What do music and DesignOps have in common? So much that Rachel Posman and John Calhoun use music as a framework for their new book, The Design Conductors: Your Essential Guide to Design Operations—the first book written about the subject. Both of the authors come from creative backgrounds (John as a musician, Rachel as a ballet dancer), and they describe how their personal experiences influenced their approach to the book and their work. The music analogies are plenty. One example is the importance of orchestration in design operations, equating it to coordinating a team to work harmoniously, much like a conductor leading an orchestra. Rachel and John explain that design operations is a creative process, blending design and management, and that those creative aspects are often underestimated. They highlight the maturing nature of design operations as a discipline, noting that the book fills a gap in resources for both newcomers and experienced professionals. The book is structured in two acts (another musical metaphor): the fundamentals of DesignOps, and the practical, tactical methods for building and scaling teams. Rachel and John also discuss some common challenges in DesignOps, like making the invisible work visible and advocating for the value of the discipline. They stress the importance of "working loudly" to ensure that the contributions of design ops teams are recognized so that teams are properly resourced. What You'll Learn from this Episode: - Why Rachel and John chose a musical metaphor to use in their book - Why Rachel and John decided to write the first book on Design Ops - How the book is formatted and why there is something for everyone - Why Rachel encourages her team to “work louder” Quick Reference Guide: 0:24 - Introduction of Rachel and John 2:45 - Brining a music metaphor to design ops and highlighting the creativity within operations 6:53 - The design materials of operations 7:42 - Communication 9:40 - Building the plane while flying 11:06 - What the book covers and who it’s for 14:22 - 5 reasons you need the Rosenverse 17:14 - The journey readers can expect to take 21:07 - The big errors and challenges in design ops 23:34 - Ideas for working loud and being visible 27:06 - Gifts for listeners

Daniel Orbach, a notable speaker from JP Morgan Chase, delves into the art of co-creating operating models for design teams. He highlights the importance of mission-driven frameworks that evolve through teamwork. The conversation unveils how rituals can unify teams and inspire their mission, plus the magic of cross-pollination between groups to establish a shared vocabulary. Daniel shares his insights on fostering collaboration and continuous improvement within organizations, revealing how these practices can drive impactful change.

Being simultaneously data-driven and creative seems paradoxical. So does building statistics into the creative process. John Paul de Guzman has managed to do both. As the founder and chief creative of Frost Design and Consulting Group, and speaker at the upcoming DesignOps Summit, millions of Filipinos have been impacted by their work with major FinTech and telecom projects. Much of the UX/UI talent in the Philippines is self-taught, often struggling with the gap between academic training and industry expectations. To address this, John Paul developed a systematic approach to training and design processes. John Paul and Lou discuss how Frost has embraced data-driven design, which, contrary to the creative chaos one might expect, has led to more efficient workflows and better client outcomes. By integrating tools like Trello and Figma, and leveraging AI for task management, John Paul has significantly reduced administrative overhead. This approach allows designers to focus on their work rather than getting bogged down in busy work. They can track work in real time, eliminating the need for status meetings and improving overall productivity—a win-win for both the team and their clients. What You'll Learn from this Episode: - How John Paul and his team at Frost systematically integrated data into their creative processes - How John Paul addressed the talent gap in his company The tools he uses to track workflows and achieve always-current status on projects - How probabilistic analysis helps predict project timelines and manage client expectations more accurately - How John Paul is integrating AP in the project-tracking process Quick Reference Guide: 0:13 - Introduction of John Paul 2:16 - The path that got John Paul where he is today 5:18 - What it means to be data-driven 8:39 - Systematizing the data-driven design process by tracking workflows 11:58 - Mapping the workflow 16:01 - Break 18:45 - Tools for probabilistic analysis and managing time 24:11 - The level of granularity John Paul’s team tracks 25:56 - Handling aspects of work that are more conceptual and difficult to atomize 30:46 - John Paul’s gift for listeners Resources and Links from Today's Episode: DesignOps Summit 2024 https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-summit/2024/

