Building a DesignOps Practice for the Organization: Step 3 Prioritize and Roadmap

In the first article of our series on building a DesignOps practice for the organization, we defined DesignOps, discussed the overall aim and roadmap of the series, and explained how to research and identify problems within the organization.

In our second article, we talked about the values that DesignOps aims to create in the organization, how to align the goals of the organization with the design teams' goals, determine focus areas, establish ownership of these areas, ensure effective communication with stakeholders, and measure the values within the organization

In this final article of the series, we will discuss how to prioritize the identified problems and create a short- or medium-term DesignOps roadmap after defining the values within the organization.

1. Prioritization

When the research methods discussed in the first article are applied effectively, the problems and their dimensions within the organization should be identified. After determining the focus areas and defining DesignOps goals, we can display the options that need to be prioritized in a clear list format.

Sometimes, problems may have larger root causes than anticipated. Therefore, if necessary, additional research can be conducted regarding the sources of the identified problems. Additionally, achieving DesignOps goals may depend on completing multiple steps. It should be ensured that the goals are phased realistically. Phased goals, when progress is made continuously and milestones are reached, can increase teams' motivation to achieve the goal.

To prioritize correctly, the following steps can be followed:

1. Identification of Critical Issues: The most critical issues or those that will contribute the most to achieving the goals should be identified and marked.

2. Impact and Effort Matrix: Classifying issues based on their impact and the effort required for their solution can help determine which problems should be addressed first. This way, problems that require high impact and low effort can be prioritized for quick gains.

3. Stakeholder Perspectives: Stakeholder interviews and surveys conducted in the initial stages help understand which problems cause the most discomfort within the organization. Prioritization should be based on these perspectives. In particular, the involvement of design team members in the process will increase ownership.

2. Creating a Roadmap

Creating a DesignOps roadmap is a critical step for an organization to manage and optimize its design operations effectively. You can create a roadmap by following these steps:

1. Define the UX Vision: Define the UX vision for the organization. This sets the idealized work of design teams and the quality of the products produced within this vision.

2. Create Themes: Create themes to make high-level objectives more visible. Through subtasks, the completion of the theme is ensured. The scope, owners, description, and target date of the theme are determined. The theme can be considered an epic or feature depending on the task hierarchy in management tools.

3. Detail Tasks: Create subtasks that will serve the realization of the theme and detail these subtasks. The task details should include target users, need details, business purpose, and task owner.

4. Positioning in Timeline: Themes and tasks are positioned in the timeline according to the UX vision. This way, milestones are observed, and progress becomes visible to all stakeholders.

5. Measure Outputs: The themes and tasks, which are the outputs of the roadmap, should be continuously measured in terms of their impacts and efforts. For example, the success rate of a task aimed at optimizing design delivery times is evaluated by comparing the effort spent and the results achieved.

6. Review the Roadmap: The roadmap should be reviewed every quarter. Possible changes in UX or product visions, growth or downsizing of teams can lead to changes in the roadmap. These changes should be made in accordance with the methodology.

You can learn more about creating a UX roadmap by reading Sarah Gibbons' article "UX Roadmaps: Definition and Components" and watching Anna Kaley's video "Creating a UX Roadmap" to create the right roadmap.

Creating a roadmap contributes to DesignOps application as follows:

• Strategic Planning and Goal Setting: Short, medium, and long-term goals are set, and the steps required to achieve these goals are defined. This clarifies where the team is headed and what priorities it should focus on.

• Effective Resource Allocation: How existing resources will be allocated is determined. This clarifies team members' roles and responsibilities and ensures that resources are used efficiently.

• Collaboration and Communication: Communication and collaboration between the design team and other stakeholders are facilitated. Everyone works towards the same goals, and the work done is aligned with the organization's overall strategy.

• Continuous Improvement: Continuous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are established. This allows for measuring the effectiveness of the work done and updating the strategy when necessary, enabling the organization to adapt quickly to changing conditions and needs.

• Risk Management: Potential risks are identified in advance, and measures are taken against these risks. This prevents interruptions in design operations, supporting projects to be completed on time and within budget.

• Concrete Success Metrics: Concrete criteria and metrics are defined to measure the success of the DesignOps strategy. This allows for an objective evaluation of how much the work done contributes to the organization's goals.

In conclusion, the process of prioritization and roadmap creation is a critical step for effectively implementing DesignOps within an organization. This process maximizes the value that DesignOps brings to the organization while ensuring the involvement and support of the design team and stakeholders. By following these steps, DesignOps can become an integral part of the organization's DNA, providing a significant advantage for long-term success.

In this article series, I have aimed to explain how to best implement DesignOps within an organization. In my career, I have frequently referenced Kate Kaplan’s article from Nielsen Norman Group, "3 Steps for Getting Started with DesignOps", during my DesignOps implementation processes. In this article, I have tried to convey my experiences and recommendations regarding the processes as effectively as possible.

I hope this information helps you create a successful DesignOps strategy in your organizations.