Org Design for Design Orgs by Merholz, Peter -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Org Design for Design Orgs: Building and Managing In-House Design Teams Foreword Preface

Why We Wrote This Book The Authors How This Book Is Structured Acknowledgments

Peter Kristin

1. Why Design? Why Now?

“The Power of Design” “Software Is Eating the World” The Consumerization of All Software Everything-as-a-Service Double-Edged Sword of User Empowerment Design Can Be So Much More Than “Problem Solving”

2. Realizing the Potential of Design

All Design Is Service Design The Double Diamond

Design Defines Design Makes Strategy Concrete Customer-Centered Planning The Bulk of Design Is Execution

Bringing Design In-House The Three-Legged Stool

The Expanded Role of Design

3. 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations

Foundation

1. Shared Sense of Purpose 2. Focused, Empowered Leadership

Focused leadership Autonomy Executive access

3. Authentic User Empathy 4. Understand, Articulate, and Create Value

Output

5. Support the Entire Journey

Facilitation: the non-craft design skill

6. Deliver at All Levels of Scale 7. Establish and Uphold Standards of Quality 8. Value Delivery Over Perfection

Management

9. Teams Are Made of People, Not Resources

Are team members respected as individuals? Do team members work reasonable hours? Are team members encouraged to grow?

10. Diversity of Perspective and Background 11. Foster a Collaborative Environment 12. Manage Operations Effectively

Our Humanistic Agenda

4. The Centralized Partnership

Organizational Models for Design Teams

Centralized Internal Services

Benefits of centralization Drawbacks of centralization

Decentralized and Embedded

Benefits of decentralized design teams Drawbacks of decentralized organization

Centralized Partnership: The Best of Both Worlds

The Makeup of a Design Team

Team leads for centralized partnerships

Organizing Your Teams

How this could work Organize by the customer’s journey Commitment is key Design operations must be made explicit

Where Does the Design Organization Report?

New Problems Warrant New Organizational Models

5. Roles and Team Composition

Individual Contributors

Product Designer Communication Designer User Experience (UX) Researcher Design Program Manager

Design Program Management skillset

Content Strategist Service Designer Creative Technologist

Design Leadership

Head of Design Design Manager/Design Director Creative Director Director of Design Program Management

Five Stages of Design Organization Evolution

Stage 1: The Initial Pair Stage 2: A Full Team Stage 3: From Design Team to Design Organization Stage 4: Coordination to Manage Complexity Stage 5: Distributed Leadership Where to Go from Here

6. Recruiting and Hiring

Establishing Headcount Recruiting

Recruiting Is the Whole Team’s Responsibility Sourcing Candidates

Schools and training programs

Which schools? Training programs

Career fairs Internships

Crafting the Job Posting Online Services

Reaching out to prospective candidate

External Recruiters Networking Reviewing Portfolios

The Candidate Review Process

Initial Screens (by Phone or In-Person) Day of Interviews

Portfolio presentation The interviews Coordinating feedback

Reference Checks

Making the Hire Decision

Contract-to-Hire

Extending the Offer It’s Not a Sprint, It’s a Marathon

7. Developing the Team: Professional Growth and Managing People

Levels Framework for Designers

Levels and Career Paths Core Design Skills Level 1: Becoming a Design Professional

Core skills Soft skills Responsibilities

Level 2: The Solid Contributor

Core skills Soft skills Responsibilities

Level 3: Stepping Up—from Doer to Leader

Core skills Soft skills Leadership skills Responsibilities

Level 4: Taking Charge

Core skills Soft skills Leadership skills Responsibilities

Level 5: The Complete Design Leader

Core skills Leadership skills Responsibilities

The Manager Path

Rules of Thumb for Managing Designers

Set clear expectations Support, don’t manage Help remove obstacles Go to the mat when necessary Frequent feedback It’s not about design Get to know them as people

The Personal Professional Mission

Design Community Participation and Leadership Investing in Professional Development Growth Through the Organization Climbing the Corporate Trellis

8. Creating a Design Culture

The Elements of Culture Values

There Is No One Best Design Culture That Said... Articulate Your Charter

Environment

Physical Environments Stuff on Shelves and Walls Where Do People Sit? Virtual Environments

Activities

Onboarding Meetings Doing the Work Providing Critique Exposure to Customers Cross-Team Collaboration Design Community Involvement

Spreading Culture

9. Successful Interaction with Other Disciplines

Phase 1: Achievable

Clear Decision Making Design Team as Gating Function Maintaining Quality Defined Roles and Expectations

Phase 2: Sustainable

Protecting Maker Time Operating Agreements Communication

Phase 3: Impactful Conclusion

10. Parting Thoughts

The Untapped Opportunity for Design Keep Design Weird Beyond Features and into a World of Experience

A. About the Authors B. O’Reilly: Org Design for Design Orgs Index About the Authors Colophon Copyright

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