Giving feedback to subordinates can be just as stressful as receiving it. Yet evaluations are a critical component of retention, employer/employee expectations, and production in general. Having an evaluation framework and system in place creates efficiencies, fills voids, and benefits everyone on the team. Enter Ignacio Martinez, associate director at Grand Studio in Chicago. He’ll be delivering a talk at the Design Ops Summit in September, “Fair and Effective Designer Evaluation”. In this podcast episode, Ignacio and Lou explore the importance of a well-structured evaluation framework that highlights “glows and grows” in the areas of craft, quality, client interaction, and teamwork. Ignacio’s system, built on the very accessible Google Sheets, combines quantitative metrics with qualitative feedback to reduce bias and offer a comprehensive assessment of designers' performance. His framework allows for continuous feedback from peers, project directors, and supervisors. What You'll Learn from this Episode: - The principles and methodologies behind creating a fair and effective designer evaluation system - How contributions from peers, career managers, and directors can create a robust evaluation system - The importance of a structured framework with clear categories and traits such as craft, quality, client interaction, and teamwork. - The benefits of incorporating both quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback to minimize bias and provide comprehensive evaluations. - How to create a framework for continuous ongoing feedback from peers, project directors, and supervisors - How evaluation criteria may evolve based on internal priorities Quick Reference Guide: 0:13 - Intro of Ignacio 3:54 - Evaluating designers then and now 6:32 - Gut feelings versus using a system 8:27 - Defining desired traits and levels 11:49 - The framework of the documentation 14:54 - The Rosenverse 17:34 - Who are the evaluators? Are they biased? Are they anonymous? 21:33 - The frequency of evaluations 22:36 - Consider what makes the business run 26:05 - The importance of transparency 26:51 - Ignacio’s gift for listeners Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Blurb of Ignacio’s “Fair and Effective Designer Evaluation” https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-summit/2024/sessions/fair-and-effective-designer-evaluation/ DesignOps Summit virtual conference - September 23-25 https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-summit/2024/ Rosenverse https://rosenfeldmedia.com/rosenverse/ Donald Glover https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2255973/

Kate Towsey has certainly left her mark on research operations, pioneering the practice, helping launch the ResearchOps community, and now through writing Research That Scales: The Research Operations Handbook, which Rosenfeld Media is publishing in September of 2024. In her interview with Lou, Kate reflects on her journey from content strategist to a pivotal figure in the research operations community. She recounts her early days at the UK Government Digital Service, where she unexpectedly found herself building research labs, and later at Atlassian, where she helped develop systems to manage vast amounts of research data. Through her work, Kate realized the need for a more structured approach to research operations, leading to facilitating a global ResearchOps community. Oh, and along the way, she coined the term “PWDR” (“People Who Do Research”). The conversation delves into the strategic importance of ResearchOps, emphasizing that it’s much more than just administrative support—it's about designing systems that enable organizations to effectively learn and innovate. Kate likens research operations to city planning, highlighting the need for strategy to build successful, sustainable systems. What You'll Learn from this Episode: - How Kate’s early work in content strategy and her experiences at the UK - Government Digital Service (GDS) led to the work she does today - The importance of aligning research operations with a clear research strategy - How research operations have evolved over the years - The distinction between research and insights, and the value of turning research findings into actionable insights that drive decision-making Quick Reference Guide: 0:27 - Introduction of Kate and her book 3:32 - Kate’s ah-ha moment 9:38 - Facilitating a global conversation before writing the book 11:47 - 8 elements unique to operations 14:09 - The Rosenverse 16:56 - Defining research operations 16:15 - Strategy in operations 20:50 - A story from overlooking the Hudson River in 2018 23:58 - On insight 27:14 - Human-centered research 32:04 - Kate’s gift for listeners Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Research That Scales: The Research Operations Handbook by Kate Towsey https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/research-that-scales/ Cha-Cha Club https://chacha.club/

Ben Reason, founder of LiveWork Studio and co-author on service design, teams up with Patrick Quattlebaum, founder of Harmonic Design, to discuss the future of service design. They explore its evolution and the need for deeper integration with practices like agile and product management. The pair emphasizes the importance of communication across organizations, particularly in complex industries like healthcare. They also introduce an upcoming conference aimed at inspiring a new generation of service designers with real-world case studies and innovative methodologies.

