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Building a compelling business case for a Design System

Laura Van Doore
November 02, 2018

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

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  2. Design Systems 

    are here to stay
    @lauravandoore

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  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

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

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  5. We’re convinced
    @lauravandoore

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  6. But this guy isn’t
    @lauravandoore

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  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

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

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

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

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  10. This was going to be me:

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  11. EXPECTATION
    REALITY
    vs

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

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  13. UXing your business case
    @lauravandoore
    THE IMPORTANCE OF

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  14. @lauravandoore
    Know your enemy
    Audience

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  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.

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  16. Don’t go to war alone
    @lauravandoore

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  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.

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  18. @lauravandoore
    Timing is everything

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  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.

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

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  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

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

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  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

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

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  25. Efficient workflow
    Team Benefit:

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  26. Business Benefit:
    28%
    Faster to market

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

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

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

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

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  31. A great business case
    @lauravandoore
    THE ANATOMY OF

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  32. @lauravandoore
    Buckle up

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  33. What are we solving?
    Problem Statement
    1

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  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

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  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

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

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

    2 Benefits & ROI

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  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

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  39. Cost & Resources
    3

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  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

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  41. Risks
    4

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  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

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  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

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

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  45. Implementation Plan
    5

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  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

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

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

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  49. Chip Away
    #1
    @lauravandoore

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  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

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  51. Hibernation
    #2
    @lauravandoore

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  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

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  53. Piggyback
    #3
    @lauravandoore

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  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

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

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

    Assessment
    5
    4
    3
    1
    2

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  58. Thanks
    Laura Van Doore
    @lauravandoore

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