DesignOps experiences and learnings over the previous 20 years

1. Harri Kiljander
design strategist, founding partner
harri@alphadesignpartners.com
+358 40 50 60 007
01-Sep-2022
alphadesignpartners.com
DesignOps Meet & Greet Helsinki
by DesignOps Assembly
Doing DesignOps before it had a name

2. Harri Kiljander
Design strategist,
founding partner & CEO
Alpha Design Partners
since 2020
Head of new product & service design and brand design at
Yousician, F-Secure, and Nokia, corporate entrepreneur,
Dr. Tech. in Interactive Digital Media
https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrikiljander/
VP of product/marketing/brand design, 2019–20 Director CX/UX/brand design,
product line director, founder and
chief product officer of the first
internal startup at F-Secure,
2010–19
Senior director, UX design, for
Nokia MeeGo devices and Nokia
consumer internet services,
product designer, 1995–2010
https://www.dimecc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/the_cookbook_for_successful_Internal_startups.pdf

3. Give a person a fish
and you feed the
person for a day …

4. … teach a person to fish
and you feed the person
for a lifetime …

5. … teach more and you
feed the entire village …
a.k.a. DesignOps :)

6. What did a Design Manager
need (to deliver) 15 years ago?
i. design vision, or strategy
ii. 1 or more designers
iii. playbook to make it happen

7. What is DesignOps or
Design Operations?
DesignOps refers to the
orchestration and optimization
of people, processes, and craft in
order to amplify design’s value
and impact at scale. — NN/g
“

8. What is DesignOps or
Design Operations?
DesignOps refers to the orchestration and
optimization of people, processes, and craft
in order to amplify design’s value and
impact at scale — while positively
influencing the working lives of designers.
— Harri Kiljander
“

9. From the Manifesto for Agile UX Design by Nokia MeeGo, with
Alistair Cockburn, one of the authors of Agile Manifesto, Nov-2007
1. Collaborate
a.k.a. break down the
internal siloes

10. 2. Demystify design
— set design goals and
measure design results with
a business management
framework

11. 3. Finding the
right designers
is not easy

12. 4. DesignOps Kaizen — continuous improvement
Producers (41%)
focus specifically
on visual design
Connectors (21%)
are collaborative,
have joint working
sessions, and use
tools to work with
peers that are not
designers
Architects (21%)
have distinct
routines, roles &
accountability
Scientists (12%)
are analytical and
data-driven,
experiment using
sophisticated
methods, and
measure their
results
consistently
Visionaries (5%) use
the design thinking
process in product
development and
apply it to their
internal business
strategies
design maturity model

13. 5. Designer growth paths
Design VP
Design director
Principal designer
Lead designer
Senior designer
Designer
Junior designer

14. Companies who best
utilize design grow their
revenues and shareholder
returns at nearly twice the
rate of their industry
counterparts.
“
* McKinsey 2020
*
Thanks!
harri@alphadesignpartners.com

15. Let us coach you in building a
stronger design function that can
orchestrate and optimize people,
workflows, toolchain, and craft to
amplify design quality, business
value, and impact at scale, define
design OKRs and motivational
growth paths for designers.
Business design combines the
tools of business thinkers,
analysts, and strategists with the
methods and mindsets of design.
Our business designers think
about how every element of the
business model affects the
consumer and client experience.
The process of searching and
hiring designers is not easy. The
best talents already have a job.
Many designers prefer freelancing
to full-time jobs, so finding the
most qualified candidates may be
difficult especially if your brand is
not known. We will find them.
Service Design
UX/UI Design
UX Research
Business Design
Design Operations
Service and UX/UI design with
impactful design research
methods. Customer journeys and
service blueprints, lean design for
responsive B2B & B2C web
services and mobile apps, brand
identity design, Design Sprints, UX
and marketing copywriting.
Design Talent
Recruitment
Alpha Design Partners
Let us help elevate your business!
www.alphadesignpartners.com