Design at Scale™ – Book
References.
We decided that our book references need more context.
Jiri Mcc
Type
BOOK
Type
References
Updated
26/01/01
The premise of Design at Scale™ is to deliver transparency and trust in product development teams. Every book out there is full of very interesting clues and things we all want to follow up on. Yet very few actually do the due diligence in connecting the dots between the past and the future.
Now you get to be in your hands.
1.0 The World Has Changed.
[001] Bauhaus
Bauhaus was a revolutionary German art school (1919-1933) that merged fine arts with applied crafts (design, architecture), aiming for functional, mass-producible objects with simple aesthetics ("form follows function").
[002] Swiss Design
A minimalist graphic design movement stripping away decoration for pure communication with a core principle, "form follows function," focused on clarity, objectivity, and readability, using grid-based layouts, asymmetrical arrangements, and geometric forms to create functional, uncluttered visuals.
[003] Polish Poster
By utilising characteristics such as painterly gesture, linear quality, and vibrant colours, in combination with individual personality, humour, and fantasy, the Polish poster made the distinction between designer and artist less apparent.
[004] The Medium is Message
A famous phrase by theorist Marshall McLuhan debates that the form of communication (medium) profoundly changes society and us more than the specific content (message) it carries, shaping our senses, scale of association, and perception of the world, creating a "global village" through electronic tech.
[005] Design Thinking
Design thinking refers to the set of cognitive, strategic and practical procedures used by designers in the process of designing, and to the body of knowledge that has been developed about how people reason when engaging with design problems.
[006] Double Diamond
The Double Diamond is a popular design framework by the UK Design Council, visualizing a process with two diamonds: one for exploring a problem (Discover, Define) and one for developing solutions (Develop, Deliver).
1.1 0% Luck, 100% Mindset
[007] Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is image-editing software widely used for its versatility and powerful tools that satisfy creative needs, offering numerous features for pixel-based, vector, and raster graphics.
[008] Macintosh
Upon its January 1984 launch, the first Macintosh was described as "revolutionary" by The New York Times.[5] Sales initially met projections, but dropped due to the machine's low performance, single floppy disk drive requiring frequent disk swapping, and initial lack of applications.
[009] Windows
TBD
Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with a 72% market share as of October 2025. The name Windows is a reference to the windowing system in GUIs
[010] Post-it note designer
A satirical view on the Post It® Note design from hundreds of meeting rooms from all around the world.
[011] Tschichold
One of the most important graphic designers, key theorists, educators, and propagators of the early twentieth century. Die Neue Typographie (The New Typography) of 1928 assembled numerous examples, laying the foundation for today's data-driven information and advertising design.
[012] Frutiger
Adrian Johann Frutiger was a Swiss typeface designer who influenced the direction of type design in the second half of the 20th century. Univers was notable for being one of the first sans-serif faces to form a consistent but wide-ranging family, across a range of widths and weights.
[013] Miedinger
Max Miedinger (24 December 1910 – 8 March 1980) was a Swiss typeface designer,[1] best known for creating the Neue Haas Grotesk typeface in 1957, renamed Helvetica in 1960. Marketed as a symbol of cutting-edge Swiss technology, Helvetica achieved immediate global success.
[014] Hoffman
Armin Hofmann (1920–2020) was a legendary Swiss graphic designer and educator, a key figure in the International Typographic Style, known for his iconic, minimal, and powerful black-and-white posters for the Basel Theater, emphasizing clarity, contrast, and typography as essential art, profoundly influencing global design through his teaching and influential Graphic Design Manual.
[015] Sutnar
Born in Czechoslovakia, Ladislav Sutnar was a pioneer of information design who moved to America after the war. He synthesised European avant-gardisms into a functional commercial lexicon, made Constructivism playful and used its geometry to forge the dynamics of catalogue organisation.
[016] Fletcher
Alan Fletcher was born in Kenya and studied at the Central School of Arts & Crafts, continuing at the Royal College of Art and Design of Yale University. He was a designer for Fortune, he joined Forbes and Gill in 1962. He was also a founding partner of Pentagram in 1972.
[017] Crouwel
Willem Hendrik Crouwel was born in 1928 in Groningen, Netherlands. He studied at the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Groningen. Influenced by mid-century Swiss typography, Crouwel explored letterforms and graphic systems, using fonts like Helvetica and Univers.
[018] Flash
A "Flash application" refers to interactive content (games, animations, videos, web apps) built with Adobe Flash, a now-deprecated platform known for rich web experiences but security issues, requiring tools like Adobe Animate and viewed via the Flash Player.
[019] UX Industry
The UX (User Experience) industry designs digital and physical products to be easy, effective, and enjoyable for users, focusing on research, usability, and overall satisfaction, emphasising skilled professionals capable of ethical design, leveraging AI, and creating truly meaningful user journeys.
[020] Autodesk Fusion
Autodesk Fusion (formerly Fusion 360) is a computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and printed circuit board (PCB) design software application, developed by Autodesk.
[021] Linked In
LinkedIn is the world's largest professional networking platform, used for career development, job searching, connecting with colleagues, showcasing skills, and building professional relationships.
[022] Mercenaries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercenary
Mercenaries are professional soldiers hired to fight for pay, motivated by profit rather than patriotism or political ideals, often serving foreign countries or private entities in armed conflicts, and can also refer to individuals driven purely by greed in any context.
[023] Missionaries
Missionaries are individuals sent by a religious group to promote their faith and/or provide social services (health, education, aid) in a new area, stemming from the Latin word for "sending". They aim to share beliefs through evangelism, teaching, and humanitarian work.
[024] Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist and the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism.
1.2 Landscape
[025] River Rouge Plant
The River Rouge Plant is a massive Ford Motor Company complex in Dearborn, Michigan, an industrial marvel built by Henry Ford from the 1920s, famous for its complete vertical integration and representing the peak of American mass production.
[026] Tomáš Baťa
Tomáš Baťa established the organisation in Zlín on 24 August 1894 with 800 Austrian gulden (equivalent to $320 at the time), inherited from his mother. His brother, Antonín Baťa, and his sister, Anna, were partners in the startup firm, T. & A. Bata Shoe Company. Though this organisation was newly established, the family had a long history of shoemaking, spanning eight generations and over three hundred years. This heritage helped boost his new firm's popularity very quickly.
[027] Figma
What Is Figma and What Is it Used For? | Toptal®Figma is a powerful, web-based collaborative platform for digital design, widely used for creating user interfaces (UI/UX) for websites and apps, prototyping, and building design systems, allowing multiple users to work together in real-time in the cloud.
[028] Toyota
Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive giant, founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937, known for its quality vehicles, leading hybrid technology (like the Prius), and global presence, evolving from textile looms into a mobility company offering financial services, housing, and next-gen tech like EVs and robotics, while remaining a top global automaker with massive workforce and sales.
[029] Model T
A "T model" most commonly refers to the Ford Model T, the revolutionary car introduced in 1908 that made automobile ownership accessible to the masses through assembly-line mass production, changing transportation forever.
[030] Kiichiro Toyoda
Kiichiro Toyoda was a Japanese engineer and businessman, and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to change Toyoda's focus from automatic loom manufacture into automobile manufacturing created what later became Toyota.
[031] Toyota Production System
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a holistic manufacturing philosophy and system, foundational to modern lean manufacturing, focused on maximizing customer value by eliminating waste (Muda), overburden (Muri), and inconsistency (Mura) in production, emphasizing quality, efficiency, and respect for people
[032] Just-in-Time and Jidoka
PDCA, or Plan-Do-Check-Act, is a simple, iterative four-step management method for continuous process improvement, also known as the Deming Cycle or Shewhart Cycle.
