Sparkbox has a decade of experience working with design systems for some of the world’s most influential companies, from Goodyear, to DocuSign, to Gap, Inc.
In some cases, we’re on board from the ground floor; we have the opportunity to help our clients with the early stages of an evolving design system, sharing what we know with their teams, building consensus, and reviewing technical architecture and approaches. In other engagements, we’re tasked with jumping into an existing project. [Please insert your favorite “build the plane while it’s in the air” metaphor here. We’ve all been there, right?]
With any project, it’s important for us to clearly understand the landscape, opportunities and pitfalls. When we’re working with clients who’ve already started their design system, we often find that an initial audit is the right starting point. This is how we determine what’s working, what’s missing, and sometimes what just needs to be explained more accurately. Typically, a design system audit includes interviews, team feedback, review of materials, and a list of challenges and recommendations.
Interviews
One of the best ways to learn is to listen. Typically, we work with an internal program lead to create a list of interviewees. Ideally, we speak with a cross-section of people that include many disciplines and many levels. We also want a healthy mix of people who are working on the system and people who are using the system. If you’re reading this, you may already know that there can be politics involved. Our goal is to ask good questions, understand the landscape in which the systems exist, and ideally help make sure that people feel their voices are being heard.
All the research we do allows us to get a snapshot of what’s there, as well as letting us determine what’s serving the audience well. Interviews take time, but they’re incredibly informative.
Ben Callahan
Additional Team Feedback
If we’re pressed for time or if our budget is limited, there are lots of ways we can get creative about how to get feedback from team members, subscribers, and stakeholders. We’ve worked with surveys, offered “open door” sessions, and created asynchronous opportunities for folks to share their feedback (either anonymously or not). It’s our job to frame questions in the right way and then aggregate all the information to inform the system moving forward. A system is a living organism that brings together the needs and efforts of many people. We’ll do whatever we can to understand and respond to those needs.
Materials Review
By the time we get involved with an effort of this scale, it’s likely that our clients have already started to gather information about the system. We use our Anatomy of a Design System model to help us organize that information in a way that’s going to inform later recommendations: processes, documentation, and assets. Most clients don’t yet have every single item in the anatomy covered–that’s perfectly fine and even expected. Sometimes knowing what doesn’t exist can be just as informative as knowing what does.
We often find that our clients aren’t seeing the benefits that they expected to see. That actually can mean one of two things. 1) They’re not adding the value that they intend to. 2) They’re not communicating value to the right people at the right times.
Ben Callahan
When is the right time to ask for help?
Speaking honestly: there’s no wrong time to ask for help. If you have the opportunity to bring in design system experts for guidance and support early in the process, that’s terrific. But if you already have a system underway, or if you’ve found it difficult to gain momentum within your organization, there are still lots of ways to find help. An audit isn’t the final solution, but it is often the start of one.
Sparkbox covers strategy, design, and development. We have the resources to offer help wherever it’s needed, and it’s our goal to do exactly that. But we find that the outcomes of a design system audit are often interpersonal. We help by bringing a deep expertise of design systems and a broad understanding of the many ways organizations are doing this work. We’ve seen a lot, and we’re happy to share.
Ben Callahan, who leads our design system efforts, would be glad to schedule fifteen minutes with you to see if you and Sparkbox might be a good fit. You can find time on his schedule here.
