Eva Cochet-Weinandt

Hi Eva, please tell us about your experience in digital design

I studied communication design and started off my career at a small design studio specializing in scalable visual systems and editorial design for large cultural and education projects. In this context, I engaged in project management to improve our collaboration, workflows and organization structure. My interest in complex projects in the digital field led me to deepen my skills with a master's in multicultural web creation.

I joined IBM as a visual designer, and, driven by my passion for processes and enabling design teams, I soon transitioned into co-leadership roles like Visual Design Lead or DesignOps. Since three years ago, I am the Design Lead for the user experience transformation of the software SPSS Statistics, still focusing on design operations, among other responsibilities. I am also involved with different squads like the recruitment team or the Design and User Experience review panel. Alongside my daily job, I created a meetup with a friend focusing on Design at Scale; I also mentor design teams for UX Rescue.

Wow! Could you explain in one sentence what DesignOps is?

Design Operations, or in short DesignOps, is a practice that emerged in recent years. Its purpose is to serve the needs and challenges of design practitioners in the era of designing at scale. Since it is still an evolving field, you might find different definitions. I like to define DesignOps similarly to the Nielsen Norman Group:

While some companies already have dedicated DesignOps teams, others include this role for large projects, and some simply apply the practice without having a dedicated role.

What are the core principles of DesignOps?

DesignOps is a broad topic, there is a multitude of components that can be relevant. Depending on the organization and design maturity, the focus may vary. I like to categorize the core principles under the pillars of People, Practices and Processes.

1. People are all aspects to staff and structure your design team according to your business goals. For instance, covering the needed skillset or ensuring an appropriate ratio of your design-development staffing. It can include the aspects of skill and career development while building an engaging and open design community. This also includes educating non-designers about the value of design and its impact.
2. Practices mean applying efficient and standardized design methods like user-centered frameworks such as design thinking or user research practices. It also includes the aspect of design quality and consistency with leveraging design systems or measuring design quality with clear metrics. I would also highlight tools and integrations to accelerate the design team’s ability to ship.
3. Processes are about the aspect of design workflows and collaboration. Defining design phases and critical milestones while ensuring smooth coordination and cooperation with the design team and the cross-functional team is an example. Other aspects include planning and prioritizing projects and initiatives, like balancing lean or agile methods with roadmap imperatives which allows continuous delivery and iterative processes.

What are the primary benefits of DesignOps for business?

Nowadays, designers are embedded into business strategies and this naturally exposes them to work in complex environments. They are involved in many more aspects and have to interact with a multitude of stakeholders. This additional workload decreases the time they can dedicate to designing solutions. DesingOps is devoted to handling this complexity and lowering the noise for the design organization, helping increase designers’ productivity. In this respect, DesignOps is a real benefit for organizations to scale up their design impact and tie it closer to the business requirements and needs.

From your perspective, why DesignOps jobs not as hyped and promoted as other design jobs?

The DesignOps job itself is rather new. It is slowly getting more important in the industry. However, it is still a rare position and there is no clear career path. It is often seen as a skill for design leadership positions. It is a skill that you gain with experience, and it is not yet formally taught within a design curriculum.

It may gain more importance in the future as we see big industry players dedicating DesignOps roles in their design organizations.

How did you find a DesignOps position at IBM?

I started at IBM as a Visual Designer working in a large design team within a complex environment. To become more efficient as a team, I soon engaged in evolving cross-functional team processes and practices. My job title was changing alongside the evolving UX field, I was first labeled as a Project Planner, a Design Producer, and finally a DesignOps.

Brainstorming sessions. Photos from Eva’s archives

In your opinion, what hard skills should a designer have to succeed as a DesignOps specialist?

1. To me, the core to be a successful DesignOps is to have a good understanding of each design discipline, practice and method while combining this with a strong skill set in project management like agile or lean approaches.
2. Rounding up your profile with some background in business, strategic thinking, or even HR skills can be an asset.
3. Gaining experience with analytics or a good understanding of design and collaboration tools is certainly a significant benefit.

And what about essential soft skills?

When it comes to soft skills, I would say empathy is essential not only for a design team but also for a cross-functional team.

1. Being a great communicator and advocate for a user-centric approach adjusting to a diverse audience.
2. Being organized and enjoying the process is a strong suit for this position.
3. Being able to adapt to an evolving environment and embrace the changing needs of the business.

Could you name resources about DesignOps that’d be helpful for designers thinking about switching to DesignOps from another area?

If you are new to Design Operations, many blog posts are introducing this topic:

• You might want to start with a free handbook like the one from Invision.
• The DesignOps Assembly community is a great way to connect with DesignOps practitioners, you can join them on Slack or participate in one of their events. They also offer Learning Labs if you are looking to level up your skills.
• If you are a reader, here are two main books to consider: ‘Org Design for Design Orgs‘ by Peter Merholz and Kristin Skinner, and ‘What Is DesignOps?‘ by Dave Malouf.

What are current career opportunities in DesignOps?

In the era where scalability is key in the design industry, DesignOps is emerging more and more as a designated design role. Not only single design teams but also design organizations are looking to become more efficient and increase their business impact.

There are two main paths to consider in your design career: become an expert in your field to evolve into a senior or design principal or move into an overarching role like a design manager or director. The DesignOps role might fall right in the middle of these two paths, as it is a role that allows you to have an overall impact on the business and at the same time keep a strong connection with the design discipline itself.

In a parallel universe where you’re not a designer, what do you do?

I remember thinking about being a children's book author or a wild-life photographer. But being creative with a problem-solving mindset, I learned early on that design would be a good fit for me.

How do you think UX design will change in the next 10 years?

UX design has been evolving since it was acknowledged as a strong suit for businesses. It has moved from a simple craft to a strategic differentiator. Today there is almost no such thing as a UX designer since the field of UX design has diversified in roles, practices and focus points.

In a mature organization, we can now see Visual Designers, Interaction Designers, UX Engineers, UX writers, or UX researchers. We can now see user experience is not a matter of pure design but a vital part of any interaction points with customers, clients and end-users. We also differentiate between UX (user experience), CX (customer experience) and SD (service design). We see emerging design fields with evolving technologies like AI, VR, or IoT designers.

With globalization and the emergence of complex digital environments, we can imagine that the tendency to have specialized designers could continue to grow. One day, there might be a design role in every type of industry branch.

Any final tips for young designers who want to make a career in the design industry?

I think it is crucial for young designers to see your work as a prototype and be open to user feedback and changes. Your first idea is rarely the ultimate solution. What is important is to fail fast, learn and evolve. I would rather like to see multiple approaches and concepts before focusing on one single perspective.

I also encourage designers to keep a strong design ethic. It is important to keep in mind the user's benefit while navigating the diverse perspectives of stakeholders. Do not lose track and aim to design the best solutions for users. In a complex environment, the ideal solution might not happen at once but over time. Think of designing the path and the stages to get to the best solution.

If you want to tell a story about your career or share your expert opinion, send us a pitch at serafima@flowmapp.com.