[033] PDCA
Born in Czechoslovakia, Ladislav Sutnar was a pioneer of information design who moved to America after the war. He synthesised European avant-gardisms into a functional commercial lexicon, made Constructivism playful and used its geometry to forge the dynamics of catalogue organisation.
[034] MIT
MIT stands for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a world-renowned private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, famous for its cutting-edge science, engineering, technology, and innovation, known for tackling complex global problems and driving technological advancements.
[035] The Bata System
The Bata Management System (BMS), developed by founder Tomáš Baťa in the early 20th century, is renowned for pioneering innovative management practices such as self-managing teams, profit-sharing, and a blend of global strategy with local operational autonomy.
[036] Knowledge in Action
Tomas Bata was not only a pioneer in the modern production and marketing of footwear, but more importantly, in the development and business implementation of what in the business world of today is known as organisational behaviour.
[037] Taylorism
Taylorism, or Scientific Management, is a management theory by Frederick Winslow Taylor focused on maximising efficiency by scientifically analysing and optimising work processes, breaking tasks into simple steps, timing them, training workers for "one best way," and using financial incentives.
[038] Karl Polanyi
Karl Paul Polanyi was an Austro-Hungarian economic historian, economic sociologist, and politician, best known for his book The Great Transformation, which questions the conceptual validity of self-regulating markets.
[039] The Great Transformation
A Hungarian political economist, Karl Polanyi, reflects on the social and political upheavals in England during the rise of the market economy. Polanyi contends that the modern market economy and the modern nation-state should be understood not as discrete elements but as a single human invention, which he calls the "Market Society".
[040] 8S Principles
The management philosophy of founder Tomáš Baťa is often summarised into core tenets. His philosophy is summarised by key principles, including ethics, employee welfare, self-management, and continuous improvement.
[041] Nike
A global American corporation that designs, develops, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories, famous for its "Just Do It" slogan, making it the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major sports equipment manufacturer.
[042] Exponential Organisations
An Exponential Organisation (ExO) is a company that achieves at least 10x greater impact than peers by leveraging accelerating digital technologies and new organisational models, focusing on massive scale, agility, and leveraging external resources (like communities, data, automation) rather than just internal assets.
1.3 Digital
[043] Agency Model
A design agency model defines how a design firm operates, prices, and delivers services, evolving from traditional project-based work (fixed scope/fee) to modern approaches like Subscription Models, Consulting Models, and specialized niche models.
[044] Waterfall
The Waterfall delivery method is a traditional, linear project management approach where development flows sequentially downward, like a waterfall, through distinct phases (Requirements, Design, Implementation, Testing, Deployment, Maintenance)
[045] Rapid Application Development
Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a software development approach focused on quick, flexible creation using iterative prototyping and constant user feedback to deliver functional applications faster, minimizing upfront planning for speed, often using low-code tools, and fitting well with Agile principles but differing in its emphasis on working prototypes over feature sprints
[046] Unified Process
The Unified Process (UP) is an iterative and incremental software development framework, known for being use-case driven, architecture-centric, and risk-oriented, organising projects into four main phases: Inception, Elaboration, Construction, and Transition
[047] Kanban
Kanban (Japanese for "visual sign") is a lean, visual project management method for optimising workflow, originating at Toyota for manufacturing but now used across industries to improve efficiency, transparency, and continuous improvement.
[048] Scrum
Scrum is a popular, lightweight agile framework for managing complex work, especially in software development, that uses short, iterative cycles called Sprints (1-4 weeks) to deliver value incrementally, focusing on self-organizing teams, frequent feedback, and continuous adaptation to deliver functional product chunks (increments)
[049] Agile Manifesto
The Agile manifesto is a foundational document outlining values and principles for adaptive, customer-focused software development.
[050] Design thinking
Design thinking is a human-centred, iterative approach to creative problem-solving, focusing on deeply understanding user needs.
[051] Sense and Respond
How Successful Organizations Listen to Customers and Create New Products Continuously
[052] Google
Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful
[053] Design Sprint
What are Design Sprints — updated 2025 | IxDFA design sprint is a structured, five-day (or shorter) process to rapidly solve big challenges, validate ideas, and test concepts with users by compressing months of work into one week
[054] Prototype
A prototype is an early, often rough, sample or model of a product (physical or digital) used to test ideas, gather feedback, and refine designs before full production, acting as a foundational version from which final products evolve, but it can also refer to the popular video game series about a shapeshifting super-soldier.
[055] User Research
User research is the systematic study of target users' needs, behaviors, and motivations through methods like interviews, surveys, and usability tests, to create better, more user-centered products and services by bridging the gap between assumptions and actual user requirements, ensuring usability, and informing design decisions.
[056] Heatmaps
A heatmap is a data visualization that uses color intensity to represent values, showing patterns in complex data quickly, commonly used in web analytics to map user clicks, scrolls, and mouse movements (hot reds for popular, cool blues for ignored areas) to optimize pages, but also in biology, finance, and geography to show data density, like population or activity levels.
[057] Replace Hierarchy
Visual hierarchy is a design principle that arranges elements by importance to guide the viewer's eye, making information clear and easy to digest by using contrast in size, color, spacing, and typography to signal what to look at first, second, and so on, preventing confusion and ensuring key messages are noticed.
[058] IBM
IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) is a global tech giant providing hybrid cloud, AI, software, consulting, and infrastructure solutions, evolving from mainframes to leading in quantum computing, digital transformation, and AI-powered automation for businesses worldwide.
[059] Design Thinking model
A design thinking model is a human-centered, iterative problem-solving framework, famously featuring five non-linear stages: Empathize (understand users), Define (clarify the core problem), Ideate (generate many solutions), Prototype (build quick models), and Test (gather feedback).
[060] IBM’s Project Mercury
IBM was uniquely qualified to assist with the project. Not only had the company previously supplied computers to NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), but it possessed the technology capable of overcoming the complex challenges involved with sending a human into space for the first time.
[061] McKinsey
McKinsey & Company is a top-tier global management consulting firm, advising major businesses, governments, and institutions on strategy, operations, and digital transformation, known for its rigorous training, influential alumni (often called a "CEO factory"), and work in driving growth and solving complex problems across industries like tech, health, and consumer goods.
[062] Design Delivery Model
A Product Design Delivery Model is a framework guiding how ideas become real products, blending human-centered design (Discovery: research, empathy, ideation) with efficient development & release (Delivery: Agile, Lean, Waterfall, DevOps) to create value for users and businesses, focusing on iterative testing, small releases, and continuous feedback for quality & scalability.
[063] Disposable
This paper dives into the complex and often contentious realm of obsolescence within product design, examining its role as both a deliberate design choice and an unintended consequence of evolving external factors.
[064] Cross-functional teams
A cross-functional team (XFN) is a group of people from different departments (like Marketing, Engineering, Sales, Finance) working together with diverse skills and expertise towards a common goal or project, breaking down silos for better innovation, faster problem-solving, and a holistic view, often temporary for a specific task or permanent for ongoing initiatives like launching a new product.
[065] Efficiency
Design efficiency means creating products, systems, or processes that deliver maximum function and value with minimal resources (time, materials, energy) across their entire lifecycle, focusing on seamless user experience, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability by smart choices in materials, construction, and workflow. It's about getting the most output from the fewest inputs, ensuring smooth operation, and reducing waste from start to finish.
[066] IDEO
We envision new businesses and brands, and we design the experiences and capabilities that bring them to life.
[067] Frog
frog is a global creative and design consultancy founded in 1969 by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger in Mutlangen, Germany, where it was initially named “esslinger design”.
