It's not enough for a team to have great designers. Great design requires a well-run team, taking care of it's organizational, managerial, and operational needs. In this presentation, I outline 12 qualities of effective design organizations, and provide tools for assessing how well your organization is performing.

1. The 12 Qualities of
Effective Design Organizations
Peter Merholz
peterme@peterme.com
@peterme

2. Why are companies investing more in design?
Generates new business value Software is eating the world

3. Everything is, or is becoming, a service

4. All design is service design

5. The Three-Legged Stool
product/service
business
technology
design Adapted from Don Norman

6. 2013-2014
Lost in first round of playoffs

7. 2014-2015
NBA Champions

9. Foundation
1. Shared sense of purpose
2. Focused, empowered leadership
3. Authentic user empathy
4. Understand, articulate, and create value
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
12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations

10. Foundation
1. Shared sense of purpose
2. Focused, empowered leadership
3. Authentic user empathy
4. Understand, articulate, and create value

11. 1. Shared sense of purpose
FOUNDATION

12. Ugh.
Mission statements?
A “vision”?

13. We the People
of the United States, in Order to form
a more perfect Union, establish
Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and
secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the
governed, --That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it
is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

14. Service
Loyalty
Honesty
Integrity
Purpose:
Connect people to what’s important in
their lives through friendly, reliable,
low-cost air travel.
To become the World's Most Loved,
Most Flown, and Most Profitable
Airline.
Vision:
Values:
Warrior Spirit
Servant’s Heart
Fun-LUVing Attitude
Work the Southwest Way
Dedication to every
client's success
Innovation that matters,
for our company and for
the world
Trust and personal
responsibility in all
relationships

15. Sample mission statement for design teams
We’re not here just to make it pretty.
Through empathy, we ensure meaning and
utility. With craft, we elicit understanding
and desire. We wrangle the complexity of
our offering to deliver a clear, coherent, and
satisfying experience from start to finish.

16. How well do people know what
the design team stands for?
Can they articulate its values? Purpose?
Do they feel like they’re part of something bigger
than themselves?
ASSESSMENT

17. 2. Focused, empowered
leadership
FOUNDATION

18. Design
Director
Design
Director
Design
Director
Design
Director
VP of
Product
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Who's the head of design?
that guy

19. A design team needs to be in charge of its own destiny,
and this requires:
Focused leadership with autonomy
and executive access.

20. Focused leadership
Head of
Design
Design
Director
Design
Director
Design
Director
VP of
Product
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM

21. Autonomy
Head of
Design
Design
Director
Design
Director
Design
Director
VP of
Product
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM

22. Executive Access
Head of
Design
Design Design Design
VP of
Product
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
Dir of
PM
CEO

23. Does design leadership have
autonomy and access?
Is design leading design?
Can they shape their org as they see fit?
Are they two or fewer rungs from the CEO?
ASSESSMENT

24. 3. Authentic user empathy
FOUNDATIONFOUNDATION

26. How deeply do people understand
their users?
How frequently are they exposed to users and
their efforts?
What sway does qualitative data have?
Are executives and other stakeholders making
decisions based on this empathy?
ASSESSMENT

27. 4. Understand, articulate,
and create value
FOUNDATION

28. From Adaptive Path’s 2003 report Leveraging Business Value:
How ROI Changes User Experience:
Our research revealed that using ROI and other valuation methods
helps to evolve design competency within organizations. The
valuation methods provide tools for developing and measuring a
design strategy as a component of a larger business strategy: The
ability to “value” user experience design makes it a visible
and credible business lever on par with marketing, research
and development, and channel strategy. As a result, applying
ROI measuring techniques to user experience investment decisions
has a positive impact on how [design] teams are structured and
perceived within an organization.
“
”

29. Desired
Behavior
Behavior
Metric
Value
Metric
Financial
Outcome× =
Business
Opportunity
Linking Elephants

30. Connect design with value through behavior
Desired
Behavior
Behavior
Metric
Value
Metric
Financial
Outcome× =
Widen
relationship
Open a
new
account
Actual financialservices clientexample
$ per mo
$13.5 mil
per month
Value of
opening an
account
$45,000
per acct
Number of
accounts
opened /
mo
301
per month
Business
Opportunity

31. Is the team equipped to talk in the
language of business and value?
Do they recognize that it’s not about “design”, but
instead design’s role in a larger effort?
Value can be “hard” (conversion, engagement) or
“soft” (brand representation).
Is there a shared understanding of what success
looks like?
ASSESSMENT

32. 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

33. 5. Support the entire journey
OUTPUT

35. management marketing design engineering manufacturing sales support
adapted from Rob Brunner’s talk at 2016 O’Reilly Design Conference

36. management marketing design engineering manufacturing sales supportmanagement marketing design engineering manufacturing sales support
adapted from Rob Brunner’s talk at 2016 O’Reilly Design Conference

37. management marketing design engineering manufacturing sales support
management
marketing
design
engineering
manufacturing
salessupport
adapted from Rob Brunner’s talk at 2016 O’Reilly Design Conference

38. management
marketing
design
engineering
manufacturing
salessupport
One design team to tie it all together

