designing a Design department
I created the Product Design Department at Kinesso from scratch. We grew from 0-30 employees in one year.
Product
Product Design Department
Client
Kinesso
Business Model
PaaS & SaaS
designing a Design department
I’m a Product Design leader specializing in sustainable scalability of teams, design systems, & products.
Product
Product Design Department
Client
Kinesso
Business Model
PaaS & SaaS
designing a Design department
I created the Product Design Department at Kinesso from scratch. We grew from 0-30 employees in one year.
Product
Product Design Department
Client
Kinesso
Business Model
PaaS & SaaS
designing a Design department
I created the Product Design Department at Kinesso from scratch. We grew from 0-30 employees in one year.
Product
Product Design Department
Client
Kinesso
Business Model
PaaS & SaaS
designing a Design department
I created the Product Design Department at Kinesso from scratch. We grew from 0-30 employees in one year.
Product
Product Design Department
Client
Kinesso
Business Model
PaaS & SaaS
Brief
Create a Product Design Department as a centralized service to compliment Kinesso’s Product and Engineering efforts across 900+ global products and 20 service lines.
The team should maximize output across innovation and maintenance efforts with the most operational efficiencies.
Brief
Create a Product Design Department as a centralized service to compliment Kinesso’s Product and Engineering efforts across 900+ global products and 20 service lines.
The team should maximize output across innovation and maintenance efforts with the most operational efficiencies.
Brief
Create a Product Design Department as a centralized service to compliment Kinesso’s Product and Engineering efforts across 900+ global products and 20 service lines.
The team should maximize output across innovation and maintenance efforts with the most operational efficiencies.
Brief
Create a Product Design Department as a centralized service to compliment Kinesso’s Product and Engineering efforts across 900+ global products and 20 service lines.
The team should maximize output across innovation and maintenance efforts with the most operational efficiencies.
Brief
Create a Product Design Department as a centralized service to compliment Kinesso’s Product and Engineering efforts across 900+ global products and 20 service lines.
The team should maximize output across innovation and maintenance efforts with the most operational efficiencies.
Defining the Skillset Mix
Based on the needs of the organization, I determined we needed three distinct skillsets:
Research
UX Design
UI Design
In order to establish Research as a discipline, I wanted to have dedicated UX Researchers - staff who could drive data-based strategy and optimizations with the User at the forefront.
Defining the Skillset Mix
Based on the needs of the organization, I determined we needed three distinct skillsets:
Research
UX Design
UI Design
In order to establish Research as a discipline, I wanted to have dedicated UX Researchers - staff who could drive data-based strategy and optimizations with the User at the forefront.
Defining the Skillset Mix
Based on the needs of the organization, I determined we needed three distinct skillsets:
Research
UX Design
UI Design
In order to establish Research as a discipline, I wanted to have dedicated UX Researchers - staff who could drive data-based strategy and optimizations with the User at the forefront.
Defining the Skillset Mix
Based on the needs of the organization, I determined we needed three distinct skillsets:
Research
UX Design
UI Design
In order to establish Research as a discipline, I wanted to have dedicated UX Researchers - staff who could drive data-based strategy and optimizations with the User at the forefront.
Defining the Skillset Mix
Based on the needs of the organization, I determined we needed three distinct skillsets:
Research
UX Design
UI Design
In order to establish Research as a discipline, I wanted to have dedicated UX Researchers - staff who could drive data-based strategy and optimizations with the User at the forefront.
