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Building a compelling business case for a Design System

Laura Van Doore
November 02, 2018
Design
12
3.7k

Building a compelling business case for a Design System

Presented at Web Directions Summit 2018 in sunny Sydney.

Design Systems are here to stay. It’s no secret that the topic of Design Systems have been an outrageously popular topic over the past few years. It feels like every design team has either built one, is building one, or wants to build one.

But it’s not designers who we have to convince when it comes to investing in the build of a design system. Especially if we aren’t lucky enough to be in an organisation where design has a ‘seat at the table’. How can we sell the benefits of a design system with more focus on appealing to upper management, who may not see the same benefits we do?

This talk is aimed primarily at designers, but may also interest product managers, front end developers & other roles core to a product team. It will be of most benefit to those who are either looking to introduce a design system into their organisation, or to bolster their case to increase the business investment in an existing design system.

The aim of the session is to equip the audience with the right tools & mindset to effectively sell a design system project to higher levels of business function within their organisation.

Laura Van Doore

November 02, 2018
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Transcript

  1. Laura Van Doore

    @lauravandoore

    Building compelling
    business cases for 

    Design Systems

    View Slide

  2. Design Systems 

    are here to stay
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  3. 70%
    According to the UXPin Enterprise UX Industry Report
    of companies have a Design System
    Source: UXPin Enterprise UX Industry Report 2017 to 2018

    View Slide

  4. How accurate is this for the
    audience here today?

    View Slide

  5. We’re convinced
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  6. But this guy isn’t
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  7. • Growing design teams

    Organisations are investing more in design.
    • Infinitely more complex design problems

    Software needs to become more sophisticated to keep up
    with the demands & desires of our users.
    • Distributed teams

    Agile delivery models encouraging cross functional teams,
    making it harder for teams to stay in sync
    Why do product teams want design systems?
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  8. Maintaining design & tech debt is starting to feel like this:
    But most of all …

    View Slide

  9. This all makes perfect sense, the
    benefits speak for themselves. 

    This is a no-brainer.
    — ME, 4 YEARS AGO
    “

    View Slide

  10. This was going to be me:

    View Slide

  11. EXPECTATION
    REALITY
    vs

    View Slide

  12. So how can we design our business case to
    best communicate the clear and tangible
    benefits of having a design system?

    View Slide

  13. UXing your business case
    @lauravandoore
    THE IMPORTANCE OF

    View Slide

  14. @lauravandoore
    Know your enemy
    Audience

    View Slide

  15. Know your audience
    @lauravandoore
    • Emphasise benefits that appeal to your audience, not to you

    Resist the urge to only focus on the team benefits, and focus on measurable
    business benefits instead.
    • Write in the parlance of your audience

    Avoid jargon and use the language of business to craft your business case.

    View Slide

  16. Don’t go to war alone
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  17. Don’t go to war alone
    @lauravandoore
    • Get internal buy-in before external

    There’s no point in trying to convince upper management that you need a
    design system if you haven’t successfully convinced your team yet.
    • Form a united, cogent case together

    Get designers, developers, BAs, product managers together and get every
    teams perspective. You’ll find more and more benefits this way.

    View Slide

  18. @lauravandoore
    Timing is everything

    View Slide

  19. Timing is everything
    @lauravandoore
    • Recognise your position in the funding cycle

    Is the business investing to scale up? Or is upper management doubling
    down on cost reductions? Try to avoid asking for a large investment when
    the business is scaling down.
    • Present the cure when the pain hurts the worst

    If a design system has been a hard sell, focus on waiting for an opportunity
    where the benefits can really shine.

    View Slide

  20. Getting the timing wrong can make
    the rest of your case fall over
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  21. @lauravandoore
    Knowing your audience is half the battle
    1
    Don’t go to war alone, rally the troops
    Time your business case for high impact
    2
    3

    View Slide

  22. Translating team benefits to
    tangible business outcomes.
    @lauravandoore
    THE CHALLENGE

    View Slide

  23. • Consistency — A consistent experience across products & devices
    • Efficiency — Efficient workflow & communication across teams
    • Maintainability — Easier to test and maintain code
    • Accessibility — Baked in accessibility, to create more inclusive products
    • Scalability — Less of a headache to build upon through the future
    What are the benefits of design systems?
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  24. What does it look like if we re-interpret or
    translate these benefits into a format
    that provide business outcomes?

