Amplifying Design’s Strategic Impact: Operationalizing UX in DSTA

Amplifying Design’s Strategic Impact: Operationalizing UX in DSTA

In a rapidly evolving tech landscape, the Design Innovation (DI) Team at DSTA (Defence Science and Technology Agency) faced challenges in scaling design operations while maintaining efficiency, collaboration, and impact. As the team grew, so did the complexities, designers were often left out of Agile development cycles, struggling with inconsistent workflows, unclear responsibilities, and operational overhead. This led to inefficiencies, design debt, and reduced focus on core UX work. This case study explores how we optimized people, processes, and craft to establish a sustainable design culture, improve collaboration, and amplify the value of design in a high-security environment.

In a rapidly evolving tech landscape, the Design Innovation (DI) Team at DSTA (Defence Science and Technology Agency) faced challenges in scaling design operations while maintaining efficiency, collaboration, and impact. As the team grew, so did the complexities, designers were often left out of Agile development cycles, struggling with inconsistent workflows, unclear responsibilities, and operational overhead. This led to inefficiencies, design debt, and reduced focus on core UX work. This case study explores how we optimized people, processes, and craft to establish a sustainable design culture, improve collaboration, and amplify the value of design in a high-security environment.

DURATION

3 years

MY ROLE

Design Ops Lead

CLIENT

DSTA

TAGS

Design Operations, Design Culture, Process Optimization, UX Strategy, Agile Design, Design Leadership

My Role

My Role

As the Design Strategist & Operations Lead, my responsibilities spanned:

  • Process Optimization – Streamlining workflows between designers, developers, and product teams.

  • Cultural Advocacy – Ensuring UX had a seat at the table in Agile planning.

  • Tool & Framework Development – Creating security-compliant design playbooks.

  • Stakeholder Alignment – Securing buy-in from leadership, engineers, and designers.

My mission was to reduce friction, amplify design’s impact, and establish a sustainable design culture.

Key Pain Points

Key Pain Points

UX Exclusion in Agile Development

  • Designers were brought in too late, leading to rushed iterations and rework.

  • Example: A critical defence project faced delays because UX feedback arrived after development had begun.

  1. Inconsistent Workflows

    • No standardized processes meant every team worked differently, causing misalignment.

  2. Operational Overhead

    • Designers spent 40% of their time on administrative tasks rather than research and prototyping.

  3. Unclear Career Growth Paths

    • Lack of structured progression frameworks led to frustration and attrition.

Impact of These Issues

  • Slower project delivery due to late-stage design changes.

  • Lower team morale from unclear expectations and excessive operational work.

  • Reduced design quality as UX was treated as an afterthought.

Defining Problem Statement

Defining Problem Statement

How might we optimise people, processes, and craft to amplify the value and impact of design in DSTA, while maintaining security compliance and scalability?

Goals & Objectives

Goals & Objectives

Business Goals

  • Improve cross-functional collaboration between design, engineering, and product teams.

  • Reduce design debt by integrating UX earlier in development.

  • Scale the DI Team efficiently while maintaining high standards.

User Goals (Designers & Architects)

  • Spend more time on design & research, less on administrative tasks.

  • Have clear career growth pathways and skill development opportunities.

  • Work within structured, repeatable processes to reduce ambiguity.

Process

1. Internal Research & Discovery

  • Conducted interviews and surveys with designers and architects.

  • Mapped existing workflows to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

2. Competitive Research & Benchmarking

  • Studied DesignOps frameworks from leading tech organisations.

  • Adapted best practices to fit DSTA’s security and compliance requirements.

3. Co-Creation Workshops: Collaborated with design leads, developers, and product managers to define:

  • Key rituals (e.g., design critiques, Agile syncs).

  • Handoff processes (e.g., Figma-to-dev workflows).

  • Role clarity (who does what in each phase).

4. Pilot Testing & Iteration

  • Implemented new processes in select projects to test effectiveness.

  • Refined based on feedback before org-wide rollout.

Solution Framework

1. Structured Design Governance

  • Guiding Principles: Established 9 core design principles (e.g., Design with Users, Be Data Driven) to align all teams.

  • Roles & Responsibilities: Defined clear workflows for UX Architects, Designers, Developers, and Product Owners to eliminate silos.

  • Design System: Implemented a reusable DSTA Design System with components, guidelines, and accessibility standards.


2. End-to-End Design Process

  1. Dual-Phase Framework:

  • Phase 1 (Product Definition): Discovery, concept validation, and high-level prototyping (1–3 months).

  • Phase 2 (Product Delivery): Agile development with Lean UX, iterative testing, and post-release metrics.

B. Sprint Integration:

  • Mandated Sprint Zero for upfront UX research.

  • UX works 1–2 sprints ahead of development to prevent bottlenecks.

  • Unified backlog with UX-specific acceptance criteria (e.g., usability metrics).