defining locations
Based on existing infrastructure, talent market assessment, and compatible timezones for collaboration with other teams, partner companies, and clients – I established 5 global hubs:
Mexico City, MX
Groningen, NL
Riga, Latvia
Warsaw, Poland
New York, NY
San Diego, CA
defining locations
Based on existing infrastructure, talent market assessment, and compatible timezones for collaboration with other teams, partner companies, and clients – I established 5 global hubs:
Mexico City, MX
Groningen, NL
Riga, Latvia
Warsaw, Poland
New York, NY
San Diego, CA
defining locations
Based on existing infrastructure, talent market assessment, and compatible timezones for collaboration with other teams, partner companies, and clients – I established 5 global hubs:
Mexico City, MX
Groningen, NL
Riga, Latvia
Warsaw, Poland
New York, NY
San Diego, CA
defining locations
Based on existing infrastructure, talent market assessment, and compatible timezones for collaboration with other teams, partner companies, and clients – I established 5 global hubs:
Mexico City, MX
Groningen, NL
Riga, Latvia
Warsaw, Poland
New York, NY
San Diego, CA
defining locations
Based on existing infrastructure, talent market assessment, and compatible timezones for collaboration with other teams, partner companies, and clients – I established 5 global hubs:
Mexico City, MX
Groningen, NL
Riga, Latvia
Warsaw, Poland
New York, NY
San Diego, CA
Vision Statement
The vision statement gives the Product Design team an aspirational strategy to move towards, and sets expectations with other departments for our quality of work and culture.
Product Design Vision
If you're not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
We aim to bring joy to the user through usability,
accessibility, and aesthetic.
We tell interactive stories through user experience and visual
interface design.
The design strategy puts the user first, providing a connected
experience for all user types across all products in the MIE ecosystem.
We expand and elevate the IPG Media brands product
footprint through trendsetting, global recognition and awards, and an
empathetic user process.
Our process is rooted in data, analysis, and strategic Design Thinking.
Vision Statement
The vision statement gives the Product Design team an aspirational strategy to move towards, and sets expectations with other departments for our quality of work and culture.
Product Design Vision
If you're not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
We aim to bring joy to the user through usability,
accessibility, and aesthetic.
We tell interactive stories through user experience and visual
interface design.
The design strategy puts the user first, providing a connected
experience for all user types across all products in the MIE ecosystem.
We expand and elevate the IPG Media brands product
footprint through trendsetting, global recognition and awards, and an
empathetic user process.
Our process is rooted in data, analysis, and strategic Design Thinking.
Vision Statement
The vision statement gives the Product Design team an aspirational strategy to move towards, and sets expectations with other departments for our quality of work and culture.
Product Design Vision
If you're not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
We aim to bring joy to the user through usability,
accessibility, and aesthetic.
We tell interactive stories through user experience and visual
interface design.
The design strategy puts the user first, providing a connected
experience for all user types across all products in the MIE ecosystem.
We expand and elevate the IPG Media brands product
footprint through trendsetting, global recognition and awards, and an
empathetic user process.
Our process is rooted in data, analysis, and strategic Design Thinking.
Vision Statement
The vision statement gives the Product Design team an aspirational strategy to move towards, and sets expectations with other departments for our quality of work and culture.
Product Design Vision
If you're not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
We aim to bring joy to the user through usability,
accessibility, and aesthetic.
We tell interactive stories through user experience and visual
interface design.
The design strategy puts the user first, providing a connected
experience for all user types across all products in the MIE ecosystem.
We expand and elevate the IPG Media brands product
footprint through trendsetting, global recognition and awards, and an
empathetic user process.
Our process is rooted in data, analysis, and strategic Design Thinking.
Vision Statement
The vision statement gives the Product Design team an aspirational strategy to move towards, and sets expectations with other departments for our quality of work and culture.
Product Design Vision
If you're not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
We aim to bring joy to the user through usability,
accessibility, and aesthetic.
We tell interactive stories through user experience and visual
interface design.
The design strategy puts the user first, providing a connected
experience for all user types across all products in the MIE ecosystem.
We expand and elevate the IPG Media brands product
footprint through trendsetting, global recognition and awards, and an
empathetic user process.
Our process is rooted in data, analysis, and strategic Design Thinking.
Vision Statement
The vision statement gives the Product Design team an aspirational strategy to move towards, and sets expectations with other departments for our quality of work and culture.
Product Design Vision
If you're not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
We aim to bring joy to the user through usability,
accessibility, and aesthetic.
We tell interactive stories through user experience and visual
interface design.
The design strategy puts the user first, providing a connected
experience for all user types across all products in the MIE ecosystem.
