-on, team-based activities, you will assess and identify ways to improve your team’s DesignOps strategy by:

• Exploring strategies for advancing DesignOps within your team
• Assessing DesignOps opportunities and gaps for your team using IBM’s DesignOps framework
• Engaging with other DesignOps and Design leaders who are interested in solving for pain-points
• Developing a 30-60-90 day roadmap to share with your team
• Learning more about DesignOps resources, methodologies, and applications

Learn more and register here>>