Manan Vicky Patel

About

Case Study: Figma Template Part 1

Transforming Product Design Workflows at Workday

Create scalable ways of working within the UX design organization and beyond.

Role

Project Lead & Co-Owner

Team

1x Designer

Timeline

8 Months

Challenges

Conflicting Priorities
Workday Rising Requests

Conflicting Priorities
Workday Rising Requests

Background

Each Design File Followed Its Own Structure

As a UX Program Manager at Workday, I supported designers in creating alignment with product managers and development engineers. Across status meetings, design reviews, and handoff meetings, one pattern stood out: no two design files were the same, making it challenging to navigate different files. This recurring challenge pushed me to investigate the pain points stakeholders faced throughout the product development lifecycle.

Problem Space

A Multitude of Challenges

This section highlights the many challenges that stemmed from the larger structural issue.

Challenges

Designers

Product Managers

Engineers

Leaders

Difficulty in collaboration since every designer sets up their files differently.

Unknowingly use outdated design system assets if the UI kit hasn't been updated.

Difficulty in overall navigation of design files.

Decisions often go unlogged, making it difficult to track the background of key decisions.

The absence of an executive summary in a project file often causes confusion in others’ files, especially when features are being updated or revisited for new releases.

Inconsistent resource templates lead to extra time spent tracking them down

Unable to determine which designs are the most recent and which are still in progress or outdated.

Unclear which files are ready for development.

Goals

Setting the Foundation

To address the challenges, I set four clear goals to bring consistency and clarity to the design process.

Enable consistency through intuitive project setup
Boost collaboration by improving cross-function usability

Create scalability with a repeatable structure for success
Promote efficiency by centralizing resources and streamlining navigation

Approach

The Blueprint for Change

Our solution came together in four phases, from discover to pilot.

Created initial project requirements

Enable UX Designers to easily collaborate with each other
Enable cross-functional collaboration
Enable discoverability of design work and status of designs
Create a structure for efficient project setup

Created initial project requirements

Enable UX Designers to easily collaborate with each other
Enable cross-functional collaboration
Enable discoverability of design work and status of designs
Create a structure for efficient project setup

Designer interviews & file audit: best practices

Easy to see: flagging designs 'Ready for Dev'
Left panel organization and clear page labels made navigating files effortless
Differentiation of work in progress and final designs
File information: inclusion of an executive summary

Designer interviews & file audit: best practices

Easy to see: flagging designs 'Ready for Dev'
Left panel organization and clear page labels made navigating files effortless
Differentiation of work in progress and final designs
File information: inclusion of an executive summary

Designer interviews & file audit: best practices

Easy to see: flagging designs 'Ready for Dev'
Left panel organization and clear page labels made navigating files effortless
Differentiation of work in progress and final designs
File information: inclusion of an executive summary

Built v1 with a design partner

Templatized the file for easy project startup
Improved file structure with clear labels
Built-in instructions on how to use
Executive summary with thumbnail instructions
Added resources to the file itself

Built v1 with a design partner

Templatized the file for easy project startup
Improved file structure with clear labels
Built-in instructions on how to use
Executive summary with thumbnail instructions
Added resources to the file itself

Conducted a 6-month pilot program

Created a centralized Slack channel for pilot leaders to stay in touch
Provided guidance on the types of projects the template should be used
Provided a 6-month timeline

Conducted a 6-month pilot program

Created a centralized Slack channel for pilot leaders to stay in touch
Provided guidance on the types of projects the template should be used
Provided a 6-month timeline

Pilot Program Deep Dive

Documented high level background and simple pilot instructions to keep teams focused (avoiding information overload)
Extended the timeline to account for holidays, PTO, and full design cycles, with updates shared directly in Slack
Shared focus areas:
- File structure and organization aligned with users' mental model
- Utilization of file labels for private and public
- Usefulness of in-file resources
- Overall ease of use, ensuring adoption

Pilot Program Deep Dive

Documented high level background and simple pilot instructions to keep teams focused (avoiding information overload)
Extended the timeline to account for holidays, PTO, and full design cycles, with updates shared directly in Slack
Shared focus areas:
- File structure and organization aligned with users' mental model
- Utilization of file labels for private and public
- Usefulness of in-file resources
- Overall ease of use, ensuring adoption