May 15, 2023

Your design system is a product

If you were creating a new product, what would you do?

You would probably:

• Identify and interview your target users to make sure you understand their needs;
• Research other comparable products in the space to learn what needs they’ve identified and how they’re addressing them;
• Build a product that brings value to them by addressing those needs;
• Narrow the scope of what you’re building by focusing on a key value proposition;
• Market the product to your target users by demonstrating this clear value proposition;
• Measure whether or not you’re delivering on that value proposition;
• Provide target users the support they need to get the most out of the product;
• Gather and evaluate feedback, critique, and contributions;
• Incorporate constructive user feedback into the product in frequent updates;
• Communicate with your users consistently, providing a long-term roadmap for the product;

Now, let’s run that list back, but imagine your product is a design system:

• Who is your target user and what is their primary challenge? It’s not your company’s customers; they aren’t using your design system. The designers and engineers who build your company’s digital products — those are your target users. Leadership usually pays for the product, so let’s not forget them. And what's their primary challenge? Please reread the email about casting your villain. 😈
• Other design systems with the same “villain” — how are they built? What can you learn from how they’re structured? Should you use those instead of building your own? (More on build-your-own vs. pre-fab in a later email.)
• What is the key value proposition your design system is trying to deliver? Focus on building that, and remember… don’t optimize prematurely.
• How do you market your design system to your target users? Designers and engineers need to understand how it will make their lives easier, help them do their job better, and create a better product in the end. Stakeholders writing the check for a design system need to understand how it will be a worthwhile investment — will it make both product creation teams and customers happy?
• Are you actually accomplishing these goals? How do you know? Do your design system target users believe you’re accomplishing this goal? How do you know. (More about measuring adoption in a later email.)
• Do your users understand how to use the design system tools? Can they find what they’re looking for in the documentation? Do they have a channel for providing feedback, critique, requests, or contributions?
• What sort of release cadence do you have? Can your target users rely on frequent releases and clear updates, or is your design system seen as a bottleneck or a risk? How transparent are you about the decision-making and future priorities for the design system? How often and in what ways are you incorporating feedback and contributions into the design system? Are you recognizing and celebrating those contributions publicly?

I know this analogy has its limitations, but this simple product framing can help answer a lot of common questions you might have about design systems.

Hope it helps.

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Cheers,

Up Next: Start with curiosity…

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