We expand and elevate the IPG Media brands product
footprint through trendsetting, global recognition and awards, and an
empathetic user process.
Our process is rooted in data, analysis, and strategic Design Thinking.
Vision Statement
The vision statement gives the Product Design team an aspirational strategy to move towards, and sets expectations with other departments for our quality of work and culture.
Product Design Vision
If you're not having fun, we’re doing it wrong.
We aim to bring joy to the user through usability,
accessibility, and aesthetic.
We tell interactive stories through user experience and visual
interface design.
The design strategy puts the user first, providing a connected
experience for all user types across all products in the MIE ecosystem.
We expand and elevate the IPG Media brands product
footprint through trendsetting, global recognition and awards, and an
empathetic user process.
Our process is rooted in data, analysis, and strategic Design Thinking.
Strategic Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our long term business strategy.
Flexible Architecture
As the company grows, so do the user bases and offerings. Scale is key – a flexible design system allows for freedom to architect for users’ current and future needs.
Intelligent Interfaces
Designing with automation in mind, while keeping an eye on industry AI trends and use cases. Product Design focuses on automation interfaces and experiences that provide value, efficiency, and function.
SaaS-Readiness
Driving organizational preparation & execution for SaaS-Readiness across internal & 3rd party fully-cycle onboarding through off boarding efforts.
Strategic Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our long term business strategy.
Flexible Architecture
As the company grows, so do the user bases and offerings. Scale is key – a flexible design system allows for freedom to architect for users’ current and future needs.
Intelligent Interfaces
Designing with automation in mind, while keeping an eye on industry AI trends and use cases. Product Design focuses on automation interfaces and experiences that provide value, efficiency, and function.
SaaS-Readiness
Driving organizational preparation & execution for SaaS-Readiness across internal & 3rd party fully-cycle onboarding through off boarding efforts.
Strategic Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our long term business strategy.
Flexible Architecture
As the company grows, so do the user bases and offerings. Scale is key – a flexible design system allows for freedom to architect for users’ current and future needs.
Intelligent Interfaces
Designing with automation in mind, while keeping an eye on industry AI trends and use cases. Product Design focuses on automation interfaces and experiences that provide value, efficiency, and function.
SaaS-Readiness
Driving organizational preparation & execution for SaaS-Readiness across internal & 3rd party fully-cycle onboarding through off boarding efforts.
Strategic Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our long term business strategy.
Flexible Architecture
As the company grows, so do the user bases and offerings. Scale is key – a flexible design system allows for freedom to architect for users’ current and future needs.
Intelligent Interfaces
Designing with automation in mind, while keeping an eye on industry AI trends and use cases. Product Design focuses on automation interfaces and experiences that provide value, efficiency, and function.
SaaS-Readiness
Driving organizational preparation & execution for SaaS-Readiness across internal & 3rd party fully-cycle onboarding through off boarding efforts.
Strategic Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our long term business strategy.
Flexible Architecture
As the company grows, so do the user bases and offerings. Scale is key – a flexible design system allows for freedom to architect for users’ current and future needs.
Intelligent Interfaces
Designing with automation in mind, while keeping an eye on industry AI trends and use cases. Product Design focuses on automation interfaces and experiences that provide value, efficiency, and function.
SaaS-Readiness
Driving organizational preparation & execution for SaaS-Readiness across internal & 3rd party fully-cycle onboarding through off boarding efforts.
Operational Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our executional support, leadership, and expertise.
Efficiency
The process & tools that deliver excellent work across Products, Teams, & clients.
Research
The evaluation of people, process, product in order to formalize strategy & actionable steps.
Collaboration
Intersections with Product and Engineering that preserve the integrity of design.
Interaction Design
Creating intuitive & inspirational experiences that effectively tell stories and drive user behavior through human-centered interplay and information exchange with digital product.
Ecosystem Experience
Designing for the full context of the Product and ecosystem in a cohesive experience.
Operational Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our executional support, leadership, and expertise.
Efficiency
The process & tools that deliver excellent work across Products, Teams, & clients.
Research
The evaluation of people, process, product in order to formalize strategy & actionable steps.
