DesignOps Fundamentals

4 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Learn the design operations playbook for high-performance teams

Experience from

Google
SiriusXM
DocuSign
VMware
DesignOps Assembly

Course overview

A practical guide to elevating the design organization through ops excellence

The design industry is rapidly evolving, and DesignOps is the key to unlocking your team's full potential.


As a DesignOps practitioner, you have the power to revolutionize how design teams operate, collaborate, and deliver results. This course will equip you with the practical skills and strategic insights needed to build or elevate a high-performing DesignOps practice.


Learn to:

- Identify and prioritize high-impact initiatives that deliver measurable impact

- Streamline workflows and optimize processes (and leverage AI)

- Measure and communicate the value of design

- Build a thriving design culture of belonging and trust

- Increase design's influence across the business


Why learn from us?

- We have a variety of front-line ops roles as individual contributors, managers, consultants, and leadership team members

- We've learned from our conversations with 5000+ design leaders on operationalizing and scaling design teams

- We're top-rated instructors with 100+ students

- We've contributed to DesignOps benchmark reports in 2022 & 2023, staying at the forefront of industry trends


This course is designed for both aspiring and experienced DesignOps practitioners who want to make a real difference in their organizations. Join us and become the catalyst for design-driven success.

Who is this course for

01

Designers: Empower yourself to move into an operations role, bridging the gap between design and business.

02

Newer Design Operators: Brush up on the basics and ensure you have a strong foundation. Great for teams of one.

03

Other Operators: Gain essential knowledge about DesignOps, and learn to leverage the skills you already have.

What you’ll get out of this course

01: OVERVIEW.

Articulate the value proposition of DesignOps with the same mental models used by Fortune 500 companies. Through the DesignOps Archetypes, you'll learn key roles and responsibilities within different org types.

02: SETUP.

Apply the DesignOps Toolkit to real-world scenarios, learn to identify and address team challenges, and develop a customized DesignOps charter that drives positive change – all with guidance from templates used in top organizations.

03: WORKFLOW.

Our expert practices teacher, Salomé, will teach you about the most common workflows in the industry, and empower you to analyze and optimize existing workflows to increase efficiency while improving collaboration.

04: TOOLING.

There's an art and science to creating a unified toolchain at an org. We'll show you how to quickly select, integrate, and effectively utilize the right tools to streamline workflow while empowering designers.

05: PEOPLE OPERATIONS.

Understand how to pair with people and staffing partners to build frameworks to best support designers and the business. Get access to the case studies, and coached by the authors, who will be part of the live cohort sessions during this module.

06: CULTURE.

Apply proven communication rituals and feedback mechanisms to foster a culture of belonging and growth within design teams. Learn strategies to create environments where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute their best work.

07: RIGHT HAND LEADERSHIP.

Become an indispensable partner to design leaders. Learn strategic planning, resource optimization, and aligning design with business goals for measurable impact. Engage with experienced chiefs-of-staff to gain real-world insights and answer your burning questions.

This course includes

8 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

18 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

3 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Aug 5—Aug 11

    Aug

    5

    Optional: Cohort Kickoff

    Mon 8/53:30 PM—4:30 PM (UTC)
    Optional

    Aug

    5

    Module 01: DesignOps Menu

    Mon 8/59:00 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

    Aug

    9

    Module 02: Optimizing DesignOrg Measures

    Fri 8/99:00 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

    Module 01: The DesignOps Menu

    4 items

    Module 02: Design Org Measures

    3 items

Week 2

Aug 12—Aug 18

    Aug

    12

    Module 03: DesignOps and Design Workflows

    Mon 8/129:00 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

    Aug

    16

    Module 04: DesignOps and Toolchains

    Fri 8/165:00 PM—6:30 PM (UTC)

    Module 03: DesignOps and Design Workflows

    4 items

    Module 04: DesignOps and the Design Toolchain

    2 items

Week 3

Aug 19—Aug 25

    Aug

    19

    Module 05: DesignOps and People Operations

    Mon 8/199:00 PM—10:30 PM (UTC)

    Aug

    24

    Module 06: Strategic Operations

    Sat 8/245:00 AM—6:30 AM (UTC)

    Module 05: DesignOps and People Operations

    3 items

    Module 06: Strategic Operations

    4 items

Week 4

Aug 26—Aug 30

    Aug

    30

    (Optional) Post-Course AMA

    Fri 8/305:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)

Post-course

    Tailored AMA

    1 item

What people are saying

        I had such a great time learning about leading DesignOps, with the amazing knowledge and guidance from Adam. I feel it's really giving me the tools to lead and expand the DesignOps function and guide my career. Thanks DOA!
Clara Magnin

Clara Magnin

Previous Student, DesignOps Fundamentals
        Being part of the Learning Labs allowed me to network with likeminded professionals in the DesignOps field and learn new and advanced practices from an established professional.
Ana Santos

Ana Santos

Previous Student, DesignOps Fundamentals

Meet your instructor

Adam Fry-Pierce

Adam Fry-Pierce

UX Operations Leadership @ Google, Partner @ DesignOps Assembly

Adam is a seasoned DesignOps leader with experience at Google, DocuSign, InVision, and as a consultant for Adobe, Harley-Davidson, and various startups. A lifelong community builder, he grew the Design Leadership Forum to 2,500 members and the DesignOps Assembly to 7,000, gathering valuable insights along the way. He's been teaching DesignOps for 3 years with Salomé, and is the Program Management expert of the duo.

Salome Mortazavi

Salome Mortazavi

Senior Director Design Systems and DesignOps @ SiriusXM

Salome is a designer-turned-design leader, with deep experience at SiriusXM, VMWare, and Pivotal. She's designed products for several Fortune 1000 companies through her time at Pivotal. As a practitioner and people manager at larger design orgs, Salomé brings a well-rounded perspective. She's been teaching with Adam for 3 years, and she's the Practices and Craft expert of the teaching pair.

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Course schedule

1-4 hours per week

  • Monday Classes

    2:00-3:30 PM PST

    We'll meet as a cohort for the daily lightning talks in a whiteboarding tool - built to be interactive and engaging.

  • Friday Classes

    10:00-11:30 AM PST

    We'll meet as a cohort for the daily lightning talks in a whiteboarding tool - built to be interactive and engaging.



  • Weekly projects (Optional)

    1-2 hours per week

    Sometimes, there will be homework for the team. It's always optional and encouraged for deeper learning.

Learning is better with cohorts

Learning is better with cohorts

Active hands-on learning

This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects

Interactive and project-based

You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams

Learn with a cohort of peers

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

Frequently Asked Questions

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DesignOps Fundamentals