Leah Buley and Joe Natoli have teamed up to make something great (check out the reviews on Amazon!) even greater. How? Well, considering that The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide was written more than a decade ago, it was time to revisit the content and make it even more relevant for today’s UX teams. After all, times have changed. But the fundamental principles of the original book haven’t changed. They are as solid today as they were 11 years ago. What has changed is that the methods have been adapted for the speed of change in today’s businesses. Joe says it best: “These methods are shorter. They're simpler. They’re more direct in a lot of ways, and they cut to the chase in a way that longer processes don’t. I've met plenty of senior people who are throwing up their hands and going, ‘We're doing all the things. Why isn't this working?’ And the truth is, they're kind of overworking and overthinking. Everything in this book is practical and direct and gets you from point A to B. I just don't think there's any better way to get there.” What You'll Learn from this Episode: - About Leah’s experience as a solo UX practitioner and the inspiration behind the first edition of UX Team of One - How the UX field has changed over the past decade - How the second edition aims to provide comprehensive yet practical UX methods that can be applied in various organizational settings - About the shortcomings of UX boot camps and educational programs - A perspective that balances UX advocacy with business objectives and the reality of corporate politics - How to navigate and thrive in a UX career despite industry challenges, focusing on practical, adaptable methods and tools. Quick Reference Guide: 0:46 - Introduction of Leah and Joe 1:33 - The User Experience Team of One, second edition 6:46 - Large or small team, Leah and Joe’s book is comprehensive without being overwhelming 8:58 - Righting wrongs 12:14 - What’s new in the second edition – striving to do more with less 15:58 - Break - plug for the Rosenverse 18:20 - The current shitstorm 21:39 - On speed 24:40 - On toolkits. Tools and methods are two different things. 28:16 - Who needs The User Experience Team of One? 30:45 - Leah and Joe’s gifts for the audience Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Act-Way-Being/dp/0593652886 Jakob Bro, jazz guitarist https://jakobbro.com/web/ Confessions of a Pricing Man by Hermann Simon https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Pricing-Man-Affects-Everything/dp/3319203991 Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe https://www.amazon.com/Bonfire-Vanities-Tom-Wolfe/dp/0312427573 The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide by Leah Buley and Joe Natoli https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/the-user-experience-team-of-one-second-edition/

Have you ever thought about the similarities between art and science? Or about how math is the language of the universe? No? Welcome to a perspective shift. Ultimately this episode is about making things better, not just different. But how we get there is through a thoughtful and entertaining discussion with the witty and philosophical Erin Weigel. Erin Weigel wants us to make things better, not just different. But how do we get there? Lou had a thoughtful and entertaining discussion with Erin, always witty and philosophical—and often funny as hell. Join them on a perspective-shifting conversation that bridges disciplines and challenges conventional thinking, all in the pursuit of genuine improvement. Erin is the author of the recently published Design for Impact: Your Guide to Designing Effective Product Experiments. She brings a fresh, accessible, and humor-filled take on what may seem like a dry topic: experimentation. Erin digs into the role of experimentation in design, advocating for always defaulting to experiments even if they’re the quick and dirty kind. Erin and Lou also cover the following: - Wonky stuff like normal distributions, the central limit theorem, and what can be learned from outliers - The power of experiments to unite multidisciplinary teams by getting away from opinions and finding the truth - How professionals can use the principles of experimentation to navigate uncertainties and drive meaningful improvements - Discerning the impact of changes made What You'll Learn from this Episode: - How Erin, with a fine arts background, became the principal designer at Booking.com and the Senior Group Product Design Manager at Deliveroo - The fundamental similarities between art and science - Why you should never skip the experimental phase - How experimentation unites people across disciplines - The difference between making things different and making them better Quick Reference Guide: 0:32 - Introduction of Erin; similarities between art and science 4:05 - Barriers between art and science 5:58 - Statistics is fun! 12:37 - Defaulting to experimentation 18:06 - Break - 5 reasons to use the Rosenverse 20:36 - Experimentation as a uniting force 25:49 - Make things better, not just different 28:32 - Erin’s gift for listeners Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Design for Impact: Your Guide to Designing Effective Product Experiments by Erin Weigel: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/design-for-impact/ Ologies Podcast with Allie Ward: https://www.alieward.com/ologies Rosenverse: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/rosenverse/ Factfulness: 10 Reasons We’re Wrong About the World and 10 Reasons Why Things are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling: https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Better/dp/1250107814