Collaboration
Intersections with Product and Engineering that preserve the integrity of design.
Interaction Design
Creating intuitive & inspirational experiences that effectively tell stories and drive user behavior through human-centered interplay and information exchange with digital product.
Ecosystem Experience
Designing for the full context of the Product and ecosystem in a cohesive experience.
Operational Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our executional support, leadership, and expertise.
Efficiency
The process & tools that deliver excellent work across Products, Teams, & clients.
Research
The evaluation of people, process, product in order to formalize strategy & actionable steps.
Collaboration
Intersections with Product and Engineering that preserve the integrity of design.
Interaction Design
Creating intuitive & inspirational experiences that effectively tell stories and drive user behavior through human-centered interplay and information exchange with digital product.
Ecosystem Experience
Designing for the full context of the Product and ecosystem in a cohesive experience.
Operational Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our executional support, leadership, and expertise.
Efficiency
The process & tools that deliver excellent work across Products, Teams, & clients.
Research
The evaluation of people, process, product in order to formalize strategy & actionable steps.
Collaboration
Intersections with Product and Engineering that preserve the integrity of design.
Interaction Design
Creating intuitive & inspirational experiences that effectively tell stories and drive user behavior through human-centered interplay and information exchange with digital product.
Ecosystem Experience
Designing for the full context of the Product and ecosystem in a cohesive experience.
Operational Pillars
Key areas of focus that drive our executional support, leadership, and expertise.
Efficiency
The process & tools that deliver excellent work across Products, Teams, & clients.
Research
The evaluation of people, process, product in order to formalize strategy & actionable steps.
Collaboration
Intersections with Product and Engineering that preserve the integrity of design.
Interaction Design
Creating intuitive & inspirational experiences that effectively tell stories and drive user behavior through human-centered interplay and information exchange with digital product.
Ecosystem Experience
Designing for the full context of the Product and ecosystem in a cohesive experience.
Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Enterprise
Objectives that shape the enterprise strategy of SaaS innovation.
Objective
Dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Gain alignment on shifting to user-centric product design and development.
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Define user-centric product and the benefits thereof
Share Transformation Plan, Roadmap, & needs
1 month
Buy in on a phased approach with $1.1mm budget
Urgent
Define what success looks like
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Set metrics to guide quality of work and measure success
1 month
Clearly defined goals
Every metric exceeded, every quarter, for 16 consecutive quarters
Urgent
Establish User Experience Research as a discipline and important part of the product lifecycle.
Hire UX Researchers
Product & Engineering buy-in
Start with one small project - utilize UX research, bring the Product & Engineering teams along for the ride in a collaborative process.
4 months
Significantly Increased quality of work.
User-centric product
Significantly reduced Engineering time
Not urgent
Department
Objectives that shape the organizational strategy of the Product Design Department.
Objective
dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Define roles, responsibilities, & career development
HR collaboration and buy-in
Create job descriptions
Create Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
1 month
Clearly defined roles of UX Designer, UI Designer, UX Researcher, and Product Design Manager
Urgent
Secure contractors for immediate workload
Identifying the right vendor to partner with
Negotiate terms
Hire 16 contractors
3 months
Taking the approved domestic budget, I secured an offshore vendor to provide twice the Designers for the same cost.
Urgent
Hire domestic SWAT team to drive future-work
Successful recruiting efforts
Hire 3 full time employees
3 months
The 3 SWAT team members successfully helped set department standards.
All 3 founding members now run their own teams.
Urgent
Establish scalable and repeatable user-centric process for the entire product life cycle
Product, Engineering, & Project Management buy in
Upskill a Project Manager to be a Director of Design Management.
