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Design Leadership

Building a Design Department’s Operating System

Building a Design Department’s Operating System

Cross-Functional Influence Design Leadership Design Quality Scaling and Transformation
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Building the operating system a design department runs on. The Proof: adopted by all three divisions, and still used today.

Building an AI-Augmented Design Practice

Building an AI-Augmented Design Practice

AI Practice Transformation Design Leadership Design Quality Scaling and Transformation
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Building standards, workflow, and governance for AI-augmented design before the company had any. The Proof: 96% voluntary adoption.

Cross-Functional Influence Design Leadership Design Quality Scaling and Transformation
Building a Design Department’s Operating System

Building the operating system a design department runs on. The Proof: adopted by all three divisions, and still used today.

  • Design

    Built and run across the platform rebuild, 2024 to 2026

  • Client

    Pluralsight. B2B SaaS, EdTech. ~ 1,900 employees.
    PE-backed, in stabilization.

  • My Role Then

    Director of Product Design, then Director, UX Product Design and Research. One of three design directors under the VP of Design.

  • Scope & Span

    5+ delivery squads, product-area scope 6 to 12, across a three-division design department.

  • Team & Reach

    15-person org (8 direct, 2 managers). One of 3 divisions under the VP of Design. Delivery done in pods.

  • Platform Type

    B2B SaaS, multi-sided (Enterprise admin, individual learner, internal authoring)

  • Status (a/o Q4 '26)

    The ritual operating system still runs the department, under the director I developed.

  • Tags

    Change Management, Governance, Operating Model, Team Capability, Transformation

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AI Practice Transformation Design Leadership Design Quality Scaling and Transformation
Building an AI-Augmented Design Practice

Building standards, workflow, and governance for AI-augmented design before the company had any. The Proof: 96% voluntary adoption.

  • Design

    OS done Q1 to Q2 2026, four+ months

  • Client

    Pluralsight. B2B SaaS, EdTech. ~ 1,900 employees.
    PE-backed, in stabilization.

  • My Role Then

    Director, UX Product Design and Research, Learning Experience. Reported to the CPO.

  • Scope & Span

    The Learning Experience design practice. Standards, workflow, tooling, governance, and enablement.

  • Team & Reach

    15-person org (2 managers). Partnered with the AI Product Manager. DesignOps, the design system team, and PMs and engineers from several delivery teams adopted the workflow voluntarily.

  • Platform Type

    B2B SaaS, multi-sided (Enterprise admin, individual learner, internal authoring)

  • Status (a/o Q4 '26)

    Standards and workflow in use at handoff. Spec-driven design piloted with engineering.

  • Tags

    AI Practice, Cross-Org Alignment, Governance, Operating Model, Team Capability, Transformation

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