1.4 Industry Shift
[068] Simon Sinek’s infinite game
https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/
In infinite games, like business or politics or life itself, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined endpoint.
[069] KPIs
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are crucial, measurable values showing how effectively a company, team, or individual is achieving strategic objectives, acting as a compass to track progress, make data-driven decisions, and assess success in areas like revenue, customer satisfaction, or project completion, aligning actions with big-picture goals.
[070] Trevor Moawad’s neutral thinking method
Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a software development approach focused on quick, flexible creation using iterative prototyping and constant user feedback to deliver functional applications faster, minimizing upfront planning for speed, often using low-code tools, and fitting well with Agile principles but differing in its emphasis on working prototypes over feature sprints
[071] James Clear’s Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits is the most comprehensive and practical guide on how to create good habits, break bad ones, and get 1 percent better every day. I do not believe you will find a more actionable book on the subject of habits and improvement.
[072] Marty Cagan argues in Transformed
In Transformed, Marty Cagan argues companies must shift from traditional, output-focused development to a Product Operating Model centered on empowered, cross-functional teams discovering customer needs, driven by CEO support and a culture of continuous innovation, not just process adherence, to thrive in tech-driven markets.
[073] Atomic Design
Atomic design is a methodology composed of five distinct stages working together to create interface design systems in a more deliberate and hierarchical manner.
[074] Responsive Workflow
A Responsive Workflow is an iterative design and development process focused on creating flexible websites that adapt to any screen size, moving from static comps to browser-based prototyping, prioritizing core content (mobile-first), and using techniques like progressive enhancement to build from simple to complex layouts across devices. It replaces traditional waterfall methods with agile, content-out strategies, emphasizing early testing in the browser for smooth user experiences across desktops, tablets, and phones.
[075] Tom Greever’s Articulating Design Decisions
https://tomgreever.com/articulating-design-decisions-book/
This practical guide focuses on principles, tactics, and actionable methods for presenting your designs. Whether you design apps, websites, or products, you'll learn how to get support from people who have influence over the project with the goal of creating the best user experience.
This practical guide focuses on principles, tactics, and actionable methods for presenting your designs. Whether you design apps, websites, or products, you'll learn how to get support from people who have influence over the project with the goal of creating the best user experience.
[076] John Doerr’s Measure What Matters
Building on a career-long legacy of sharing the power of OKRs with established and emerging leaders alike, Measure What Matters includes a broad range of first-person accounts that demonstrate the focus, ambition, and explosive growth that OKRs have spurred at so many great organizations.
[077] Patrick Lencioni’s The Motive
Lencioni uses unexpected plot twists and crisp dialogue to take us on a journey that culminates in a resolution that is as unexpected as it is enlightening. As he does in his other books, he then provides a straightforward summary of the lessons from the fable, combining a clear explanation of his theory with practical advice to help executives examine their true motivation for leading.
[078] Ryan Holiday’s Ego Is the Enemy
While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their images with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition.
[079] Matthew McConaughey’s Red, Amber, Green Lights
In this authentic, unconventional journal, the prompts encourage going inside: remembering, reflecting, and musing, and also going outside: adventuring, taking risks, and dreaming big. Who could be a better guide for seekers setting out on the road to understanding their lives inside and out, past, present, and future?
2.0 The Method.
[080] The Design at Scale™ Method
The Method offers a specific lens and practical approach to product design development. We ensure that direction, continuity, progress, delivery, and integration reflect endless choices in conjunction with the data to achieve significant, transparent, scalable and robust outcomes.
2.1 The Era of Scale.
[081] Posters
A rich and accessible art form, our collection of pictorial posters charts global concerns, popular tastes and artistic and technological developments across two centuries.
[082] Diagrams
The history of diagrams traces back to prehistoric cave art, evolving from simple maps (like a 13,600 BCE Spanish tablet showing hunting grounds) and celestial charts to sophisticated tools for knowledge, with major leaps during the Enlightenment (maps, sundials, early statistics) and the rise of printing, leading to specialized forms like flowcharts (Gilbreths, 1921), Venn diagrams (1880s), and modern software diagrams (UML, late 1980s).
[083] Typography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type (letters, numbers, symbols) to make written text legible, clear, and visually appealing, involving font choice, spacing (kerning, leading, tracking), and layout to enhance communication, set a mood, and improve user experience in everything from books and websites to packaging. It's more than just fonts; it's about how text looks and feels to the reader, turning words into powerful design elements that guide the eye and convey emotion.
[084] Layouts
Layouts are the strategic arrangement and organization of elements (text, images, space) within a design or physical space to create structure, improve function, and communicate effectively, seen everywhere from website interfaces and print pages (like magazines) to building floor plans and factory setups, focusing on visual hierarchy and user experience across different screens and platforms.
[085] Architectural Plans
Architectural plans are detailed, scaled drawings showing a building's design, layout, and construction, acting as a visual blueprint for builders, planners, and owners, including various views like floor plans (top-down), elevations (side views), and sections (cut-throughs) to specify dimensions, materials, and utility placements for approval and construction. These essential documents use symbols to denote features like doors, windows, and structural elements, linking to more detailed drawings for specific components.
[086] Engineering Drawings
Engineering drawings, also called technical drawings or blueprints, are precise graphical instructions using standardized symbols, lines, and views (like top, front, side) to define a product's geometry, dimensions, materials, and tolerances for manufacturing, construction, or repair, acting as a universal language to bridge design ideas and physical production
[087] Workflows
A workflow is a defined, repeatable sequence of tasks and activities designed to achieve a specific goal, moving work from start to finish efficiently by assigning roles, setting order, and ensuring consistency, often automated by software to reduce manual effort in areas like onboarding, marketing, or IT.
[088] Stage-and-Gate
For over forty years, the Stage-Gate® process has served as the dominant framework for managing new product development (NPD).[1] Around the world, organizations rely on Stage-Gate® not only as a disciplined roadmap for managing innovation but also as a proven system that consistently transforms their best ideas into profitable, winning products. Few business processes have had such a lasting impact on corporate innovation performance.
[089] Business Model
A business model is a company's strategic plan for how it creates, delivers, and captures value, outlining its products/services, target market, revenue streams, cost structure, and profit generation method to achieve sustainability and growth. Essentially, it's the blueprint for how a business makes money, defining its unique value proposition and operational logic to attract customers and investors.
[090] Commercial Outcomes
Commercial outcomes are the tangible results and successes a business achieves, focusing on financial health, market position, and customer value, measured through metrics like revenue, profit, market share, and satisfaction, often achieved by aligning strategy, operations, and sales/marketing for sustainable growth. They represent the "what" and "how" of a business's success, from initial viability (start-up) to scaling (scale-up) and overcoming plateaus (step-up).
[091] Feasibility
A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a proposed plan or project. It analyzes the viability of a project to determine whether the project or venture is likely to succeed. The study is also designed to identify potential issues and problems that could arise while pursuing the project.
[092] Manufacturability
Manufacturability is the ease with which a product can be produced, considering factors like cost, efficiency, quality, and available manufacturing processes, aiming to design products that are feasible and economical to build.
[093] Security
Security in Design (or Secure by Design/SbD) is a fundamental approach in tech and systems engineering where security isn't an add-on but is built into the core architecture from the very beginning of development, making products inherently more resilient against cyberattacks by preventing vulnerabilities rather than just patching them later.