Identify Project Management tools
Define T-shirt sizes for level of effort, & categorize work accordingly
Create standard timeline templates
Create resources to educate & onboard everyone to the new process
2 months
Transitioned all Project Management of Design phases and tasks away from JIRA & into ClickUp
Build Product Design Management discipline to support Product Design
Enthusiastic adoption of new Product Design process
Not urgent
Sustainably scale the department
Successful recruiting efforts
Budget
Replace contractors with FTEs
Hire 30 full time employees
18 months
Increased staff budget to $2.3mm
10 contractors were converted to 20 FTE rolls for cost efficiencies
30 FTE employees were hired in 1 year
50 FTE employees were hired in 18 months
Delegate
Roadmap future workload
Product & Engineering collaboration
Establish roadmapping process
3 months
Product Design, Product, Project Management, and Engineering meet every quarter to roadmap the work as a collaborative process
Delegate
Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Enterprise
Objectives that shape the enterprise strategy of SaaS innovation.
Objective
Dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Gain alignment on shifting to user-centric product design and development.
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Define user-centric product and the benefits thereof
Share Transformation Plan, Roadmap, & needs
1 month
Buy in on a phased approach with $1.1mm budget
Urgent
Define what success looks like
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Set metrics to guide quality of work and measure success
1 month
Clearly defined goals
Every metric exceeded, every quarter, for 16 consecutive quarters
Urgent
Establish User Experience Research as a discipline and important part of the product lifecycle.
Hire UX Researchers
Product & Engineering buy-in
Start with one small project - utilize UX research, bring the Product & Engineering teams along for the ride in a collaborative process.
4 months
Significantly Increased quality of work.
User-centric product
Significantly reduced Engineering time
Not urgent
Department
Objectives that shape the organizational strategy of the Product Design Department.
Objective
dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Define roles, responsibilities, & career development
HR collaboration and buy-in
Create job descriptions
Create Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
1 month
Clearly defined roles of UX Designer, UI Designer, UX Researcher, and Product Design Manager
Urgent
Secure contractors for immediate workload
Identifying the right vendor to partner with
Negotiate terms
Hire 16 contractors
3 months
Taking the approved domestic budget, I secured an offshore vendor to provide twice the Designers for the same cost.
Urgent
Hire domestic SWAT team to drive future-work
Successful recruiting efforts
Hire 3 full time employees
3 months
The 3 SWAT team members successfully helped set department standards.
All 3 founding members now run their own teams.
Urgent
Establish scalable and repeatable user-centric process for the entire product life cycle
Product, Engineering, & Project Management buy in
Upskill a Project Manager to be a Director of Design Management.
Identify Project Management tools
Define T-shirt sizes for level of effort, & categorize work accordingly
Create standard timeline templates
Create resources to educate & onboard everyone to the new process
2 months
Transitioned all Project Management of Design phases and tasks away from JIRA & into ClickUp
Build Product Design Management discipline to support Product Design
Enthusiastic adoption of new Product Design process
Not urgent
Sustainably scale the department
Successful recruiting efforts
Budget
Replace contractors with FTEs
Hire 30 full time employees
18 months
Increased staff budget to $2.3mm
10 contractors were converted to 20 FTE rolls for cost efficiencies
30 FTE employees were hired in 1 year
50 FTE employees were hired in 18 months
Delegate
Roadmap future workload
Product & Engineering collaboration
Establish roadmapping process
3 months
Product Design, Product, Project Management, and Engineering meet every quarter to roadmap the work as a collaborative process
Delegate
Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Enterprise
Objectives that shape the enterprise strategy of SaaS innovation.
Objective
Dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Gain alignment on shifting to user-centric product design and development.
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Define user-centric product and the benefits thereof
Share Transformation Plan, Roadmap, & needs
1 month
Buy in on a phased approach with $1.1mm budget
Urgent
Define what success looks like
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Set metrics to guide quality of work and measure success
1 month
Clearly defined goals
Every metric exceeded, every quarter, for 16 consecutive quarters
Urgent
Establish User Experience Research as a discipline and important part of the product lifecycle.
Hire UX Researchers
Product & Engineering buy-in
Start with one small project - utilize UX research, bring the Product & Engineering teams along for the ride in a collaborative process.
4 months
Significantly Increased quality of work.
User-centric product
Significantly reduced Engineering time
Not urgent
Department
Objectives that shape the organizational strategy of the Product Design Department.
