Design system adoption: How to make the team use the design system
Creating is the easy part. Adopting design systems is the hard part.
One of the main questions when building a design system is:
“How can we ensure people will use it?”
Creating a design system is a challenging task that requires a significant amount of time and effort. The main challenge lies in the fact that after all the hard work involved, there is no guarantee that people within the company, including developers, product managers, and designers, will utilize it.
It’s not enough to build the design system. Like every other digital product (and I think of a design system as a product), we have to get people to use it.
This means we need to market the design system to them. We must tell them why it’s helpful, what problems it solves, and how it can help them. Adaptation will only happen if we push it.
My goal with this article is to explain in detail how to market the design system to your team so they will use it.
Why is it difficult to make people use the design system?
Marketing is always a complex task, and convincing people to buy something is always demanding and can take time. Several factors can make it challenging when we work on the design system and want to market it within the company. Here are the most important ones from my point of view:
People are used to working in a certain way
Designers and developers become accustomed to their workflows over time. Transitioning from familiar methods to unfamiliar ones poses a significant challenge. It is like a painter who has used oil paints for decades might find it difficult to transition to digital painting.
Take, for example, a product designer accustomed to using a particular UI kit in Figma with its different UI components. When you show them a new component library UI kit, they may need more time to adapt due to the time required to comprehend and familiarize themselves with the new structure and elements.
This principle also applies to developers. Those who use a specific coding style or certain workflow may need help to shift to a different methodology. This isn’t because they resist change but because they have mastered their operation patterns.
Time Constraints
All of us are very busy in our daily jobs, and if we need to invest more time in studying new topics, it can be challenging.
For instance, a developer with a fixed daily schedule might find it challenging to allocate time for familiarizing themselves with the design system. They utilize that time to write code. Similarly, designers might prefer to invest their time in creating new screen designs rather than studying the design system.
No strategy to market the design system
The problem often starts with the team that builds the design system; they need to dedicate more time to explain the design system to the entire company.
This means that they can build a great design system, but if the people in the company don’t know about it, they won’t use the design system.
So, if the team does not dedicate enough time to marketing the design system, you’ll end up with a design system that nobody knows about — it’s like a tree falling in the forest with nobody there to hear it!
Not a top priority for the management
The design system is not only a product for designers and developers to use but also a strategic product for the company.
This is because working with a clear design system means that the design will be more consistent, and the development will be faster.
The issue is that many companies see the design system as a side project, which shows the other people in the company that it is unimportant.
On the other hand, if a company’s management takes it as a strategic issue, they talk about it in meetings, participate in meetings about it, and converse with all mid-level managers about its importance.
All this creates the feeling that it is important, and people will prioritize it in their task lists. In other words, it is not something small; it makes it feel like something big and important.
When starting to market the design system?
I’ve worked on different design systems in my career, and the most important thing I’ve found is that it is important to always market the design system, not only at the end of the process.
We need to discuss and market it whenever possible during the design process.
Before starting to work on it
After there is an ok from the management team to work on the project, you can gather people from different departments and explain the project to them, why the company is doing it, and how it will benefit them.
The design system team can also share who will work on this project and how long it will take. This gives everyone in the company a preliminary idea about the project, so the people will know that there is such a project that will improve their way of working.
In addition, it is important to tell them that the design system team is open to hearing any questions they may have; this increases trust and transparency within the company.
During the process
During the process, you can show people what the team is working on and what they have completed. For example, after creating a clear color palette or completing the tooltip component, you can share it with the team. There’s no need to organize a big meeting for every update. Sometimes sending a Slack message will make the work, and sometimes, you will want to make a meeting.
You can explain what the team has completed and how it can benefit the design system users. It’s important to convey this information in small chunks so people can comprehend it.
For instance, short messages with information are more effective than long messages with a 3+ minute read time. I particularly like to use short videos of 1 minute. That way, I can communicate the information quickly and in a manner that is comfortable to consume.
After finishing a real milestone
Sometimes you and the team finish a significant milestone in creating the design system. It can be when you finish working on the color system or have created a table system for the product.
In these moments, it is good to create an organized information section about the milestone and share it with the team in an organized meeting. That way, you can align the team about the process and share the achievements with them.
Onboarding the people that join the company
We must remember that many people join the company at different times throughout the year. For them, the design system is like a new tool that they need to understand from scratch. In addition, it can also show them how the company works and the importance of the design system within the company.
In addressing this case, it’s crucial to effectively onboard new members, familiarizing them with the design system and ensuring they feel comfortable to pose any questions.
Also, you can divide the work among the different people who work on the design system (designers and developers) so you can take care of the designers and the product managers. The developers who work with you on the design system can talk and explain the design system to new developers or QA testers who join the team.
What to do to make sure people will use the design system
Create clear and easy-to-use documentation
Every design system should have documents, and this is more than evident. But when working on the design system documentation, it is important to write the documentation in a way that will be easy to consume so that people can understand the information easily.
