When I joined Shutterfly in 2015 the team was using Photoshop and PDF exports to communicate with the dev team. This was painfully slow, error prone and highly time consuming .
After much canvassing and much hard labor, I created Shutterfly's DesignOps team during Q4, 2020.
Guiding principles
âI am but a toolâ
âMy teamâs success is my successâ
âThe troops eat before the commanding officerâ
Bottom line: Focus on making sure the team is happy and good work will follow..
The team's Confluence hub
Initiatives
Initiatives sampling
Research and developmentÂ
â˘Identified team pain points, exploring possible solutions with tools and processes, etc.)
â˘Lead research, testing, and evaluating all of the tools for the team.
â˘Cultivated relationships with Sketch, InVision, et al for tool improvements and team unblocking.
â˘Identified team pain points, exploring possible solutions with tools and processes, etc.)
â˘Lead research, testing, and evaluating all of the tools for the team.
â˘Cultivated relationships with Sketch, InVision, et al for tool improvements and team unblocking.
Animation and prototypingÂ
â˘Established animation principles and guidelines.Â
â˘Established a toolset and a series of training.
â˘Created the framework for micro-animations.
â˘Established animation principles and guidelines.Â
â˘Established a toolset and a series of training.
â˘Created the framework for micro-animations.
User TestingÂ
â˘Created a solid line of communication between the UX and UXR teams.
â˘Reestablished lost social and cooperative pathways.
â˘Created a solid line of communication between the UX and UXR teams.
â˘Reestablished lost social and cooperative pathways.
Jira
â˘Campaigned to create a seat for a UX PM.
â˘Moved the team away from working âreactivelyâ and move into the sprints and trackable metrics.Â
â˘Campaigned to create a seat for a UX PM.
â˘Moved the team away from working âreactivelyâ and move into the sprints and trackable metrics.Â
Licenses
â˘Took ownership of licensing away from IT back into the UX team, to administer with context.Â
â˘Negotiated with vendors.
â˘Established routine trainings.
â˘Took ownership of licensing away from IT back into the UX team, to administer with context.Â
â˘Negotiated with vendors.
â˘Established routine trainings.
Onboarding (and offboarding!)
Created a best-in-class onboarding experience for the team:
â˘Conducted stakeholder interviews of past onboarders and current onboarders. Identified seen and unseen pain points.
â˘Coordinated between various departments (IT, HR, etc.)Â
â˘Made sure this ânew way of doing thingsâ is broadcasted and being utilized.
â˘Created a separate onboarding doc for managers, with an emphasis on the new team memberâs sense of belonging.
â˘Constantly updated and re-evaluated.Â
Structure and principles
Created a centralized place where one can have a clear view of the team(s) structure and guiding principles:
â˘Researched common best practices for any self respecting UX team, created a baseline.
â˘Co-ran (periodic) workshops (such as âStop, Start, Continueâ, team building, and social hours) to combat team fragmentation and get the teamâs engagement and, ultimately, commitment.
â˘Emphasized the principles document is a living document where everyone can contribute âby the team, for the teamâ.
Codifying a workflow
Codified a workflow to solve disparities in work cadence, deliveries, and the quality and uniformity of output:
â˘Researched common best practices for âproperâ UX oriented workflows, and more importantly how to get buy-in.
â˘Conducted extensive interviews with select representatives of every participating contributor to the current flow.
â˘Crafted very explicit, very robust, information pages.
â˘Communicated loudly about âthe new way of doing thingsâ.Â
â˘Brought in periodically to reaffirm the flow, and identify (and help solve) where communication breakdowns occur.
Testimonials
(UX Team Lead, 2020) Shy is a valuable member of our UX team and is a key driver in improving the team's efficiency and output quality. Quietly understated in title, Shy's contribution to the design operation efforts has been enormous. He really keeps the whole team running smoothly.
(UX Team Lead, 2021) It is has been a tale of two years for Shy. In the areas of Design Ops and Design Systems, he has grown his influence and driven the team forward. He is generous with his considered feedback and time, and is frequently mentioned as a great design partner.
(Team member, 2022)Â [Shy is] a visionary leader who works hard to keep himself and inspires everyone around him to be invested in the high goals he sets and moving the company forward. Examples include sharing videos, opening discussions, and spreading new approaches to code, design, accessibility, and so many more.
(Team member, 2022) [Shy has] an eye for potential blockers you might face and potential help you might need in a related project [and he] provides suggestions and shares [his] experience in advance to support you conquer the issues smoothly and efficiently, which is really a precious trait for a team member to work with and a trait I personally appreciate a lot and learn from.
