An overview of my time at Finity: Establishing design as a function and growing product and design maturity
An overview of my time at Finity: Establishing design as a function and growing product and design maturity
How it started
How it started
I was Finity's first permanent designer after 8 years of the software existing. I am currently the Product Design Lead.
I was Finity's first permanent designer after 8 years of the software existing. I am currently the Product Design Lead.
There was design, technical and process debt everywhere. Design had been treated as a service you called in when you needed something to look nice, not a discipline that helped shape what got built in the first place. It was transactional and misunderstood. People confused UX and UI. Design wasn't seen as a partner in crafting requirements and negotiations were difficult because the value wasn't clear. When I asked questions about user needs, it was seen as pushback rather than discovery.
There was design, technical and process debt everywhere. Design had been treated as a service you called in when you needed something to look nice, not a discipline that helped shape what got built in the first place. It was transactional and misunderstood. People confused UX and UI. Design wasn't seen as a partner in crafting requirements and negotiations were difficult because the value wasn't clear. When I asked questions about user needs, it was seen as pushback rather than discovery.
There was no set design process to drop into nor an SDLC that included design. Poor cross-functional collaboration meant limited strategic input from delivery teams and work was treated like a ticket conveyor belt. I was expected to design in isolation, hand off finished work, and developers weren't involved until after the design phase (which never works). I walked into an obvious waterfall holdover in a company trying to be agile.
There was no set design process to drop into nor an SDLC that included design. Poor cross-functional collaboration meant limited strategic input from delivery teams and work was treated like a ticket conveyor belt. I was expected to design in isolation, hand off finished work, and developers weren't involved until after the design phase (which never works). I walked into an obvious waterfall holdover in a company trying to be agile.
Oh, and my manager abruptly left during my probation period whilst we were hiring for another designer. I either had to step into being a manager prematurely or not grow the team. I chose to step up.
Oh, and my manager abruptly left during my probation period whilst we were hiring for another designer. I either had to step into being a manager prematurely or not grow the team. I chose to step up.
My mission
My mission
I needed to transform design from a service function to a strategic partner, building the practice from the ground up. I had to do this whilst delivering work in the meantime and onboarding a team.
I needed to transform design from a service function to a strategic partner, building the practice from the ground up. I had to do this whilst delivering work in the meantime and onboarding a team.
I had to teach people what discovery was, demonstrate why we couldn't just skip to solutions, introduce research as a verb and push people to think beyond what the loudest customer wanted. Slowly, persistently, and eventually demonstrating that good process leads to better outcomes.
I had to teach people what discovery was, demonstrate why we couldn't just skip to solutions, introduce research as a verb and push people to think beyond what the loudest customer wanted. Slowly, persistently, and eventually demonstrating that good process leads to better outcomes.
The challenge
The challenge
Little to no user research. They'd talk to customers, sure, but through a customer success lens. This led to solving for one loud customer's specific pain. Unscalable with no pay off. We had no systematic way of understanding patterns across users or validating assumptions before building.
Little to no user research. They'd talk to customers, sure, but through a customer success lens. This led to solving for one loud customer's specific pain. Unscalable with no pay off. We had no systematic way of understanding patterns across users or validating assumptions before building.
No system for UI. Every design contracted in before me had done their own thing. There was no consistency, no components, and no shared language between design and dev.
No system for UI. Every design contracted in before me had done their own thing. There was no consistency, no components, and no shared language between design and dev.
Decisions made on assumptions. With little to no discovery and zero cross-functional collaboration, decisions were made in a vacuum. Requirements were written in isolation, handed to design, handed to dev. By the time we'd built something, the team would often realised we'd built the wrong thing.
Decisions made on assumptions. With little to no discovery and zero cross-functional collaboration, decisions were made in a vacuum. Requirements were written in isolation, handed to design, handed to dev. By the time we'd built something, the team would often realised we'd built the wrong thing.
Design was often cut. When timelines were tight, design quality was seen as disposable.
Design was often cut. When timelines were tight, design quality was seen as disposable.