Objective
dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Define roles, responsibilities, & career development
HR collaboration and buy-in
Create job descriptions
Create Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
1 month
Clearly defined roles of UX Designer, UI Designer, UX Researcher, and Product Design Manager
Urgent
Secure contractors for immediate workload
Identifying the right vendor to partner with
Negotiate terms
Hire 16 contractors
3 months
Taking the approved domestic budget, I secured an offshore vendor to provide twice the Designers for the same cost.
Urgent
Hire domestic SWAT team to drive future-work
Successful recruiting efforts
Hire 3 full time employees
3 months
The 3 SWAT team members successfully helped set department standards.
All 3 founding members now run their own teams.
Urgent
Establish scalable and repeatable user-centric process for the entire product life cycle
Product, Engineering, & Project Management buy in
Upskill a Project Manager to be a Director of Design Management.
Identify Project Management tools
Define T-shirt sizes for level of effort, & categorize work accordingly
Create standard timeline templates
Create resources to educate & onboard everyone to the new process
2 months
Transitioned all Project Management of Design phases and tasks away from JIRA & into ClickUp
Build Product Design Management discipline to support Product Design
Enthusiastic adoption of new Product Design process
Not urgent
Sustainably scale the department
Successful recruiting efforts
Budget
Replace contractors with FTEs
Hire 30 full time employees
18 months
Increased staff budget to $2.3mm
10 contractors were converted to 20 FTE rolls for cost efficiencies
30 FTE employees were hired in 1 year
50 FTE employees were hired in 18 months
Delegate
Roadmap future workload
Product & Engineering collaboration
Establish roadmapping process
3 months
Product Design, Product, Project Management, and Engineering meet every quarter to roadmap the work as a collaborative process
Delegate
Business Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Enterprise
Objectives that shape the enterprise strategy of SaaS innovation.
Objective
Dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Gain alignment on shifting to user-centric product design and development.
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Define user-centric product and the benefits thereof
Share Transformation Plan, Roadmap, & needs
1 month
Buy in on a phased approach with $1.1mm budget
Urgent
Define what success looks like
Cross-departmental leadership buy-in
Set metrics to guide quality of work and measure success
1 month
Clearly defined goals
Every metric exceeded, every quarter, for 16 consecutive quarters
Urgent
Establish User Experience Research as a discipline and important part of the product lifecycle.
Hire UX Researchers
Product & Engineering buy-in
Start with one small project - utilize UX research, bring the Product & Engineering teams along for the ride in a collaborative process.
4 months
Significantly Increased quality of work.
User-centric product
Significantly reduced Engineering time
Not urgent
Department
Objectives that shape the organizational strategy of the Product Design Department.
Objective
dependencies
Action
Duration
Outcome
Priority
Define roles, responsibilities, & career development
HR collaboration and buy-in
Create job descriptions
Create Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
1 month
Clearly defined roles of UX Designer, UI Designer, UX Researcher, and Product Design Manager
Urgent
Secure contractors for immediate workload
Identifying the right vendor to partner with
Negotiate terms
Hire 16 contractors
3 months
Taking the approved domestic budget, I secured an offshore vendor to provide twice the Designers for the same cost.
Urgent
Hire domestic SWAT team to drive future-work
Successful recruiting efforts
Hire 3 full time employees
3 months
The 3 SWAT team members successfully helped set department standards.
All 3 founding members now run their own teams.
Urgent
Establish scalable and repeatable user-centric process for the entire product life cycle
Product, Engineering, & Project Management buy in
Upskill a Project Manager to be a Director of Design Management.
Identify Project Management tools
Define T-shirt sizes for level of effort, & categorize work accordingly
Create standard timeline templates
Create resources to educate & onboard everyone to the new process
2 months
Transitioned all Project Management of Design phases and tasks away from JIRA & into ClickUp
Build Product Design Management discipline to support Product Design
Enthusiastic adoption of new Product Design process
Not urgent
Sustainably scale the department
Successful recruiting efforts
Budget
Replace contractors with FTEs
Hire 30 full time employees
18 months
Increased staff budget to $2.3mm
10 contractors were converted to 20 FTE rolls for cost efficiencies
30 FTE employees were hired in 1 year
50 FTE employees were hired in 18 months
Delegate
Roadmap future workload
Product & Engineering collaboration
Establish roadmapping process
3 months
Product Design, Product, Project Management, and Engineering meet every quarter to roadmap the work as a collaborative process
Delegate
Pod Structure
I determine a pod structure would best serve the business, with a dedicated Design pod for each Product family. Pods scale to accommodate work level.