[094] Clarity
Jamie Smart's "Think Clearly" refers to his work on achieving Clarity, a state of mind where you declutter thoughts for better focus, reduced stress, and improved performance, detailed in his book Clarity: Clear Mind, Better Performance, Bigger Results and related programs,
[095] Coherence or Quality
Coherence and quality are related concepts, with coherence being a crucial aspect of overall quality, referring to logical connection, consistency, and understandability (like a clear essay or unified policy), while quality is the broader measure of excellence, encompassing fitness for purpose, reliability, and degree of goodness, including how well something is structured (coherent) or functions
[096] Communication
Communication is the process of exchanging information, ideas, and feelings between two or more entities, using verbal (speaking, writing) or non-verbal (body language, gestures) methods, crucial for building relationships, expressing ourselves, and achieving goals by ensuring understanding through clear sending and active listening. It stems from the Latin word "communicare," meaning "to share".
[097] Documentation
Documentation is any material that explains, describes, or instructs about a system, product, or process, serving as a "single source of truth" for users, developers, or stakeholders, ranging from legal proof to technical manuals, ensuring clarity, consistency, and continuity across projects. It involves creating guides, instructions, records, or evidence, often online or digitally, to make complex information accessible, save time, and maintain quality control, crucial for everything from software use to legal compliance (like GDPR).
[098] Mental Models
Mental models are simplified, internal representations or frameworks we build in our minds to understand how the world, systems, or specific situations work, helping us interpret experiences, make decisions, and solve problems by filtering complexity and guiding our actions, much like a map simplifies terrain.
[099] High-performing Teams
High-performing teams are groups leveraging diverse skills for outstanding results through trust, clear goals, open communication, and mutual accountability, consistently exceeding expectations by effectively collaborating, innovating, and adapting, rather than relying solely on individual brilliance.
[100] Product Strategy
A product strategy is a high-level, long-term plan defining a product's vision, target market, unique value, and goals, acting as a roadmap to guide development, marketing, and business success by aligning teams and focusing efforts on customer needs and market opportunities, ultimately answering why a product exists and how it will win. It connects the overall business strategy to product execution, differentiating from a tactical roadmap by setting direction rather than just listing features.
[101] Customer Value
Customer value is a customer's perception of a product's worth, balancing the benefits (quality, features, experience) against its total costs (price, time, effort). It's not just about price; it's about the overall satisfaction from meeting needs, solving problems, and providing a desirable experience, driving loyalty and repeat business. Businesses enhance value by understanding what customers truly care about and reducing friction throughout the customer journey, from purchase to support.
[102] Commercial Goals
Commercial objectives are specific, measurable goals a business sets to drive revenue, growth, and sustainability, focusing on areas like increasing sales, expanding market share, improving customer satisfaction, and boosting profitability, ultimately aligning daily actions with long-term strategic success. These targets provide direction, motivate teams, and allow for performance evaluation, helping companies outperform competitors by defining clear paths for financial health, brand strength, and market position.
[103] Departments
"Departments" are distinct sections or divisions within a larger organization (like a company, government, or university) that handle specific functions, jobs, or areas, such as Sales, HR, Finance in business, or Education & Health in government, allowing for specialized focus and management. They can be structured by function, product, geography, or customer, serving as specialized units for effective operation.
[104] Governance
Governance is the system of rules, practices, and processes for directing and controlling an organization, defining who has authority, how decisions are made, and who is accountable for performance, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and effective management. It provides the framework for decision-making, oversight, and ensuring an entity (like a business, government, or charity) operates effectively, ethically, and in line with its objectives. Key aspects include transparency, accountability, risk management, and stakeholder engagement.
[105] Operating Models
An operating model is a company's blueprint for delivering value, detailing how people, processes, technology, and structure work together to achieve strategic goals, essentially the "how" behind the business model, focusing on daily execution, resource alignment, and efficiency in serving customers. Key components include organisational structure, workflows, technology, governance, culture, and performance metrics, all designed to turn strategy into tangible results and adapt to market changes.
[106] Normative theory
A normative theory prescribes how things should be, focusing on ideals, values, and ethics, rather than just describing how they are (positive theory). It provides frameworks for what is considered good, just, or right, guiding behaviour in fields like ethics (e.g., utilitarianism, deontology), politics (e.g., ideal governance), and media (e.g., role of the press).
[107] Descriptive theory
A descriptive theory explains and predicts what is, focusing on how things actually work or people actually behave, rather than prescribing what should be (normative theory). It observes realities, captures patterns, and identifies systematic behaviours, like how consumers make choices (e.g., Prospect Theory) or what constitutes "law" in practice, acknowledging human biases and cognitive limits.
[108] Kahneman and Tversky
Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky were pioneering Israeli-American psychologists who revolutionized behavioral economics and decision-making by showing humans aren't perfectly rational, introducing concepts like Prospect Theory, heuristics, and cognitive biases (like loss aversion) through their influential collaboration, most notably in the 1970s and 80s. Their work challenged traditional economics by describing how real people make judgments under uncertainty, leading to Kahneman's 2002 Nobel Prize.
[109] Carol Dweck’s
Carol Susan Dweck is an American psychologist. She holds the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professorship of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on motivation and mindset. She was on the faculty at the University of Illinois, Harvard, and Columbia before joining the Stanford University faculty in 2004.
[110] Agile value
Agile values, from the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, prioritize Individuals and interactions over processes and tools, Working software over comprehensive documentation, Customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and Responding to change over following a plan, emphasizing flexibility, people, and delivering tangible value faster in software development. These values guide teams to value the items on the left more, while still acknowledging value in the items on the right, fostering adaptability and customer satisfaction.
[111] Documentation
The software development life cycle is used by software engineers to plan, design, develop, test, and maintain software applications. Following SDLC software production guidelines, engineers can deliver reliable, functional software, avoid common pitfalls, and keep projects on schedule.
[112] One Accessible Location
"One accessible location" is a broad request as accessibility needs vary (visual, hearing, motor, cognitive). What constitutes an accessible location depends entirely on your specific requirements and the type of place you wish to visit (e.g., a museum, a restaurant, a public transport station).
[113] Dual-Track Agile
This article aims to champion the need for a combined method of Design Thinking and the Dual-Track Agile methodology that supports huge numbers of creatives working across a diverse portfolio of product and service propositions for over two decades.
[114] Knowledgebases
This short article aims to answer the above question and offer “a different perspective on delivering design at scale” without losing control over a holistic experience while continuously supporting our engineering team by delivering the increments.
[115] 274 Design Methods
[116] Project Identification Document
A Project Identification Document (PID), often called a Project Charter or Brief, is a key planning tool in project management that defines a project's core elements like scope, objectives, business case, risks, resources, and success metrics, serving as a central reference for stakeholders to ensure clarity, agreement, and controlled progress from start to finish, especially within PRINCE2 methodology.
[117] Functional Design System
FDS is a document that describes how a process or a control system will operate. Scroll down to learn more about Functional Design documents.
[118] Scope
"Scope" generally means the extent, range, or area of something, like a project's scope (its boundaries and goals) or a telescope's scope (its viewing range). In programming, it defines where variables are accessible (e.g., local or global scope). It can also refer to the disability charity Scope UK, which works to create an equal future for disabled people by transforming attitudes and tackling inequality.
[119] Operational Needs
Operations and infrastructure relate to the internal workings of your project or your organisation. It is the way in which people, systems and processes all work and interact together (given a set of external inputs) to deliver your project’s outputs and outcomes.
[120] Revenue Model
A revenue model is a strategic framework that defines how a company generates financial income from the value it delivers to its customers. It is a key component of a business model and outlines sources of revenue, pricing strategies, and who the target customer is.
[121] ROI Expectations
ROI expectations vary widely by industry, risk, and goals, but general benchmarks suggest 7-10% annually for stocks (after inflation), 5-8% for property, and higher (10-20%+) for fast-growth sectors like tech, with a positive ROI always being the baseline, often exceeding 10% for strong general performance. Setting realistic goals requires aligning with market norms, risk tolerance, and the investment's timeframe, considering factors like capital cost and growth potential.