    View Slide

  25. Efficient workflow
    Team Benefit:

    View Slide

  26. Business Benefit:
    28%
    Faster to market

    View Slide

  27. 34%
    Less maintenance cost
    More maintainable
    Team Benefit:
    Business Benefit:

    View Slide

  28. 18%
    Less support requests
    Consistent Interface
    Team Benefit:
    Business Benefit:

    View Slide

  29. 12%
    Potential userbase increase
    Accessibility
    Team Benefit:
    Business Benefit:

    View Slide

  30. A stable foundation that will
    support the next 5 years of
    feature growth
    Scalability
    Team Benefit:
    Business Benefit:

    View Slide

  31. A great business case
    @lauravandoore
    THE ANATOMY OF

    View Slide

  32. @lauravandoore
    Buckle up

    View Slide

  33. What are we solving?
    Problem Statement
    1

    View Slide

  34. A good problem statement…
    @lauravandoore
    • Identifies the core problem
    • Outlines who’s impacted by the problem
    • Describes how this negatively impacts business goals
    1 Problem Statement

    View Slide

  35. Problem selection
    @lauravandoore
    • Your product team is likely to be impacted by multiple
    problems
    • Instead of selecting one of your ‘own problems’, UX your
    business case by choosing a key business problem.
    1 Problem Statement

    View Slide

  36. What are we gaining from the proposed initiative?
    Benefits & ROI
    2

    View Slide

  37. A design system increases ROI largely
    because it reduces cost rather than
    directly increasing revenue
    — BRAD FROST
    “
    2 Benefits & ROI

    View Slide

  38. Benefits & ROI
    @lauravandoore
    • Financials come first

    Upper management will usually look for financial benefits first, and then
    focus on peripheral benefits, like employee satisfaction.
    • Emphasise business outcomes, over team benefits

    Remember to frame your business case around tangible business
    outcomes, rather than ambiguous benefits.
    2 Benefits & ROI

    View Slide

  39. Cost & Resources
    3

    View Slide

  40. Presenting Cost
    @lauravandoore
    • Demonstrate that you clearly understand the cost

    It’s much easier to persuade the naysayers if you can calculate & clearly
    articulate the project costs.
    • Present multiple cost scenarios

    Give your case a better chance by presenting different cost/resourcing
    options to balance the project funding & risk.
    3 Costs & Resources

    View Slide

  41. Risks
    4

    View Slide

  42. Risks of going ahead
    @lauravandoore
    • Be realistic, rather than utopian

    Try to be open and honest about the potential risks. Otherwise your business
    case will seem too biased and lose credibility.
    • Outline the risks of failure

    What’s the worst case scenario?
    4 Risks

    View Slide

  43. Risks of falling behind
    @lauravandoore
    • There is risk in doing nothing
    • Bigger product team = Increased need for design system

    As a product team grows larger, there’s more need for standardised ways of
    working. The more people you have, the less efficient workflows will be.
    4 Risks

    View Slide

  44. Make sure the reward
    outweighs the risk.
    @lauravandoore
    4 Risks

    View Slide

  45. Implementation Plan
    5

    View Slide

  46. Delivery
    @lauravandoore
    • Present a solid roadmap

    Show a clear, deliverable scope, as well as your plans to grow & extend the
    design system over time.
    • Pinpoint where you’ll see a return

    Clearly indicate in your delivery plan when and how you’ll start to reap the
    benefits of the design system (hint: the sooner the better)
    5 Implementation Plan

    View Slide

  47. @lauravandoore
    Problem Statement
    1
    Benefits & Estimated ROI
    Cost & Resources
    Risks
    2
    3
    4
    Implementation Plan
    5

    View Slide

  48. 3 ROLLOUT STRATEGIES
    To manage cost & risk
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  49. Chip Away
    #1
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  50. Chip Away
    The design system is something that is only worked
    on in spare time, or when designers/engineers are
    between projects.
    @lauravandoore
    #1
    Cost Risk Speed Quality

    View Slide

  51. Hibernation
    #2
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  52. Hibernation
    Getting a core team of designers & engineers
    working on the Design System full-time. Possibly
    allows the time for designers/engineers to come up
    with the best implementation.
    @lauravandoore
    #2
    Cost Risk Speed Quality

    View Slide

  53. Piggyback
    #3
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide

  54. Piggyback
    Plan to get the bulk of the Design System implemented
    as a part of another project. Balances out the cost
    better, as you see the returns immediately.
    @lauravandoore
    #2
    Cost Risk Speed Quality

    View Slide

  55. Chip Away
    1
    Hibernation
    Piggyback
    2
    3
    @lauravandoore
    Rollout strategies

    View Slide

  56. View Slide

  57. Problem Statement
    Cost Estimation
    Benefits & ROI
    Implementation
    Planning
    Risk 

    Assessment
    5
    4
    3
    1
    2

    View Slide

  58. Thanks
    Laura Van Doore
    @lauravandoore

    View Slide