Conference Program

DesignOps has matured practices, refined workflows, and scaled design systems.
But have we become too focused on design itself?
While optimizing pixels and processes, a transformative opportunity remains untapped.

As operational silos multiply across organizations and sector-agnostic regulations for digital products grow increasingly complex, a dangerous ambiguity emerges: Who actually owns compliance implementation?

A wave of regulations impacting all digital product organizations in Europe demands cross-functional action, yet ownership remains fragmented: legal understands requirements but lacks implementation expertise. Product prioritizes features over compliance. Design identifies constraints without solutions. Engineering relegates compliance to the backlog.
The result?
Compliance becomes everyone’s concern and no one’s responsibility.

This case study explores how the Eu Accessibility Act enforcement in June 2025 revealed this hidden dysfunction: budget disputes, role confusion, and mounting organizational friction. In this leadership vacuum, DesignOps emerged as the strategic architect that:

– Aligned product, design, legal, and engineering around shared accountability
– Embedded compliance directly into R&D workflows
– Became the connective tissue that unified previously siloed operations

This ownership gap will grow exponentially more dangerous for organizations navigating Europe’s complex regulatory landscape.

This talk explores how DesignOps must evolve from tactical facilitator to compliance-by-design architect: breaking down operational silos, reducing implementation costs, and delivering compliant innovation at market speed.

The question isn’t how well we can optimize design workflows. It’s whether we’re ready to lead the transformation our organizations desperately need.

In the era of AI, the way we build products as a software company is now intrinsically and inseparably tied to our tools. As I’ve evolved my Design Ops practice at Microsoft to affect change to our collaborative workflows, I’ve unconsciously grown into a liminal space that sits at the confluence of Design and Engineering Operations. Driving audacious pilot programs that test novel tools, building business cases for CVPs and executives, and designing large-scale rollout strategies — I’m not just solving problems for designers, but for herds of engineers, and for skeptical business stakeholders who want to see highly-crafted products in the hands of our customers as quickly as possible.

For over a decade, the team at the Lab at OPM has navigated the complexities of embedding design across the vast and varied landscape of the US federal government. Operating as a small, nimble consultancy serving large federal agencies, our team of 30+ designers faced challenges that resonate deeply with design teams operating in similarly complex environments:

– Real-time Accountability: Responding to the curiosities and scrutiny of senior leaders and managing internal communications often demands immediate access to accurate and impactful information about our work.
– Navigating Distributed Landscapes: We frequently collaborate with distributed teams, diverse stakeholders across federal agencies, and the public we serve, making consistent communication and shared understanding critical yet challenging.
– Tackling Increasingly Complex Challenges: The problems we address span legacy systems and processes to implementing emerging technologies, requiring our team to quickly onboard to novel domains and effectively engage with subject matter experts who may have established ways of working.
– Combating Knowledge Loss: With the inevitable ebb and flow of personnel, the risk of losing invaluable project history, contextual understanding, and tacit knowledge is a constant concern.
– The Pressure of Speed and Documentation: The urgency of design projects with federal agencies often clashes with the time required for thorough documentation, leading to a “”Groundhog Day”” scenario of repeated problem-solving and inefficient knowledge transfer.
– Breaking Down Silos: Despite our collaborative nature, the potential for siloing across project teams and functional areas within client agencies can hinder holistic solutions and shared learning.

These challenges are not unique to the public sector. Design teams within large organizations across industries grapple with distributed collaboration, complex domains, knowledge retention, time and resourcing pressures, and the need to demonstrate value to diverse stakeholders.

Over the past few years, we faced the intense challenge of adapting to aggressive, continuous scaling. As our design org at Commencis grew rapidly—from a humble team to over 70 Designers and Researchers—it became clear that headcount and tooling alone weren’t enough. We risked losing the human connections, clarity, and culture that made us strong to begin with—especially in a remote-first environment.

As a DesignOps team of one, I led the creation of a full-spectrum talent journey that balanced structure and belonging—from candidate experience and onboarding to career frameworks, leadership models, OKRs and team rituals. I collaborated closely with design leads, managers, and cross-functional stakeholders to co-create systems that would not only support our growth but also reflect who we wanted to become as a design org.

This period was both a major challenge and a defining opportunity. My goal wasn’t just to manage growth—it was to design for it intentionally, without sacrificing empathy, clarity, or culture.

How do our peers truly view DesignOps? This panel brings together product managers, chief design officers, research leads, and others to share their candid (and not always positive) perspectives on the evolving role and value of DesignOps. Some see DesignOps as essential and growing, while others have shifted focus to ProductOps or have even given up on their efforts to establish DesignOps within their organizations. While attending this panel might make you uncomfortable, you’ll come away with insight into how you’re really perceived by important peers—and you’ll learn practical ideas for building stronger relationships, demonstrating value, and adapting to shifting organizational priorities and expectations.

As DesignOps matures into a critical driver of business value, we’re once again at an inflection point—this time shaped by accelerating technologies, and shifting business priorities. Executive design leader Doug Powell will explore what’s next for DesignOps—drawing from decades of design leadership including his tenure at IBM during the expansion of that global design program, and insights from his consulting and training practice. With a hopeful but grounded perspective, Doug will share emerging signals from the field and reflect on the cycles and patterns of the past to offer a practical vision for how DesignOps leaders can lead through uncertainty, deepen cross-functional influence, and amplify the strategic potential of design.