For Kinesso, each pod consists of a UX Researcher, UX Designer, and UI Designer. This ensures dedicated skillsets and expertise for each stage of the process. It also ensures clear onus and handoff in a large, multi-matrixesd organization.
No person should have more than 3 Direct Reports.
A waterfall management structure starts management and leadership training at the Mid Associate level, so they are ready for more formal responsibilities as a Manager and above.
Pod Structure
I determine a pod structure would best serve the business, with a dedicated Design pod for each Product family. Pods scale to accommodate work level.
For Kinesso, each pod consists of a UX Researcher, UX Designer, and UI Designer. This ensures dedicated skillsets and expertise for each stage of the process. It also ensures clear onus and handoff in a large, multi-matrixesd organization.
No person should have more than 3 Direct Reports.
A waterfall management structure starts management and leadership training at the Mid Associate level, so they are ready for more formal responsibilities as a Manager and above.
Pod Structure
I determine a pod structure would best serve the business, with a dedicated Design pod for each Product family. Pods scale to accommodate work level.
For Kinesso, each pod consists of a UX Researcher, UX Designer, and UI Designer. This ensures dedicated skillsets and expertise for each stage of the process. It also ensures clear onus and handoff in a large, multi-matrixesd organization.
No person should have more than 3 Direct Reports.
A waterfall management structure starts management and leadership training at the Mid Associate level, so they are ready for more formal responsibilities as a Manager and above.
Pod Structure
I determine a pod structure would best serve the business, with a dedicated Design pod for each Product family. Pods scale to accommodate work level.
For Kinesso, each pod consists of a UX Researcher, UX Designer, and UI Designer. This ensures dedicated skillsets and expertise for each stage of the process. It also ensures clear onus and handoff in a large, multi-matrixesd organization.
No person should have more than 3 Direct Reports.
A waterfall management structure starts management and leadership training at the Mid Associate level, so they are ready for more formal responsibilities as a Manager and above.
Pod Structure
I determine a pod structure would best serve the business, with a dedicated Design pod for each Product family. Pods scale to accommodate work level.
For Kinesso, each pod consists of a UX Researcher, UX Designer, and UI Designer. This ensures dedicated skillsets and expertise for each stage of the process. It also ensures clear onus and handoff in a large, multi-matrixesd organization.
No person should have more than 3 Direct Reports.
A waterfall management structure starts management and leadership training at the Mid Associate level, so they are ready for more formal responsibilities as a Manager and above.
Hiring Strategy
I started with the archetype pod in the US. This was the SWAT staff team, the best of the best to set the example for all other teams.
The SWAT team built confidence with internal teams and clients.
The SWAT team helped build process and hire new staff team members.
I filled pods with contractors to meet immediate needs, and cycled in FTE’s per business and finance requirements.
Hiring Strategy
I started with the archetype pod in the US. This was the SWAT staff team, the best of the best to set the example for all other teams.
The SWAT team built confidence with internal teams and clients.
The SWAT team helped build process and hire new staff team members.
I filled pods with contractors to meet immediate needs, and cycled in FTE’s per business and finance requirements.
Hiring Strategy
I started with the archetype pod in the US. This was the SWAT staff team, the best of the best to set the example for all other teams.
The SWAT team built confidence with internal teams and clients.
The SWAT team helped build process and hire new staff team members.
I filled pods with contractors to meet immediate needs, and cycled in FTE’s per business and finance requirements.
Hiring Strategy
I started with the archetype pod in the US. This was the SWAT staff team, the best of the best to set the example for all other teams.
The SWAT team built confidence with internal teams and clients.
