Lise Statelman

How do design system teams prove their value? Finding hard metrics around the impact of design system teams has historically been a challenge. A year ago, I met the design system team at Eventbrite who could confidently say that they saved 534 days of engineering effort with their design system. Here's their calculation: Time spent to develop a component pre-design system - time spent to install the design system component = Time saved In order to extrapolate this number, though, you need to know how many times a component has been used. And, that used to require a savvy dev on the team to build something custom. That's no longer the case. We built something at zeroheight that will allow you to track component use in a single repo or across all of your repos. This should help teams show how valuable they are, plus do things like: see which components to prioritize based on use see which product teams are adopting As an added bonus, anyone using the new feature set can also monitor design system packages, allowing them to quickly see which teams are using outdated packages. On a personal note, I'm hoping with data like this, more teams can confidently quantify their impact. And along the way, we'll get better as design system practitioners at identifying the right things to work on. This new feature set is in beta and totally free. Even if you aren't using zeroheight to document your design system, you can use it. Takes like 15 minutes and you've got rich data. Here's the sign up:

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I get asked pretty often what resources are out there that help people break into the UX field. Ryan's great and could offer some really good well informed insights. if you're curious about some interview prep, give this a look

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Had to share this thoughtful article about the conflicting feelings we have as designers with new AI tools.... made me consider the threat of too much standardization over innovation, or letting your own creative instincts atrophy. Check it out and lmk your thoughts

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As a design leader, I've always been driven by a company's vision and mission. It's deeply meaningful to me, and I've found joy in igniting that same passion in others by sharing our North Star. Over the years, I've come to realise that nothing is more fundamental than the essence of a brand itself. Inspiring others stems from a shared understanding of who we are and why we do what we do throughout the entire organisation. But how do we achieve this alignment? Sometimes, big changes don't require massive efforts. Investing just three hours in the right discussion with the right people can lead to transformative outcomes. The Brand Sprint: a concise three-hour brainstorming session aimed at making tangible what "our brand" truly represents. Surprisingly, there's a lack of accessible templates for this process. So, I created one myself. In my latest video, I walk you through it and share some valuable insights. Feel free to utilise it and share your feedback.

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Most designers are trained to present work to our peers, but as your career matures, your audience expands to include many other departments who don’t speak “design”. This article resonated with me and offers some sage advice about the use of storytelling and a “business lens” to craft more compelling presentations. #ProductDesign #Storytelling #UserResearch #BusinessObjectives

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Someone has to say it! Tobias saying it makes it even more legit. Meet and work with a lot of young folks who are looking for mentors at workplace thinking they would be hand held at every step. While guides are there, one needs to walk the path and grind towards a path set by the mentor. Things don’t happen on their own. Blaming is another aspect of design folks where stakeholders are held responsible for what’s happening around them without introspecting why is it happening and what one can do to change that behaviour around by using design frameworks and improving the craft on a daily basis. So much of entitlement will never get us anywhere. #designlife

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Great reminder on looking out for more valuable folks when it comes to UX. There are so many great UX folks that are not just talking but also walking the walk and created more meaningful methods and frameworks. Which UX pros are you following or get inspiration from? https://lnkd.in/ggwcSgrJ

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I’m going through an iterative design process with a XFN team right now. We know we’re solving the right problem because we get repeadted validation that the value prop aligns to user needs, but the experience doesn’t provide that outcome in an easy/intuitive way. So we iterate and iterate some more, each time finding ways to better achieve the outcomes we’re targeting. This process is messy. You learn that your initial assumption were off so you lean on failure to improve incrementally. It means as a designer you need to be vulnerable…that it’s not about you providing all “the answers” to your team in a beautifully packaged deck/speck. You need to show what’s “behind the curtain” and bring them along during your process. Show your thinking and learn to interpret feedback. Approach everything as a hypothesis, remain curious, explore and share.

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Check out the 4 step exercise at the end of the article. Excellent advice.

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Have a look at my latest article "User Interviews Made Simple". A comprehensive user interview guide for designers who want to do it all! 😉

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Well that’s a wrap on Config! It was so great to see so many folks that I’ve worked with, admired, hired, managed, led, followed and best of all loved to work and be around in one place. Last year was epic but this year was sublime. And what a delight it was to see Figma’s new design magazine and little ole’ me playing a small part in this community publication! I’m talking about my favorite topic - data. With the pomp and circumstance of LLMs and “look what I can do,” brag of GenAI people are falling silent on the most important part of all this new technology - the data that fuels it. We’re forgetting the labor that goes into collecting, labeling and making data machine ready and the class of people who aren’t getting fairly compensated for this work. We’re forgetting that entire business models are being celebrated right now that use the stealing and appropriating of other’s creative content as their foundation. First there is awarness. Then anger. Now it’s time for advocacy. Here’s a question how can we make AI development for equitable overall all by fairly compensating those unseen data producers who make the AI tree grow? Check it out! I’m Proud to be part of The Prompt, a print and digital zine from @Figma’s Story & Brand Studios exploring the intersection of AI, design, and code, which launched at #Config2024. My Q&A on the power of input in AL and ML is here:

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My top 3 project selection tips for design leaders doing portfolio presentations: 1. Pick projects that have a good mix of what you did directly plus what the team did. Very rarely is anyone looking for a pure people manager while hiring a design leader. Your personal contributions need to stand out in your work. It doesn’t have to be IC work (but if you do that, show it). It could be a doc you wrote, an insight you uncovered, a strategy you formulated etc. Differentiate between what you did yourself, what you directed the team to do, and things the team might have driven independently. Make this distinction clear as you present your portfolio. People want to see you can do smart stuff yourself, can direct a team well, but will also build a high functioning team that does good work. Also, if you would like I can do a separate post in these 3 modes of operation for any design leader. 2. Pick projects based on the role you’re applying for. It doesn’t have to be and most certainly won’t be a 100% match. But for example, if what the team needs is scaling a successful product, pick examples where you enabled scale. This needs to be deeper than “I’m applying for fintech so here’s another fintech project”. Your project selection should show you understand the challenges for the company and have transferrable skills. 3. Pick projects where you can show both macro and micro user insights. Scale the macro according to your seniority and level. For example, if you’re applying for a Director role, you better have projects that show you driving user insights at Director scale (for instance something that drove resourcing decisions). At the same time, the project should also show micro insights appropriate to role. For example, key interaction design flows redone by your team for the goal. Or even things like font/color selection and how that drove impact. Use these guidelines and apply the filter for what fits with your past experience and this new role. If you have the same portfolio presentation for completely different roles, something is off somewhere. You only need to present 2-3 projects in a presentation, pick the most appropriate ones. If this sounds complicated and like a lot of work, it is. Project selection is THE foundation for how your presentation will play out.

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Remember when people couldn't connect *enough* with others in the beginning of the pandemic? We hopped into virtual groups so much that we experienced zoom fatigue. And now, in 2024, connection feels like it's the new ankle sock?? Iykyk. I met Rachel, indirectly, in one of those networking zooms, and we didn't really speak after that because, life, but when I saw her posting about a design book club meetup, something inside me said: "Hm... you love reading, maybe you should go to that." SO, I didn't sign up and forgot about it. But, then, the day of, she posted about it again and I bit the bullet. I am SO glad I did— I got to turn someone from being a stream of linkedin posts into a 3D human being, I got to meet other cool people, have cerebral and intellectual conversation around design and the state of the world, and I discovered that Johnny Pastrami is actually amazing?! (Also, why didn't my team ever tell me about this place when we talk about food all the time?? Performance reviews will now include: met all expectations but failed me in the UX of our bonding.) If you're on the fence about going outside of your comfort zone, I hope this post reminds you of how exciting and rewarding even the smallest steps over that line can be. And great food is probably waiting there.

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Designers - are you being asked to provide measurable proof of how your work impacts business outcomes with metrics? Are you unsure of what to measure, when and how? Being able to assess the impact of your design decisions can not only have a positive effect on your product and end users, but is also a skill increasingly in demand for design roles. Recently, I wrote an article on this very topic, "How design teams can use product data to add value to the business" (https://lnkd.in/gYreMBm9 ). Today I'm excited to announce the release of part 2 on this topic, "6 ways Pendo's design team uses Pendo to add more value to the platform - and the business" (https://lnkd.in/gTgj2dmJ). Check it out! #DesignMetrics #BusinessOutcomes #ProductData #DesignTeams #Pendo

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I spent a big part of my career as an individual contributor, but transitioning to leadership was tough. As a designer, it was difficult to let go of "making the thing." I found a lot of satisfaction in solving problems from start to finish and seeing the final product launched. However, coaching someone to be the best version of themselves is just as, if not more, rewarding. I'm grateful for those who trusted me, even when I gave them tough feedback, internalized it and grew. Wherever you are, I hope you are continuing to thrive. #designleadership #coaching #growth #design

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It’s Thursday! Let’s talk about DESIGN DISCOVERY and how to make it PRACTICAL. Discovery is an essential part of the design process. In discovery, designers build a shared understanding of the problem and the design direction, establishing a foundation for all future design decisions. What does that foundation look like? In PRACTICAL DESIGN DISCOVERY, I describe three kinds of things to put into this foundation: → Principles: Enablers that help you make decisions → Concepts: Ideas that establish a big picture or north star → Models: Representations of the user experience When you draw a conclusion from user research, that’s a principle. When you say “our product is like a concierge for kids activities,” that’s a concept. And when you sketch out a flow chart or wireframe an important screen, that’s a model. Each of these contributes to the foundation that informs further design decisions. You’re not just creating these for yourself. The other people on your team – product managers and business stakeholders and developers – need to contribute to this foundation. These things – principles, concepts, and models – are the way you draw others into the discovery process. Sometimes managers tell designers to cut principles and concepts out of their process. I get it: Models are accessible because they are tangible representations of the final product. Even a flow chart is easier to react to than an unmoored design principle or a big idea. In discovery, however, you can’t model every aspect of a product. The point of discovery is to set the direction. Models provide enough of a view into the final product to get buy-in on that direction. But they’re not the whole picture. Principles provide guidelines for making decisions that the models do not cover. They establish constraints on the design process. Concepts align everyone around the product’s purpose or essence. They paint a picture of what the world looks like with the product in it. Both are helpful for decision-making. You don’t need to break the bank creating principles or concepts, or even models. Use a text file to capture statements as they jump out during the design process, like “never show a data visualization without context or explanation [a principle]” or “this is a mash-up between a to-do list and a calendar [a concept]”. Use models to illustrate principles and concepts. When folks provide feedback on the models, ask them about the concepts and the principles. “You said you were worried about the fields on this screen, but it aligns with our principle of ‘only ask for information when needed.’ Are there circumstances when the principle doesn’t apply?” Every part of the foundation – principles, concepts, and models – is a hook for a conversation with the entire team about the direction of your product. Looking for more ways to refine your discovery practice? Grab a copy of PRACTICAL DESIGN DISCOVERY! https://lnkd.in/dtar-e2

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Now that Config is over here's a good recap for design execs:

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Gratitude goes a long way, especially when we learn from those who share their experiences. A big thanks to Xu and Alechnavicius for shedding light on the current UX design industry and job market. Their deep reflections have given us much to think about as we navigate our career paths. It's important to continuously reflect on our goals and values as we move forward. #UXDesign #CareerPaths #Reflection

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