Managing a Design System and a Fledgling Research Repository
Design System
When I started my UX Designer role in 2020, I was tasked with creating a design system in Figma after the company transitioned to the tool. Fortunately, some UI documentation existed on Confluence, which provided a solid foundation. Over the following years, I:
- Built out the design system in Figma.
- Created and documented components.
- Ensured the design system's value by offering consistency and efficiency.
In tandem, our team developed a Storybook design system, which proved to be an invaluable tool for developers. It provided a reference library of components, with rationale documented using Markdown MDX within Storybook.
Research Repository
Over the past two years, our team established a Condens research repository, complemented by Miro boards and UX testing results from Userlytics. This repository empowered the team by:
- Centralizing research insights.
- Allowing us to recognize and analyze behavioral patterns.
- Ensuring evidence-driven design decisions.
Educating the Team on UX Research & Design
To enhance our UX operations visibility, we developed a centralized SharePoint site. This platform was designed as a hub for UX resources, offering:
- Links to video tutorials, presentations, FAQs, and UX workload dashboards (via Azure DevOps).
- A timeline for UX deliverables and a clear UI governance process.
- Tools the UX team uses and a community page for collaboration and feedback.
- Role-specific collaboration guidelines to foster stronger inter-departmental alignment.
Where I Would Like to See Improvements
Design System
To further enhance the design system, I envision integrating tokens using tools like Tokens Studio. This would:
- Establish a single source of truth for design tokens.
- Simplify updating and maintaining component consistency across the system.
Research Repository
There's an opportunity to:
- Add more insights to Condens, enabling deeper pattern recognition.
- Leverage these patterns as a foundation for prioritizing and informing product design efforts.
Together, these efforts would proceed toward creating a more streamlined and evidence-based UX process.