[122] CPO (Certified Product Owner)
A CPO (Certified Product Owner), often called Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), is a globally recognized Agile certification from the Scrum Alliance, proving you understand how to maximize product value, manage the Product Backlog, and act as the voice of stakeholders in a Scrum team, with training covering vision, user stories, and strategic delivery to lead successful product development.
[123] Risk Controls
Risk control is a critical component of business management that strives to minimize and manage the risks a company faces in the course of doing business.
[124] Non-functional Requirements
Non-functional requirements (NFRs) define how well a system performs its functions, focusing on quality attributes like performance, security, usability, reliability, and scalability, rather than what it does. They are crucial for user experience, system success, and meeting business/regulatory standards, acting as constraints that shape the system's architecture and design, ensuring it's fast, secure, accessible, and maintainable, not just functional.
[125] Shared Product Manifesto
A shared product manifesto is a foundational document that outlines a product team's core beliefs, values, and guiding principles for building products that solve real customer problems and deliver value to the business. It serves as an internal alignment tool for decision-making and accountability.
[126] JSON
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition - December 1999. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C-family of languages.
[127] CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for specifying the presentation and styling of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML).[2] CSS is a cornerstone technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and JavaScript.[3]
[128] Behaviour-driven development (BDD)
https://cucumber.io/docs/bdd/
Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) is a collaborative software development approach that bridges the gap between business and technical teams by defining software behavior through concrete examples, written in a shared, human-readable language (like Gherkin's Given-When-Then), which then become automated tests, ensuring the software meets user expectations and business goals. It focuses on user needs, improves communication, and creates living documentation, guiding development from concept to implementation.
[129] Wireframes
Wireframes are basic visual blueprints for websites, apps, or products, showing structure, layout, and functionality without final visuals like colors or fonts, focusing on content hierarchy and user flow using simple shapes and placeholders. They act as a skeletal framework, helping teams align, plan, and test ideas quickly before development, evolving from low-fidelity (sketches) to high-fidelity (detailed mockups).
[130] Definition of Ready (DoR)
A Definition of Ready (DoR) in Agile/Scrum is a shared checklist of criteria a user story or task must meet before development starts in a sprint, ensuring it's clear, actionable, valuable, and small enough for the team to work on, preventing delays by confirming all prerequisites like dependencies, designs, and acceptance criteria are addressed. It aligns expectations, improves workflow, and boosts efficiency by clarifying what "ready" means for the team, contrasting with the "Definition of Done" (DoD) which defines completion.
[131] Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance Criteria (ACs) are specific, testable conditions defining when a product, feature, or user story is complete and acceptable, acting as a checklist for quality and scope, ensuring shared understanding between teams, preventing ambiguity, and guiding testing to meet customer expectations. They focus on the desired outcome rather than implementation, often using a "Given/When/Then" format for clarity.
[132] Test Requirements
Designing test requirements involves analyzing project needs, defining objectives (usability, performance, etc.), identifying test scenarios, creating detailed test cases (steps, expected results), designing test data (valid/invalid), and setting up environments, all to ensure the final product meets specifications and provides a seamless user experience, often using techniques like equivalence partitioning for coverage and ensuring traceability to requirements.
[133] Shared Accountability
Shared accountability means a team collectively owns its successes and failures, moving beyond "whose fault" to collaborative problem-solving, where members support each other to meet shared goals, fostering trust, agility, and higher performance by leveraging combined knowledge. It involves clear roles, open communication, mutual support when issues arise, and holding each other to standards, preventing blame and encouraging proactive contribution.
[134] (DoD) Definition of Done
“Is this task done?” Answering this seemingly simple question requires checking if an item or product increment is complete or in progress. But it doesn’t work unless a team and its stakeholders have expressly defined it as “done.”
[135] QA
QA primarily stands for Quality Assurance, a systematic process ensuring products/services meet standards by preventing defects, common in tech (software testing) and manufacturing, but it also refers to QA Ltd., a major UK tech training/apprenticeship provider. Essentially, QA is about confidence in quality, either via process (QA) or inspection (QC), aiming to build better, more reliable, and competitive offerings.
[136] Cross-functional Collaboration
Cross-functional collaboration is when people from different departments (like Marketing, Sales, Engineering) work together on a shared goal, bringing diverse expertise to solve problems creatively, innovate, and achieve better overall company results, breaking down departmental silos for common objectives like new product launches or improved customer journeys. It involves breaking down barriers, aligning on shared metrics, and fostering open communication to leverage varied skills for innovation, agility, and deeper understanding across the organization, though it requires managing potential conflicts and building trust.
[137] Systematic Documentation
Systematic documentation is a rigorous, structured method of recording information, critical for research (especially systematic reviews), ensuring transparency, replicability, and minimizing bias by detailing every step, search query, criteria, and result, often using tools like Excel, specialized software, or templates (like PRISMA standards) to create a reliable, reproducible record of the entire process. It moves beyond simple note-taking to create a verifiable trail for complex investigations, common in health, policy, and science.
[138] The Experience Map (DaS™ Canvas)
[139] Working Backlog
A well-prioritized agile backlog not only makes release and iteration planning easier, it broadcasts all the things your team intends to spend time on—including internal work that the customer will never notice.
[140] Micro-Management
Micromanagement is a management style where a boss excessively controls or observes employees' work, focusing on minor details, dictating methods, and hindering autonomy, often stemming from a lack of trust or fear of failure. This approach stifles creativity, lowers morale, reduces productivity, and can lead to employee burnout and turnover, as staff lose confidence and stop taking initiative, feeling constantly scrutinised and disempowered.
[141] One Language
A very simple framework of four pillars that allows all parties to stay in the know. Mobilyse and support each other to make an informed decision in that specific role without impacting anyone else's time.
[142] one place
A simple framework of four pillars that keeps all parties in the know. Mobilyse and support each other to make informed decisions in their respective roles without impacting anyone else's time.
[143] Cross-functional Understanding
Cross-functional understanding means people from different departments (like Marketing, IT, Sales) grasp each other's roles, goals, and challenges, breaking down silos to work together on shared objectives, leading to better innovation, problem-solving, efficiency, and seeing how their work impacts the bigger company picture. It involves leveraging diverse skills for comprehensive solutions, fostering better communication, and aligning efforts towards common targets, rather than working in isolation.
[144] Design by Committee
Design by committee is a term for creating a product or design where many stakeholders offer input, but it often leads to a muddled, mediocre outcome because no single vision guides it, resulting in a compromised design that tries to please everyone but satisfies no one, often characterized by conflicting ideas and a lack of cohesive direction. While collaborative, it fails when input isn't structured, expertise isn't valued, or a leader isn't empowered to make final decisions, creating a product full of good intentions but poor user experience.
[145] Behavioural Models
Behavioral models are frameworks that explain, predict, and influence actions by analyzing patterns, factors, and influences shaping how individuals or systems behave, ranging from software design (how systems interact) to psychology (health choices) and marketing (customer response). Key examples include social learning theory (Bandura), the Health Belief Model (perceived risks/benefits), and models in systems engineering, all using structured approaches to understand why things (or people) do what they do.
[146] Mental Models
Mental models are simplified, internal representations or frameworks we build in our minds to understand how the world, systems, or specific situations work, helping us interpret experiences, make decisions, and solve problems by filtering complexity and guiding our actions, much like a map simplifies terrain. They're based on our beliefs, assumptions, and past experiences, constantly evolving, and can come from various fields like economics (supply & demand), physics (entropy), or psychology, serving as essential thinking tools for better reasoning and prediction
[147] Interaction Rules
Every product has interaction rules defined: “if this, than that.” These rules follow every interaction scenario, whether we click the go button or the close button to minimise the window.