3. Secure Collaboration Infrastructure

  • Toolkit Standardisation: Curated tools for high-security environments (e.g., air-gapped prototyping, on-premise design systems).

  • Knowledge Management:

    • Centralised UX Knowledge Base for research repositories and templates.

    • Tagged artefacts for traceability (e.g., project stage, research type).


4. Cultural Enablement

  • Rituals & Accountability:

    • Monthly UX Working Groups (UXWG) to track KPIs.

    • Quarterly Design Ops Studios to address workflow bottlenecks.

  • Metrics-Driven Impact:

    • Standardised design quality metrics (SUS, BERT, utility scores).

    • Definition of "Done" Checklist (12 criteria spanning usability, accessibility, and technical feasibility).


5. Continuous Adaptation

  • Community of Practice:

    • Workshops and seminars to up-skill teams.

    • Bi-weekly Leads Huddles to refine strategies.

  • Scalable Flexibility:

    • Processes reviewed quarterly to adapt to new security/tech constraints.

    • "DesignOps as a Product" mindset—iterative improvements based on team feedback.

Solution Framework

Impact Measurement: Tracking Success Through KPIs

1. Structured Design Governance

  • Guiding Principles: Established 9 core design principles (e.g., Design with Users, Be Data Driven) to align all teams.

  • Roles & Responsibilities: Defined clear workflows for UX Architects, Designers, Developers, and Product Owners to eliminate silos.

  • Design System: Implemented a reusable DSTA Design System with components, guidelines, and accessibility standards.


2. End-to-End Design Process

  1. Dual-Phase Framework:

  • Phase 1 (Product Definition): Discovery, concept validation, and high-level prototyping (1–3 months).

  • Phase 2 (Product Delivery): Agile development with Lean UX, iterative testing, and post-release metrics.

B. Sprint Integration:

  • Mandated Sprint Zero for upfront UX research.

  • UX works 1–2 sprints ahead of development to prevent bottlenecks.

  • Unified backlog with UX-specific acceptance criteria (e.g., usability metrics).


3. Secure Collaboration Infrastructure

  • Toolkit Standardisation: Curated tools for high-security environments (e.g., air-gapped prototyping, on-premise design systems).

  • Knowledge Management:

    • Centralised UX Knowledge Base for research repositories and templates.

    • Tagged artefacts for traceability (e.g., project stage, research type).


4. Cultural Enablement

  • Rituals & Accountability:

    • Monthly UX Working Groups (UXWG) to track KPIs.

    • Quarterly Design Ops Studios to address workflow bottlenecks.

  • Metrics-Driven Impact:

    • Standardised design quality metrics (SUS, BERT, utility scores).

    • Definition of "Done" Checklist (12 criteria spanning usability, accessibility, and technical feasibility).


5. Continuous Adaptation

  • Community of Practice:

    • Workshops and seminars to up-skill teams.

    • Bi-weekly Leads Huddles to refine strategies.

  • Scalable Flexibility:

    • Processes reviewed quarterly to adapt to new security/tech constraints.

    • "DesignOps as a Product" mindset—iterative improvements based on team feedback.

To ensure tangible improvements, we established 4 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

  1. Productivity

    • Measured: Time spent on design research vs. operational overhead.

    • Goal: Ensure designers focus on high-value work rather than administrative tasks.

  2. Team Health

    • Measured: Employee engagement, fulfillment surveys, and turnover rates.

    • Goal: Maintain a motivated and satisfied design team.

  3. Team Output

    • Measured: Design quality, reduction in design debt, and project impact.

    • Goal: Deliver consistent, high-quality UX solutions.

  4. Team Growth

    • Measured: Skills mapping, training roadmaps, and career progression.

    • Goal: Foster continuous learning and professional development.

These metrics allowed us to quantify improvements and adjust strategies as needed.

Impact Measurement: Tracking Success Through KPIs

To ensure tangible improvements, we established 4 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

  1. Productivity

    • Measured: Time spent on design research vs. operational overhead.

    • Goal: Ensure designers focus on high-value work rather than administrative tasks.

  2. Team Health

    • Measured: Employee engagement, fulfillment surveys, and turnover rates.

    • Goal: Maintain a motivated and satisfied design team.

  3. Team Output

    • Measured: Design quality, reduction in design debt, and project impact.

    • Goal: Deliver consistent, high-quality UX solutions.

  4. Team Growth

    • Measured: Skills mapping, training roadmaps, and career progression.

    • Goal: Foster continuous learning and professional development.

These metrics allowed us to quantify improvements and adjust strategies as needed.

Let's Collaborate

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collaboration or an idea you may have

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Let's Collaborate

Let's talk about a project,
collaboration or an idea you may have

Contact Me

Book a Call

Let's Collaborate

Let's talk about a project,
collaboration or an idea you may have

Contact Me

Book a Call

Let's Collaborate

Let's talk about a project,
collaboration or an idea you may have

Contact Me

Book a Call

Introduction

Problem

Goals

Impact

Our Users

Process

What we learned

Future