39. One design team to tie it all together
Software Products Hardware Products Environments Marketing and
Communications
Interaction Design
Information Architecture
Visual Design
Prototyping
Industrial Design Wayfinding
Interior Architecture
Brand Identity Design
Graphic Design
Information Design
Motion Graphics
Packaging
The Journey
Service Design

40. How capable is the team in
delivering across the entire
customer journey?
How broad is the skillset?
How are relationships with specialist vendors?
How integrated is the team to all corporate
functions?
ASSESSMENT

41. 6. Deliver at all levels of scale
OUTPUT

42. A team I inherited…
CD
CDCD
CD
CD
CD
CD
CD
UXR
UXR
UXR
PjM
VP
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD

43. 10,000 ft
1 ft
10 ft
100 ft
1,000 ft
VP
UXR
UXR
CD
CD
CD CD
CD
CD
CD
CD
PjM
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
UXR

44. 1 ft
Surface
Typography, colour, 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
You need presence at all levels of scale

45. With a breakdown something like this…
1 ft
Surface
Typography, colour, 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%

46. How capable is the team across
all levels of scale?
How well is the Big Picture translated to the
specifics?
How capable is the team in engaging in matters of
strategy?
ASSESSMENT

47. 7. Establish and uphold
standards of quality
OUTPUT

48. Engineering quality:
Uptime, speed of performance,
number of bugs
Design quality:
Um….
I know it when I see it?

49. Establish quality standards…
Brand characteristics
Experience principles
Design guidelines
Measures of success
Exemplars of quality work

50. Trawl http://ibm.com/design/

51. …and uphold quality standards

52. Process is not a proxy for quality
From usability.gov

53. Just how good is the stuff produced
by the design team?
Is there a shared understanding of quality, and
resources designers and others can refer to?
Are designers able to maintain focus? Or are they
spread too thin?
How often have you said “No” to work not worth
doing?
ASSESSMENT

54. 8. Value delivery over
perfection
OUTPUT

55. quality delivery

58. How productive is the design
team?
Remember: It’s not about design. It’s about
design’s contribution to a larger effort.
Is perfectionism getting in the way?
How nimble and flexible is the team?
ASSESSMENT

59. Management
9. Treat team members as people, not resources
10.Diversity of perspective and background
11.Foster a collaborative environment
12.Manage operations effectively

60. 9. Treat team members as
people, not resources
MANAGEMENT

63. It's not about balance.
It’s about sanity and fresh thinking.

64. Do team members feel respected
as people? Or just employees?
Are they managed by job title? Or by whom they
are?
Can they bring their whole selves to work?
Can they get needed separation from work?
ASSESSMENT

65. 10.Diversity of perspective
and background
MANAGEMENT

66. 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
Initial
Insight

67. Understand
the market
Product
Strategy
Customer
empathy Ideation
Prototype
solutions
Sketch
options
Test
prototypes
Initial
Insight
Plan
Divergent thinking benefits from diversity of perspectives

68. That team…
CD
CDCD
CD
CD
CD
CD
CD
UXR
UXR
UXR
PjM
VP
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD

69. That team…
PD
PD
PD
PD
PDPD
PD PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
PD
White men in their 20s
Black man in his 20s
White man in his 30s
White woman in her 20s
Asian woman in her 20s

70. Different diversities
Educational / intellectual
Gender
Race
Ethnicity
Geography
Age
Neurotypicality

71. How broad are the backgrounds
and experiences of team
members?
Is there diversity from educational, institutional,
gender, race, and ethnicity perspectives?
How well does the team avoid groupthink?
ASSESSMENT

72. 11.Foster a collaborative
environment
MANAGEMENT

73. Diversity is not enough;
the culture must be inclusive.

74. This doesn’t mean bland politeness
Great design comes from tension and collision of
different perspectives
Perspectives shared through honest critique
Honest critique requires candor
For candor to not offend requires mutual respect
Leaders speak last… if at all

75. Environments

76. How supportive are the design team’s
practices and environment?
Do people work alone, or with others?
How healthy is cross-functional collaboration?
Can the team ‘get real’ with one another without incident?
Are there spaces to support collaborative work?
ASSESSMENT

77. 12.Manage operations
effectively
MANAGEMENT

78. Does your team suffer these issues?
• trouble coordinating internally, particularly around
process, communications, and file management
• difficulty collaborating with other parts of the organization
• inappropriate staffing on projects and programs
• lack of visibility into related work streams
• duplicated efforts
• non-existent measurement

79. Little “o” Operations

80. Annual planning ensuring adequate headcount
Compensation packages that are fair for the market
Adjustments to performance reviews to suit designers
Facilities and IT to support collaborative work styles
Policy changes to support real customer research
Big “O” Operations

81. How effective is the design team?
Do people feel like they’re spinning their wheels, putting in
a lot of effort but seeing few results?
Are projects/programs appropriately staffed?
Does the team have the resources they need to do great
work? (Machines, devices, physical space)
ASSESSMENT

83. Peter Merholz
peterme@peterme.com
@peterme
Thank you for your
attention and involvement!