The SWAT team helped build process and hire new staff team members.
I filled pods with contractors to meet immediate needs, and cycled in FTE’s per business and finance requirements.
Hiring Strategy
I started with the archetype pod in the US. This was the SWAT staff team, the best of the best to set the example for all other teams.
The SWAT team built confidence with internal teams and clients.
The SWAT team helped build process and hire new staff team members.
I filled pods with contractors to meet immediate needs, and cycled in FTE’s per business and finance requirements.
Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Ideate
Stakeholder workshops
User workshops
SCRUM team workshops
Proof of concept workshops
Mood boards
Low-fi sketches
Site maps
Job Stories
User Stories
User Flows
Card sorting
Proof of concepts
Validate
User interviews
User surveys
Empathy Maps
User requirements
Gathers user requirements
Findings report
User flows / workflows
User journey maps
Competitive analysis
User Personas
Prioritization Maps
(Impact/Effort Matrix, MoSCoW Matrix)
Design
Wireframes
High fidelity UI designs
Interactive specifications
Interactive prototypes
Animation
UI Kit and/or components for Design System
Functional specifications
Development
QA
Iterate
Options
New ideas
Retrospectives
UX Audits (Heuristic, Feature-specific, Workflow specific)
User Surveys
Product Committees
Card sorting
A/B Testing
Behavioral Analytics
Data Analytics
Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Ideate
Stakeholder workshops
User workshops
SCRUM team workshops
Proof of concept workshops
Mood boards
Low-fi sketches
Site maps
Job Stories
User Stories
User Flows
Card sorting
Proof of concepts
Validate
User interviews
User surveys
Empathy Maps
User requirements
Gathers user requirements
Findings report
User flows / workflows
User journey maps
Competitive analysis
User Personas
Prioritization Maps
(Impact/Effort Matrix, MoSCoW Matrix)
Design
Wireframes
High fidelity UI designs
Interactive specifications
Interactive prototypes
Animation
UI Kit and/or components for Design System
Functional specifications
Development
QA
Iterate
Options
New ideas
Retrospectives
UX Audits (Heuristic, Feature-specific, Workflow specific)
User Surveys
Product Committees
Card sorting
A/B Testing
Behavioral Analytics
Data Analytics
Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Ideate
Stakeholder workshops
User workshops
SCRUM team workshops
Proof of concept workshops
Mood boards
Low-fi sketches
Site maps
Job Stories
User Stories
User Flows
Card sorting
Proof of concepts
Validate
User interviews
User surveys
Empathy Maps
User requirements
Gathers user requirements
Findings report
User flows / workflows
User journey maps
Competitive analysis
User Personas
Prioritization Maps
(Impact/Effort Matrix, MoSCoW Matrix)
Design
Wireframes
High fidelity UI designs
Interactive specifications
Interactive prototypes
Animation
UI Kit and/or components for Design System
Functional specifications
Development
QA
Iterate
Options
New ideas
Retrospectives
UX Audits (Heuristic, Feature-specific, Workflow specific)
User Surveys
Product Committees
Card sorting
A/B Testing
Behavioral Analytics
Data Analytics
Business Objectives & Goals
I use Design Thinking to determine the business requirements across the company, company group, and holding company.
Ideate
Stakeholder workshops
User workshops
SCRUM team workshops
Proof of concept workshops
Mood boards
Low-fi sketches
Site maps
Job Stories
User Stories
User Flows
Card sorting
Proof of concepts
Validate
User interviews
User surveys
Empathy Maps
User requirements
Gathers user requirements
Findings report
User flows / workflows
User journey maps
Competitive analysis
User Personas
Prioritization Maps
(Impact/Effort Matrix, MoSCoW Matrix)
Design
Wireframes
High fidelity UI designs
Interactive specifications
Interactive prototypes
Animation
UI Kit and/or components for Design System
Functional specifications
Development
QA
Iterate
Options
New ideas
Retrospectives
UX Audits (Heuristic, Feature-specific, Workflow specific)
User Surveys
Product Committees
Card sorting
A/B Testing
Behavioral Analytics
Data Analytics