In the latest episode of the Rosenfeld Review, Lou sits down with old friend Peter van Dijck, author of Information Architecture for Designers: Structuring Websites for Business Success, one of the first books ever written on Information Architecture. Peter is now a partner of Simply Put, a Colombian company that builds and designs useful AI Agents—including the soon-to-launch Rosenbot! Peter offers insight into the world of AI. Having been one of the first to speak about IA, it is fascinating to hear what he now has to say about AI. Join Lou and Peter as they take you through the journey where language itself is transforming from design to technology. What You'll Learn from this Episode: - An introduction to the Rosenbot, an AI bot that Peter’s company is developing for Rosenfeld Media - Some basic vocabulary for speaking about AI and ML so you “don’t feel like an idiot” - Mind-blowing truths about the potential of Generative AI’s language capabilities - How writing has transformed from a design to a technology and learn what that means for how we interact with the data - About the importance of highly curated information when training bots and the tricky balance that comes when you want to present less polished sources like unedited conversations - The importance of the human side of things - The biggest surprise that has come from working in the industry Quick Reference Guide [0:15] - Lou’s introduction of Peter Van Dijck [3:00] - AI on a basic level [4:59] - Generative AI’s language capabilities [18:08] - How we interact with metadata and writing as a technology [20:00] - How real-use cases make technology more exciting and instantaneous [22:19] - Information about the new Designing With AI Conference [23:33] - Some of the jargon around AI and IA [24:16] - Introduction to Lou’s Chat Bot, the Rosen Bot [24:39] - The importance of training bots on highly curated information [28:34] - The tricky balance of curated and less polished content [30:26] - The human side of things [31:55] - Different interaction models [37:58] - The biggest surprise working in the industry [38:30] - A Gift For You Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Peter Van Dijck Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petervandijck/ Peter’s Company, Simply Put: https://www.getsimplyput.ai/ Information Architecture for Designers: Structuring Websites for Business Success https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YDJPPCM The My Climate Journey Podcast: https://www.mcjcollective.com/media/podcast

In a time of massive layoffs across the tech industry, and with the inevitable advancement of AI, is it time for tech workers to organize — as in, unionize? I know, I know. You thought unions were for 1950’s factory workers. Not so. Ethan Marcotte, author of You Deserve a Tech Union (and coiner of the term “responsive web design”) thinks it’s high time for tech workers to protect themselves by coming together and deciding what’s most important to them as a collective. Certainly, tech workers don’t face the same kind of potential life-threatening working conditions of industrial America, but they still deserve a seat at the table when important decisions about their work are being discussed. With issues related to equality, transparency, workplace harassment, and how AI is shifting roles and affecting how work gets done, there’s a lot to talk about. Ethan will bring his perspective on tech workers and how they’re being impacted by AI to the upcoming Designing with AI virtual conference in June. What You'll Learn from this Episode: - What’s attractive about unionizing for tech workers of the 2020s - What tech workers would change if they could - About tech walkouts and unions that have already happened - Helpful resources for starting conversations with coworkers - The potential relationship among AI, reskilling, and worker unions Quick Reference Guide: 0:20 - Introduction of Ethan 3:35 - How Ethan became interested in the idea of tech unions 6:04 - “Weren’t unions for the manufacturing industry in the 1950s?” 9:32 - The things tech workers would change if they could 11:14 - Conversations among employees – are they safe? Are they protected? 13:28 - On organizing for the greater good of humanity 17:11 - Plug for Managing Priorities: How to Create Better Plans and Make Smarter Decisions by Harry Max 19:06 - How we should feel about AI 22:36 - AI, reskilling, and when workers don’t want to leave mundane tasks behind 31:08 - Employees “voting with their feet” is costly for organizations 33:24 - How future workers may organize as it relates to AI 36:30 - Ethan’s gift for listeners Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Designing with AI virtual conference, June 4-5, 2024 https://rosenfeldmedia.com/events/futures/ You Deserve a Tech Union by Ethan Markcotte https://www.amazon.com/Deserve-Tech-Union-Ethan-Marcotte/dp/1952616603 WorkerOrganizing.org https://workerorganizing.org/ Tech Workers Coalition https://techworkerscoalition.org/ TheFutureIsLikePie.com https://thefutureislikepie.com/