[148] Creative Technologist
A Creative Technologist bridges the gap between artistic vision and technical execution, using creativity and tech skills (like coding, AR/VR, AI) to build innovative digital experiences, interactive installations, and unique solutions for marketing, entertainment, or product design, acting as a translator between creative and engineering teams to bring groundbreaking ideas to life. They're problem-solvers who can prototype, code, and understand both the 'why' (creative) and the 'how' (technical) of a project, making them crucial for cutting-edge, immersive experiences.
[149] Time-to-Handover
Time-to-handover refers to the duration and process of transferring responsibilities, information, and tasks from one person or team to another, crucial for ensuring continuity, safety, and efficiency, especially in healthcare and project management, involving structured communication, documentation, training, and often a transition period (weeks to months) for new roles to fully integrate, aiming for minimal disruption and clear understanding.
2.2 Practical Implementation.
[150] Operational Intelligence
Operational Intelligence (OI) is using real-time data analytics and technology to gain immediate insights into ongoing business processes, enabling faster, smarter decisions and proactive problem-solving, unlike traditional Business Intelligence (BI) which often looks at historical trends. It involves collecting data from various sources (IT systems, IoT devices, sensors) and analyzing it instantly to improve performance, enhance user experience, optimize workflows, and maintain system health across IT, manufacturing, logistics, and customer service.
[151] Environment
A product delivery environment is the holistic system of people, processes (like Agile/Scrum, Waterfall), tools, and culture enabling a product's journey from idea to customer, focusing on continuous value, collaboration (often remote/hybrid), clear communication, and adaptability to market changes, rather than just project completion, with a goal of creating sustainable, customer-focused solutions. Key aspects include strong Product Ownership, empowered teams, modern tech (CI/CD), and a mindset shift from project-based to product-based funding and focus.
[152] Articulate Impact
"Articulating design impact" refers to the essential skill of clearly explaining the reasoning behind design choices and demonstrating their tangible value to stakeholders and team members. This involves connecting creative decisions to user needs and business outcomes using clear communication and evidence, rather than subjective opinions.
[153] Supporting Functions
Supporting functions are essential internal departments (like IT, HR, Finance, Legal, Admin) that provide critical infrastructure, expertise, and services, enabling core business operations (like sales, production) to run efficiently, though they don't directly generate revenue themselves, acting as the backbone for overall company success, efficiency, and compliance.
2.3 Design Leadership at Scale.
[154] Design Leadership
Design leadership is about guiding teams, fostering innovation, and integrating design thinking into business strategy, focusing on people, process, and vision, not just hands-on design; it involves coaching, removing barriers, collaborating cross-functionally, and influencing stakeholders to drive user-centric outcomes and business growth. Effective leaders build strong cultures, develop talent, and translate complex ideas into actionable plans, bridging the gap between creative execution and strategic goals.
[155] Ambition
The critical distinction in question is that we must manage both sides of ambition. The internal ambition of becoming the best version of ourselves and externally broadcasting our own actions in the way we help and empower others to become the best version of themself – to think. In this way, we’ll never be declared irrelevant or disposable.
[156] Belief
A belief can come from different sources, including culture, faith, experience, education or tribe. A person’s own experiences or experiments are the acceptance of cultural and societal attachments to what others say (e.g., education or mentoring). A potential belief lies in a person's ability to accept it as truth and adopt it at length as part of their belief system.
[157] Philosophy
Design Philosophy is different to Design thinking. Design thinking allows us to explore different avenues to specific products or services. Design philosophy helps us to debate the points and their feasibility. Opening the avenues to not just test the proposition but to come up with a better proposition altogether.
[158] 3x3 Circle of Life
This short article aims to answer the above question and offer “a different perspective on delivering design at scale” without losing control over a holistic experience while continuously supporting our engineering team by delivering the increments.
[159] Weaknesses
Designers' common weaknesses include perfectionism, difficulty saying "no" (leading to overcommitment), poor communication, creative blocks, time management issues, imposter syndrome, and struggling with abstract client briefs, often alongside the external challenges of burnout, job instability, and financial stress in the creative industry. Overworking details, getting lost in iterations, and difficulty with critique are frequent struggles, as noted by designers on forums like Reddit and articles from sites like Gingersauce.
[160] Consistently
Design consistency is about more than aesthetics. It’s a growth strategy. A unified visual system builds brand recognition, predictable functionality reduces friction, and alignment across channels strengthens trust and credibility. Standardised assets also speed up campaigns and reduce errors. In short: consistency drives conversions.
[161] Autonomy
Design autonomy is the principle of creating systems, products, or spaces that empower users (or agents) with control, choice, and the ability to operate independently, aligning with their own goals and preferences, rather than forcing rigid paths, seen in UX design (customization, choice) and AI (user control over agentic systems). It's about designing for self-direction, allowing freedom in how tasks are done or content is accessed, fostering user engagement and satisfaction, but requires careful balance to avoid confusion or risk, especially with AI.
[162] Meaningful Contribution
A meaningful design contribution goes beyond mere aesthetics or function; it is about creating solutions that deeply resonate with people, solve significant problems with empathy and ethical responsibility, and create a positive impact on individuals, society, and the environment.
[163] Mentoring
The power of mentoring lies in its ability to unlock individual potential, foster growth, and drive positive change by creating supportive relationships where experienced mentors guide less-experienced mentees, offering tailored advice, emotional support, and crucial network access, leading to improved skills, career advancement, higher retention, and stronger communities. It's a win-win, benefiting mentees with clarity and confidence, mentors with renewed purpose, and organizations/society with engaged talent and continuous development.
[164] The Legacy
A leadership legacy is the lasting, positive impact a leader has on people, organizations, and culture, built through consistent values, mentorship, and empowering others, rather than just titles or short-term wins, focusing on shaping future leaders and enduring influence. It's about consciously crafting how you'll be remembered by demonstrating integrity, fostering growth, and inspiring positive change long after you're gone, making it an active, ongoing process.
[165] Challenges
Product teams face challenges like balancing user needs vs. business goals, managing technical & resource constraints, unclear requirements, staying ahead of tech trends, ensuring team alignment, and handling creative burnout, all while needing strong communication to translate design vision into business value and efficient, iterative workflows for development.
[166] Culture
A strong building design team culture is built on psychological safety, open communication, and cross-functional collaboration, fostering creativity through shared vision, clear values, and intentional rituals that support learning, trust, and respect, ultimately aligning diverse individuals into a cohesive unit focused on user-centric solutions. Key elements include transparent practices, integrating user feedback, defining team norms (like meeting styles and communication), and celebrating both wins and failures to encourage growth and innovation.
[167] Learnig
Learning in design teams is about fostering continuous growth, collaboration, and user-centric problem-solving, often through structured processes like Design Thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) and agile methods, focusing on shared language, experimentation (like A/B testing), and embracing failure to build better products and stronger teams. Key aspects include open communication, cross-functional teamwork (designers, developers, PMs), and just-in-time skill development to stay ahead of evolving tech and user needs, turning learning into a strategic business asset.
[168] High Performance
High-performance design teams are unified by a shared purpose, driven by innovation, and excel through psychological safety, enabling open communication, risk-taking, and continuous learning, leading to exceptional results beyond mere metrics, focusing on customer value, adaptability, and sustainable growth with clear goals and strong leadership.
