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.