What I did
What I did
Ideation: Leading discovery
I started leading the discovery process, working directly with all relevant stakeholders from the start. I mapped out problems before requirements were written and got everyone involved. I introduced them to virtual whiteboards like I invented them, and educated people on why, when, and how we do discovery.
Slowly, people started to see the value. When we did discovery, we built better things. When we skipped discovery, we fixed things later (at 10x the cost). People were more engaged, and felt like part of the journey.
Ideation: Leading discovery
I started leading the discovery process, working directly with all relevant stakeholders from the start. I mapped out problems before requirements were written and got everyone involved. I introduced them to virtual whiteboards like I invented them, and educated people on why, when, and how we do discovery.
Slowly, people started to see the value. When we did discovery, we built better things. When we skipped discovery, we fixed things later (at 10x the cost). People were more engaged, and felt like part of the journey.
Design system
I supported my senior designer through the design of our foundational components. This enabled a much quicker and more consistent design process and earned serious buy-in from the devs, who were tired of reinventing forms and tables.
Design system
I supported my senior designer through the design of our foundational components. This enabled a much quicker and more consistent design process and earned serious buy-in from the devs, who were tired of reinventing forms and tables.
Planning
I established design as a relevant and equal voice in the product and engineering team. Whilst it’s easy to write that in a sentence, it was a hard journey. But design was now required in planning and prioritising sessions and had a say in the roadmap. We created and drove feedback loops. I taught the team how to negotiate between disciplines. Not design vs. engineering, but design with engineering toward better solutions.
Planning
I established design as a relevant and equal voice in the product and engineering team. Whilst it’s easy to write that in a sentence, it was a hard journey. But design was now required in planning and prioritising sessions and had a say in the roadmap. We created and drove feedback loops. I taught the team how to negotiate between disciplines. Not design vs. engineering, but design with engineering toward better solutions.
Product + design thinking
I taught people across the business about product and design thinking. I ran workshops. I shifted our culture to being more agile and collaborative. (I started to become involved in larger strategic pieces like OKRs once I had demonstrated how I could contribute beyond the screen.)
Product + design thinking
I taught people across the business about product and design thinking. I ran workshops. I shifted our culture to being more agile and collaborative. (I started to become involved in larger strategic pieces like OKRs once I had demonstrated how I could contribute beyond the screen.)
The relationship between design and dev went from transactional to collaborative. We weren't just handing off designs, we were solving problems together.
The relationship between design and dev went from transactional to collaborative. We weren't just handing off designs, we were solving problems together.
Impact
Impact
Evidence-based and user-led: Design decisions became grounded in evidence and collaboration. We stopped guessing. We started knowing.
Evidence-based and user-led: Design decisions became grounded in evidence and collaboration. We stopped guessing. We started knowing.
Reduced rework → Happy team: Projects needed less rework because we were grounding decisions in research and collaboration. The team was more fulfilled. People felt ownership over their work because they'd been part of shaping it from the start.
Reduced rework → Happy team: Projects needed less rework because we were grounding decisions in research and collaboration. The team was more fulfilled. People felt ownership over their work because they'd been part of shaping it from the start.
Shared language and buy-in: We created a shared language and began embedding brand guidelines into the product. The relationship between design and dev blossomed ❤️. Developers started caring about design. Designers started understanding technical constraints. We were finally speaking the same language.
Shared language and buy-in: We created a shared language and began embedding brand guidelines into the product. The relationship between design and dev blossomed ❤️. Developers started caring about design. Designers started understanding technical constraints. We were finally speaking the same language.
Where we are now
Where we are now
Design is a respected, strategic function at Finity. We're involved from discovery through delivery. We have a design system. We have processes. We have a shared language with engineering. We've transformed from a reactive service function to a proactive strategic partner.
Design is a respected, strategic function at Finity. We're involved from discovery through delivery. We have a design system. We have processes. We have a shared language with engineering. We've transformed from a reactive service function to a proactive strategic partner.
It wasn't a straight line. It was messy, political, exhausting, and deeply rewarding. But we got there. And the work is better for it.
It wasn't a straight line. It was messy, political, exhausting, and deeply rewarding. But we got there. And the work is better for it.