[169] Competitive Advantage
A competitive advantage is a unique edge that allows a company to outperform rivals by offering customers greater value, either through lower prices or superior benefits, leading to higher sales, profits, or customer loyalty, and it's typically built on hard-to-copy factors like strong branding, unique technology, efficient cost structures, or excellent service.
[170] Internal Design Broadcast
We will not help anyone if our designs are buried in Figma in random folders, files, and undefined layers based on assumptions fed by imaginary KPIs. Trust is built on transparency, persistence, and continuing, which leads to the overall belief of design function capabilities within the organisation.
[171] RAG (Red–Amber–Green)
A RAG report for designers uses Red, Amber, Green colors to give a quick visual status of project elements (tasks, features, overall project), indicating if they are on track (Green), facing potential issues (Amber), or in serious trouble (Red), allowing for fast identification of risks, clear communication with stakeholders, and timely interventions to keep design projects moving efficiently.
[172] Cross-functional Collaboration at Scale
Cross-functional collaboration at scale means effectively uniting diverse teams (like Marketing, Engineering, Sales) across an organization to achieve shared goals, breaking down silos through clear communication, shared metrics (KPIs), aligned processes, and shared technology, leading to faster innovation, better problem-solving, and smoother launches, especially within agile frameworks, by ensuring everyone understands the "big picture" and their role in it. Scaling it requires formalized onboarding, consistent knowledge sharing, and removing data silos to maintain efficiency as the company grows.
[173] Atlassian
Armed with a credit card and a dream, two college friends, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar set out to create Atlassian. In 2002, they didn't know what kind of company Atlassian was going to be, but they knew exactly what it shouldn't be—an environment where they had to conform rather than be who they authentically are.
3.0 Adoption.
[174] Transformation
Digital transformation (DT) is the deep integration of digital tech into all business areas, fundamentally changing operations, value delivery, and culture to adapt to evolving customer needs, boost efficiency, innovate, and gain a competitive edge. It's a continuous journey, not a single project, involving strategic restructuring, adopting technologies like AI, cloud, and data analytics, and fostering a cultural shift towards experimentation, agility, and continuous learning to meet market demands.
3.1 Assessment.
[175] The Design Maturity Matrix™
How do we sharpen our skills, evaluate our performance in one of the most dynamic professions, to become 1% designer? Designer in the team of One is not a unicorn, nor a Figma monkey. It is a well-qualified design professional who sees all business challenges as opportunities and solves problems through design. It can be challenging at first to know when to step in, pause, reflect, strategise, and apply your skills. The following assessment will help you understand where you are and what you can offer the world.
[176] Digital Design Maturity
Digital design maturity describes an organisation's capability and culture in using design to achieve business goals, moving from basic, siloed efforts (Level 1: Initial) to deeply integrated, customer-obsessed, data-driven practices (Level 5: Transformative), measured by frameworks that assess strategy, processes, tech, and people to guide continuous improvement and innovation. It’s about integrating user-centric design into the core of the business, not just as an add-on.
[177] Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) was a computing manufacturer that produced high-performance computer hardware and software from 1981 through 2009. SGI’s collaboration with game studio Rare and their work on Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park cements them within the 1990’s computing zeitgeist.
[178] Power of One
A very simple framework of four pillars that allows all parties to stay in the know. Mobilyse and support each other to make an informed decision in that specific role without impacting anyone else's time.
[179] Team of one
We’ll help you to get on the feed. Set up the basics, share the common pitfalls, and get up the speed with the designing for the brands you like.
[180] Team of ten
"What is my role in the product or service team?" Most common question out of +2k interviews in /Y20-22. Let’s find out how to become your team's best product designer.”
[181] Team of one hundred
Departments changed – your ultimate function now is not to protect your knowledge but to broadcast it out loud – how to create and maintain Tribal Leadership in Design Departments.
[182] Proactive Behaviour
“Company culture is defined by a work environment's shared values, attitudes, behaviours, and standards. It is about people's work experience and how that experience aligns with the company's external brand and messaging. Culture is what creates the day-to-day experience at a company. And when an organisation has a good company culture, employees are engaged, committed, and excited to come to work. And that stretches from brand new employees up to the leadership team.”
3.2 Cross–Functional Collab.
[183] Traceable
"Traceable" means something can be found, followed, or identified back to its origin, history, or cause, often through recorded steps or data, like a traceable phone call, traceable food product, or an issue traceable to a specific event. It's the quality of being able to verify an item's journey or link it to its source, essential in supply chains, software, security, and even scientific measurement, ensuring accountability and understanding.
[184] Data-Driven
Data-driven design (DDD) is an approach that uses quantitative and qualitative data—like user behaviour analytics, A/B test results, and feedback—to objectively inform and validate design choices, moving beyond intuition or opinion to create more effective, user-focused products and experiences that meet business goals. It involves collecting data, analysing user patterns, and applying insights to iteratively improve usability and functionality, reducing design risks and boosting outcomes.
[185] Authority
How do we sharpen our skills, evaluate our performance in one of the most dynamic professions, to become 1% designer? Designer in the team of One is not a unicorn, nor a Figma monkey. It is a well-qualified design professional who sees all business challenges as opportunities and solves problems through design. It can be challenging at first to know when to step in, pause, reflect, strategise, and apply your skills. The following assessment will help you understand where you are and what you can offer the world.
[186] GRID Magazine
Tailored stories that describe how to leverage the knowledge behind Design at Scale™
[187] Ways of Working (WoW)
Ways of Working (WoW) defines the specific practices, tools, culture, and collaboration methods a team or organization uses to achieve goals, moving beyond generic processes to create a fit-for-purpose approach, especially common in Agile environments for guiding daily tasks, communication, and continuous improvement. It's essentially the "how" work gets done, encompassing everything from meeting cadences and tool usage to decision-making and cultural norms, ensuring clarity, efficiency, and adaptability.
[188] Informed Decisions
Informed decisions are choices made after gathering and weighing relevant facts, data, and potential outcomes, aligning them with personal values and goals for more confident, controlled, and successful results, avoiding biases and relying on evidence rather than just intuition or assumptions. Key steps involve thorough research, considering pros/cons, reflecting, seeking diverse perspectives, and understanding how options match personal values.
[189] Automation and Relevance
Automation in design involves using software and AI to streamline repetitive tasks, enabling designers to focus on higher-value, creative work, which is crucial for maintaining relevance in a fast-paced market. This symbiotic relationship between human creativity and machine efficiency defines the modern design paradigm.
[190] Unified Structure
A "unified structure" means bringing diverse parts, data, or systems into a single, consistent framework for better integration, management, and insight, common in IT (Unified Namespace, UCS), software (Unified Process), and data (Universal Information Extraction) to streamline operations and provide a single source of truth. It creates a coherent whole, enabling interoperability and efficiency across previously separate domains, like combining chat, calls, and video in unified communications.
[191] Scalable Pairing Remains Figma + Atlassian
The pairing of Figma and Atlassian remains a leading solution for scalable product development, enabling seamless collaboration between design and development teams. Their official integrations are designed to unify workflows across the product lifecycle, from initial design to code and deployment.
[192] Design System
Carbon is IBM’s open source design system for products and digital experiences. With the IBM Design Language as its foundation, the system consists of working code, design tools and resources, human interface guidelines, and a vibrant community of contributors.
[193] System-Level Requirements
System-level requirements define what a complete system must do, its overall performance, and constraints, focusing on what it achieves, not how, bridging stakeholder needs to technical design, and covering functions (functional) and quality attributes (non-functional like security, reliability, usability) for the entire system-of-interest. They are the foundation for breaking down into detailed subsystem requirements and ensure alignment with project goals and scope.
