How I did it – Elevating UX Design across a scaling organization
I scaled the design team and turned 20 designers into a high-performing unit by revamping our UX program and fostering collaboration. This led to increased demand for our designers and recognition as a best-in-class team.
A little background
As a design leader at symplr, I transformed a rapidly growing team that lacked the structure and integration needed to scale with the business. We faced the challenge of migrating legacy products to the cloud while creating a cohesive user experience and improving complex, difficult-to-use modules.
Where We Started:
Emergent Design Practices
After a few months at symplr, the design team was becoming increasingly fragmented, with inconsistent workflows, limited visibility, and unclear understanding of UX’s role. Initially managing five designers, I was quickly entrusted with 4 more, and shortly after, the responsibility to hire and lead an additional 11.
At one point, I had a team of 20 designers tasked with redesigning large and complex modules and or designing multiple net-new modules within aggressive three-month cycles to keep up with engineering. Supporting hundreds of engineering teams, every designer was juggling high-stakes projects, under intensive time pressures.
Under that pressure the team had an absence of a feedback culture and unclear priorities led to time management struggles, scope creep, and overwhelmed designers unable to focus on high-impact work.
Strategic Overhaul:
Taking the Team from Emergent to Integrated
To tackle these challenges and elevate the design maturity, I implemented a series of tactics to transform how the team operated and how we were perceived within the company. The aim was not only to improve our processes but also to nurture a culture of collaboration and alignment across the business.
Here's how we made it happen:
Overhauling the UX Design Program
Clarify priorities and quality standards
Create a designer resourcing process
Creating a design team manifesto
Institute critiques to break down silos
Mandate quality gates for consistency
Create a leadership training program
Increase UX Evangelization
Removing Roadblocks to Protect Designers’ Time
Overhauling the UX Design Program
The first step was to completely overhaul our UX design program. We needed a cohesive framework that provided consistency, clarity, and shared best practices. This transformation wasn’t just about tools or templates—it was about creating a culture where designers understood the ‘why’ behind our work and how it contributed to the broader business goals.
The expectations were high, but our design maturity was still emergent, and it became clear that we needed a strategic overhaul to meet the needs of our stakeholders, enhance the quality of our work, and improve the perception of design across the organization.
Clarifying Priorities and Quality Standards
One of the most critical changes we made was ensuring everyone understood the priorities and quality standards. We made it clear what was non-negotiable and set expectations for the team and cross-functional partners. This clarity ensured that we were all aligned and focused on delivering the highest-quality designs.
Designer Resourcing Process
I developed a resourcing process to ensure we were aligned with business priorities. We started asking the critical question: ‘Are we working on the right projects at the right time?’ With this process, we could align designers with the right projects that leveraged their specific skill sets, increasing both efficiency and impact.
Creating a Design Team Manifesto
We created a design team manifesto that outlined our core values, mission, and how we would engage with each other. One of the most important principles we embraced was assuming positive intent. This meant that feedback was seen as a tool for growth, not criticism, and it created a space for designers to open up and collaborate without fear.
Design Critiques to Break Down Silos
Design critiques were a game changer. By bringing the team together regularly, we broke down silos and established a shared language around design quality. It also gave us the opportunity to receive and give feedback, learning from each other’s perspectives and strengthening our overall design output.
Quality Gates for Consistency
We implemented quality gates to ensure consistency across all design deliverables. Designers had to make sure they were using the design system correctly, designing with accessibility in mind, and getting UI copy reviewed. Approval from engineering was another essential checkpoint, ensuring feasibility before moving forward.
Manifesto
Critique
Quality Gates
5-Pronged Training Program
I invested heavily in up-skilling our designers with a 5-pronged training program. The goal was to teach our designers how to be leaders within their teams and how to work collaboratively with cross-functional partners. We empowered them to view their partners as customers, strengthening their influence across the organization.
Increased UX Evangelization
I knew that to elevate the perception of UX within the organization, we needed to make our work visible. We increased evangelization efforts with lunch-and-learns, company-wide case study presentations, and sharing our success stories. This visibility helped shift the narrative about UX from being just a ‘cosmetic’ function to a strategic, value-adding partner in the business.
Removing Roadblocks to Protect Designers’ Time
We identified that designers were spending too much time correcting post-handoff issues with engineers. To resolve this, we introduced a system where designers could submit defect tickets in minutes, rather than spending hours chasing engineers to fix implementation or post development issues. This freed up time for designers to focus on more impactful work.
The Results:
From Emergent to Best-in-Class
The transformation was profound, not just in the processes and systems we implemented, but in how the design team and its work were perceived across the organization. The maturity of our design practice skyrocketed, and our ability to support business goals with high-quality, user-centered design improved dramatically.
We no longer just ‘made things look good’; we became a key driver of the business strategy, with designers seen as leaders and strategic partners across the innovation team.
The impact of the changes was immediate. The way our cross-functional partners engaged with us shifted dramatically. Our designers were constantly in demand, with product and engineering teams fighting over them. We received numerous compliments from new teammates who were amazed by how structured, supportive, and collaborative our design team was.
Design is no longer an afterthought or a reactive function—it’s a key part of our organization’s success.
As a result of the changes, the design team’s work was not only more consistent but also more aligned with business goals. Our increased UX evangelization efforts led to a better understanding of what UX is and how it drives value. The organization saw us as strategic partners, and we received consistent praise from both cross-functional partners and new hires who recognized the strength of our team.
In the end, we went from an emergent yet fragmented team to one that was seen as integral to the company's success. We achieved not just design maturity but also earned a reputation for delivering world-class design, creating a strong foundation for the future as we continue to scale.
