Org Design for Design Orgs: Building and Managing In-House Design Teams

by Peter Merholz

The benefits of decentralization are realized immediately, and directly overcome the challenges of centralization. The benefits include: Development is speedier and iterative Designers are empowered and engaged as full team members Teams have greater ownership for what is delivered Output is higher quality Because these decentralized business and product teams have been wholly staffed, they have freedom and speed that they couldn’t achieve before. They no longer have to sit in someone else’s queue. They no longer have to wait for approvals. They are in control of their own destiny, and design is part of that. For the designers, instead of being brought in only after all the important decisions are made, they are now full team members. They participate throughout the product lifecycle, including the agenda-setting requirements development. They contribute to the strategy, and their perspective helps ensure superior product delivery. Their voices cannot be dismissed, because they’re as accountable as any other team member. The “us versus them” they may have felt before falls away. They better understand the challenges that their team members face, and no longer see their job as simply handing off deliverables, but ultimately making the team successful. Thus, this no longer feels like “work for hire,” but instead something worth investing extra effort in. Being involved throughout the lifecycle means developing a real sense of ownership, and with that comes pride at wanting t...