To achieve that, you and the design team can use visuals to explain certain things (for example, dos and don’t). You can use gifs and also, in some places, videos.
In addition, you can incorporate an AI chatbot where the team can ask questions and get answers. That can be much easier than searching the information.
They ask and get an answer. Let’s take this typical case: You have five options, and you can use a radio button or select a component, so instead of searching for this information, you can ask the AI.
“I have five options where the user can select one option. Is it better to use a radio button or a select component?”
Then, the AI can give you the information and indicate where it is inside the document.
Create a clear onboarding process for new members
When new members enter the company, you can incorporate a clear educational process into their onboarding. This ensures that everyone starting at the company will know from day one that the design system exists and show them how to use it.
The good thing here is that by doing this, you align all the new team members, which means that in 1–2 years, the company will have many people who started with this knowledge, making the adaptation deeper within the company culture. Because these people started with this knowledge, they will use it from the first moment.
Use slack messages
One technique I like to use to explain how the design system works is to share short messages with the team.
For example, you can explain certain information in a Slack channel. People will understand the info easily if you do it consistently but in small amounts.
So, imagine you want to explain to people how to use the documents of the design system and how they can find the information easily. Then, you can make a short video and show the information architecture of the documentation.
Also, you can make small videos and share them in the chat. For instance, you can make a short video and explain to the designers how to use the table component in the UI kit, so they can understand how to use it easily.
Inform about every change, even a small one
The important point is to inform the people who work with the design system about every change that is added to the design system; in this way, everything will be transparent, and they will feel more confident about it; for example, if a new component is added, if a component changes, or if an icon is added to the icon set.
It can be a little work for you in most cases, and a simple and short Slack message can work here. For example, when adding a new icon to the icon set, you can write this message in the channel:
“Hello, team; we have added a new cloud icon to the design system. You can use it for topics related to the cloud server or any other needs it can help address. Feel free to use it.”
Build the design system with the people
When you build the design system, involving as many people as possible is a good idea. For example, inviting people to collaborate is a good idea if your team comprises one designer and two developers working deeply on the project.
You can do this by asking them questions about design system components, inquiring about their needs as much as possible, encouraging them to send a message when they find an error in a component, and even giving them the option to test the UI kit before publishing it.
In addition to that, you can invite them to meetings about the design system and make some design decisions with them.
All these small things bring them closer to the project, so they will understand it better and be more committed to it because they feel they contribute.
Establish a design system team
A design system is not a side project but a strategic product within the company.
This is because it helps product teams iterate quickly (this includes design and development). Therefore, creating a specific team to work on and maintain the design system is important.
Please discuss with the managers in your company about having such a team. It would make the project more official and, more importantly, add a developer and a product manager to the team.
These individuals would be fully committed to the project and able to market the design system to their teams.
Provide ongoing support
Explain all the time to all the people who use the design system that they can ask you or any other design system team member if they have any questions about it.
This shows them that they are not alone, and when they have unresolved issues, they can come and talk to you about them. By not closing the door to questions, you also show transparency about the design system.
Prioritize the product needs
If a product team in the company is working on a new project and needs to build some new components, they can ask you for help.
Firstly, if they are doing something small that does not need to enter the design system, you can assist them in building it. However, if you notice that what they need can serve other product teams, you can collaborate and incorporate the component into the global design system.
This way, you can ensure they will use it because they will have components that fit their needs and will not have to build it themselves.
Show real project examples
Whenever possible, showcase projects built with the design system. This demonstrates to everyone in the company that creating many different projects using the design system is feasible.
It also shows that others in the company trust the design system, which can boost the confidence of designers and developers in the project. It illustrates how effective the design system is.
The best way to do this would be to arrange a presentation with people who use the design system to discuss the process, how they handle different issues, resolve them, and provide time for asking questions.
Find evangelists
Motivate team members to share their experiences and insights about the design system with each other. This can be done through regular meetings or an online forum.
Additionally, you can find evangelists who can assist you. These individuals can regularly showcase how they use the design system and how it benefits them.
Moreover, they can be people with whom other designers and developers can discuss the design system, and they can help in resolving issues.
Make the design system user-friendly
The design system should be easy to use and understand. A user-friendly design can encourage team members to use it more frequently. So, make sure it’s easy to find components in the design system UI kit and ensure the properties’ naming and descriptions are easy to understand. These minor and major factors that facilitate the usage of the design system can significantly affect whether users utilize it or not.
To summarize
In this article, I wanted to show you how you can market your design system better so its adaptation will be smoother and faster.
First, we started by understanding why adapting the design system is difficult. Then we looked at when you can start to market and explain the design system in the process. In the end, we saw some techniques to help you market your company's design system.
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Thank you for reading the article. I hope the article helped you to understand how to make people want to use the design system. Please feel free to share it with your friends or team members, and if you have any questions, please let me know.
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