[194] Release Stage
A "release stage" refers to a distinct phase in the software or product lifecycle, moving from initial idea to live delivery, encompassing steps like planning, development, testing (Alpha, Beta, Release Candidate), deployment (staging, production), and post-release monitoring/maintenance, all designed to ensure a stable, functional product reaches users smoothly, often using automated pipelines and strict quality checks.
[195] Data Flows
Data flows describe the movement, transformation, and management of data from its source to its destination, crucial for analytics and operations, often visualized through diagrams (DFDs) to map paths between entities, processes, and stores, while modern platforms like Microsoft Power Platform offer cloud-based "dataflows" (using Power Query) for reusable self-service data prep, centralizing ETL logic to feed reports and applications efficiently.
3.3 From Maturity to Agility.
[196] HBR
HBR most commonly refers to the Harvard Business Review, a leading management publication with a magazine, books, and digital content offering insights for leaders and professionals on strategy, leadership, and innovation. Less commonly, in chemistry, HBr stands for Hydrogen Bromide, a colorless gas that forms hydrobromic acid when dissolved in water.
[197] Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma
Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma" explains how great companies fail by excelling at sustaining innovation (improving existing products) but ignoring disruptive innovations (new, simpler, cheaper tech) that start at the low end, eventually surpassing high-end offerings and redefining markets, as seen with disk drives or excavators. The dilemma is that good management (listening to customers, focusing on big profits) leads them to dismiss disruptive tech until it's too late, necessitating strategies like creating independent spin-offs to nurture these new ventures.
[198] Design Management
Design management is the strategic integration of design thinking and processes within business to achieve goals, linking creativity with business objectives through planning, organizing, and leading design efforts for effective products, services, brands, and environments, ensuring innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage. It bridges the gap between creative teams and business strategy, covering everything from managing design projects (budget, time, quality) to advocating design as a core driver for organizational success and market differentiation.
[199] Agile Design Teams
Agile design teams are cross-functional, self-organizing groups (around 10 people) that embed designers directly with developers and product owners to deliver user-centric products iteratively, focusing on continuous feedback and adaptation rather than rigid plans, using methodologies like Scrum or Kanban for rapid delivery and enhanced collaboration. Key is having designers deeply involved in all team rituals (stand-ups, planning) to build trust and prevent bottlenecks, allowing flexibility to evolve roles as needed for better quality and efficiency.
[200] Just-In-Time (JIT)
Just-in-Time (JIT) is a inventory management strategy where companies receive goods from suppliers only as they are needed in the production process, minimizing stock, reducing waste, and cutting costs like warehousing, but it requires highly reliable suppliers and smooth supply chains to avoid costly stockouts. Originating at Toyota, JIT aims for peak efficiency by producing or delivering products exactly when and where they're needed, aligning with customer demand to eliminate overproduction and delays.
[201] Value for the Wider Organisation
Value for the wider organisation means aligning core beliefs (like integrity, innovation, teamwork) across all levels to guide actions, improve culture, attract talent, and drive success, ultimately creating broader societal and economic benefits beyond just profit by fostering purpose, empowering employees, and ensuring ethical, sustainable practices that benefit communities and stakeholders. It's about making values real through consistent actions, not just words, to build trust and long-term resilience.
[202] Exponential Thinking
Exponential thinking is a mindset focused on achieving massive, non-linear breakthroughs (10x growth) rather than small, incremental improvements (10% better), recognizing that technologies and changes often grow by doubling, creating surprising, rapid shifts, unlike our linear human intuition. It involves looking for disruptive innovation, leveraging technology, collaborating broadly, and adopting a long-term view to harness compounding effects, essential for navigating today's rapidly accelerating world.
[190] Unified Structure
A "unified structure" means bringing diverse parts, data, or systems into a single, consistent framework for better integration, management, and insight, common in IT (Unified Namespace, UCS), software (Unified Process), and data (Universal Information Extraction) to streamline operations and provide a single source of truth. It creates a coherent whole, enabling interoperability and efficiency across previously separate domains, like combining chat, calls, and video in unified communications.
[203] Digital Design Library (DDL)
Learn how to centralize your design components, UI kits, style guides, and inspiration, transforming your design process. From freelancers to large agencies, these tools empower better design, faster.
[204] Design-Led Decisions
Design-led decisions are choices centered on deep user understanding, creativity, and experience, prioritizing human needs over just features, using methods like user research and prototyping to build intuitive, engaging, and effective products that solve real problems, ultimately boosting user satisfaction and business success. It's a proactive, collaborative process where designers and teams use empathy and iteration to shape solutions, unlike traditional approaches that often focus on internal requirements or just functionality.
[205] Increases Delivery Risk
Delivery risk refers to the chance that a counterparty may not fulfill its side of the agreement by failing to deliver the underlying asset or cash value of the contract. Other terms to describe this situation are settlement risk, default risk, and counterparty risk. It's a risk both parties must consider before committing to a financial contract. There are varying degrees of delivery risk that exist in all financial transactions.
[206] Miro boards
[207] Mural files
[208] Scott McNealy
Scott G. McNealy is an American businessman most known for co-founding the computer technology company Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Vinod Khosla, Bill Joy, and Andy Bechtolsheim.
[209] Shared Intent
"Shared intent" most commonly refers to Android's mechanism for apps to communicate, letting users share content (links, text, files) seamlessly across different apps (like from a browser to a social media app) using a system-provided "chooser" dialog, but it can also mean shared goals in marketing (intent data) or a technical concept in AI/conversational bots for passing data between different steps.
[210] Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson is a Canadian psychologist, author, media personality, and professor known for his popular lectures, best-selling books like 12 Rules for Life, and views on culture, religion, and self-improvement, often exploring the tension between order and chaos through psychology and biblical stories, while also recently making headlines for being hired as a university football defensive coordinator.
[211] Lemon Method
Exhausting employees until they quit is a harmful and potentially unlawful management practice often referred to as "quiet firing" or creating conditions for constructive dismissal. This approach can lead to severe consequences for both the employees and the organization.
[212] Thought leadership
Thought leadership is the practice of establishing an individual or brand as a trusted, go-to expert in a specific field by sharing innovative ideas, deep insights, and valuable knowledge, influencing others and shaping industry conversations through content like articles, talks, or research, ultimately building credibility, trust, and a competitive edge. It's about offering original perspectives that go beyond typical marketing, aiming to educate and guide an audience rather than just sell to them.
[213] IP
Design intellectual property protects the visual appearance (shape, lines, colors, ornamentation) of a product, not its function, through mechanisms like Registered Designs, which offer up to 25 years of exclusivity for new, individual designs, and Unregistered Design Rights, offering shorter, automatic protection for novel designs, complementing other IP like Patents (function) or Trademarks (brand). It prevents others from making, selling, or using your unique look, adding significant commercial value.
[214] Behave in Real Conditions
"Behaving in real conditions" involves acting naturally and authentically within social, environmental, and internal contexts, adapting to various influences while making conscious choices.
[215] Transparency
Business transparency means being open, honest, and clear about company operations, finances, performance, and decisions with stakeholders (employees, customers, investors) to build trust, loyalty, and better collaboration, involving sharing information, fostering open communication, and having clear processes, which boosts morale, attracts talent, and improves ethical standing. It's about reducing hidden agendas and providing full information, from supply chains to salaries, making companies more accountable and trusted
[216] Transformation
Transformation means a complete change in form, nature, or appearance, often for the better, involving shifts in character, processes, or even genetics, and can refer to large-scale societal changes, personal growth, or specific mathematical operations like reflection, rotation, or translation of shapes. It's a fundamental shift, unlike simple change, requiring vision, strategy, and commitment for radical improvement or conversion, such as digital transformation or a personal rebirth.
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