Leading Collaborative Design System
Involvement
Leadership
Design Systems
Process Optimization
Cross-functional Collaboration
Organization
ServiceRocket
Summary
Led a significant shift towards efficiency, consistency, and improved team synergy at ServiceRocket. This initiative addressed the challenges of design reinvention and departmental silos, resulting in a 3x increase in design output and a stronger culture of collaboration.
When I stepped into my role, I observed a significant hurdle within our design team: a tendency to design from a blank slate. In today's fast-paced digital landscape, this felt like an unnecessary drag, a drain on valuable time and energy. It struck me as inefficient, especially considering the wealth of design patterns and resources readily available.
The Bottleneck of Innovation
Beyond the internal inefficiencies, I also noticed a disconnect. Our design team wasn't as tightly integrated with our marketing, content team, and development counterparts as we could be. This siloed approach often led to inconsistencies and a lack of shared understanding. I knew we needed a fundamental shift, a move towards a unified approach that encompassed both a robust design system and collaborative processes.
Our design efforts at ServiceRocket heavily revolve around creating seamless experiences for users within the Atlassian and Miro ecosystems. We're constantly developing ecosystem apps, integrations, and various tools designed to enhance the value and connectivity of these platforms. For our customers, this means a more integrated and efficient workflow across their essential applications.
Laying the Foundation
To embark on this journey of building our design system, we first needed to establish some core principles: clear naming conventions, a logical structure, and a scalable framework. We delved into researching existing design systems across various platforms, seeking best practices and common threads.
Interestingly, we found that the design systems originating from Atlassian stood out. It wasn't about any inherent bias, but rather their early recognition of a design system as a collaborative endeavor. This resonated deeply with my own philosophy, and I aimed to instill a similar mindset within our team as we crafted our own.
Introducing the Infinite Design System
Building this system is not a solitary design exercise. From the outset, I prioritized the inclusion of other crucial departments: marketing, content team, and development.
While I spearheaded the overall process, a core tenet of my leadership was to empower each department to take genuine ownership of their specific contributions. This wasn't just about gathering input; it was about fostering a sense of responsibility and shared investment in the system's success. This collaborative approach ensured that the resulting system wasn't solely a design-centric artifact but a truly cross-functional asset, inherently valuable, usable, and adaptable across the entire ServiceRocket organization.
Design
Acted as the central orchestrators, synthesizing the contributions from each department into cohesive and reusable master components. They ensured that the system not only met aesthetic standards but also prioritized user needs and created intuitive and consistent user experiences.
Marketing
Played a crucial role in ensuring that the Infinite Design System consistently reflected and reinforced our brand identity. Their deep understanding of our visual language and brand guidelines was instrumental in maintaining a cohesive and recognizable experience across all touchpoints.
Engineer
Translating design specifications into robust and functional code components. Their early and continuous involvement ensured the technical feasibility and scalability of the design system, bridging the gap between design vision and practical implementation.
Content
Brought invaluable expertise in establishing clear guidelines for voice, tone, and messaging within the design system. Their contribution ensures that the communication embedded within our products and interfaces is consistent, user-friendly, and aligned with our overall content strategy.
The vision was to create a central repository of design elements that could be leveraged not just by designers but across all of ServiceRocket, fostering efficiency and brand coherence. To ensure widespread adoption and utility across ServiceRocket, we proactively monitored how employees were accessing and utilizing the Infinite Design System. This involved regular testing of our internal search functionalities and our Rovo agent to identify and address any issues related to content discoverability.
This model of distributed ownership was fundamental to the success of the Infinite Design System. By empowering each team to contribute their unique expertise, we created a system that was not only comprehensive but also deeply embedded within the workflows and understanding of each department.
Early Wins and Tangible Impact
300%
Increase in product delivery output
A Cultural Shift with Strawberries
However, the benefits extend far beyond mere efficiency metrics. The development and implementation of the Infinite Design System have fostered a stronger culture of collaboration within our department and across teams. Designers, marketers, content team, and developers are now working in closer alignment, sharing knowledge, best practices, and creative ideas.
This increased communication and teamwork have fueled innovation and led to more cohesive and impactful designs. Anecdotally, we're seeing designers having lunch with engineers and content specialists, and even engaging in informal one-on-ones with our marketing team based in Chile. These interactions are a testament to the breakdown of silos and the emergence of a truly unified team working towards a common goal.
Beyond Libraries and Systems
The key differentiator in our approach is the understanding that a design system is more than just a collection of UI components. It's a living framework that encompasses people, processes, and strategy. While others might focus solely on visual elements, my strength lies in recognizing the interconnectedness of these aspects.
Ultimately, while individuals design products, it's the collective effort of empowered people, guided by well-defined processes and a clear strategy, that truly builds and sustains exceptional products.
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