Design Systems Are Products

According to the 2021 Design Systems Survey, only 40% of the systems were successful. Design systems often fail despite their potential to drive consistency and efficiency, not due to poor quality but due to low adoption.

The traditional approach of focusing primarily on technical aspects like component libraries and style guides overlooks the fundamental need for user engagement and support. Teams frequently struggle with awareness, usability, and ongoing maintenance, leading to inconsistent implementation and eventual abandonment.

The solution lies in treating design systems as products rather than technical repositories. This means focusing on user needs, actively driving adoption through evangelisation and ensuring strong feedback loops and proper support structures that make the design system an indispensable tool rather than just another unused repository.

This Week’s Updates

Enabling the Team

Career Frameworks by Luca Rossi
Career frameworks clarify expectations and enable better feedback, development, and resourcing decisions. But they only work if tailored to your org, updated regularly, and embedded in daily practice.

Employee Stress Is A Business Risk—Not An HR Problem by Marion Chomse, Lydia Roos, Reeva Misra and Ashley Whillans
Stress is a strategic risk that requires cross-functional leadership, with actionable steps to mitigate it through policy, empathy, and systems change.

Product Direction

Creating Intelligent Products by Marty Cagan
Building intelligent products isn’t just about adding AI as it requires a shift in team mindset, deeper problem understanding, and close product-tech collaboration to avoid gimmicks and deliver real value.

Stronger Design Principles Start With One Question: ‘Versus What?’ by Jehad Affoneh
Design principles work best when they’re actionable and aligned to business goals. This piece breaks down how to evaluate, evolve, and enforce them to strengthen product decision-making.

Continuous Research

Unlocking Growth Through UX Research by Alex Cerqueira
UX research can drive growth by identifying unmet user needs and refining product-market fit. But only when research is paired with action teams must integrate insights into decision-making to see real value.

Hopeful Futures For UX Research by James Lang
Despite concerns about AI and democratization, UX research isn’t disappearing but it’s evolving. Future-forward researchers are embracing new skills, focusing on strategy, and championing research ops to ensure their continued impact.

Continuous Design

Design Systems Are Products by Rory Madden
The key is simple: stop focusing on the design system itself, focus on its users. Build for their needs, remove friction, and ensure strong feedback loops.

UX Localization: Adapting User Interfaces For Diverse Cultures by Magnus Eriksen
Effective localization goes beyond translation as it requires adapting visuals, layouts, and interaction patterns to fit cultural norms. Designers who embed cultural awareness into their process create more inclusive, usable experiences across global audiences.

Continuous Development

Reskilling For AI by Joanne Parke
Organisations looking to adopt AI effectively must invest in reskilling teams. Not just with technical tools, but with domain context, data fluency, and critical thinking. A successful transformation hinges on interdisciplinary collaboration and a culture of continuous learning.

The MVP Dilemma: Scale Now Or Scale Later? by Kurt Bittner, Pierre Pureur
Under pressure to deliver quickly, teams often launch MVPs that are either too minimal or lack strategic clarity. A better approach is aligning MVPs to clear learning goals and product hypotheses.

Ready For Global Product Week This October?

Besides the community events, there is also a hand-on training in Dublin!

Transform your team's ability to work collaboratively across departments. Join me in Dublin this October 2025 for a one-day, hands-on workshop that will revolutionize how you approach product development. Whether you're a Product Manager, UX Researcher, or Designer, this course will help you break down silos and create seamless collaboration between product, design, and development teams.

By the end of this course, you’ll walk away with practical strategies to implement cross-functional ways of working, enhance communication, and improve your team’s ability to achieve business goals. Learn how to implement real-time transparency, plan strategically, and run effective product reviews to drive team success.

Don't miss out, register today and join us in Dublin to accelerate your team’s performance!

FREE COMMUNITY EVENTS 

Check out more upcoming community events 

Video of the Week
A Digital Transformation Story within the
World's Largest Bureaucracy

In this week’s video, Adam Furtado, Chief Product Officer at Kessel Run / U.S. Air Force, shares his groundbreaking approach to transforming a government organization into an agile powerhouse. Through the Kessel Run project, Adam and his team have reduced the typical 8-year product development cycle to just 124 days. This talk delves into the challenges of implementing Agile in a Waterfall-driven government environment and the lessons learned from overcoming constraints.

If you're curious about how large organizations can achieve agility, Adam’s insights into overcoming resistance, managing complexity, and structuring teams for success will inspire you to rethink what’s possible in your own projects. Watch now for a masterclass on adapting Agile principles to any environment:

The Results of Last Week’s Poll

The question: Do you have a CoE model for Research or Design?

This week’s poll shows that most organizations have some form of Research or Design CoE, but it’s rarely straightforward. 55% of respondents report having a CoE but facing challenges, while 34% operate with decentralized skills. Only 11% don’t have these skills at all, and none felt their CoE was running perfectly.

These results highlight that while CoEs can provide structure and support, implementing them effectively remains a common challenge. If your team is looking to strengthen collaboration and skill-sharing across Research and Design, our “From a Team of Functions to a Cross-Functional Team” course in Dublin this October can provide practical strategies and frameworks to help you succeed.

Seen an interesting article online? Share it with us and we might feature it in our next issue!
Click here to share an article