Data Dashboard
Product x Design x Engineering Processes
Please note that certain pieces of data and information were redacted for confidentiality, and may display placeholder data.
Overview
Role: Project Owner
Skills: Data Analysis, JQL, Data Visualization, Process Improvement, OKR Goalsetting
After noticing shared pain points in the workflow between Product x Design x Engineering (PDE), I started a research project to identify potential causes, propose process changes, and extrapolate performance metrics measuring the impact of the solutions.
Identifying the problem
#1
Repeated design review failures delaying product release
Front-end tickets were going back and forth between Engineer and Designer due to inconsistencies in build and designs. The repeated call outs added workload for both Design and Engineering, delaying product releases.
Tickets skipping review were retroactively pulled back into progress, adding unexpected time to completion.
#2
Growing design bugs in backlog impacting product consistency & quality
Unaddressed design bugs were piling up, allowing inconsistencies to persist or bloat the backlog once outdated.
More importantly, there was no visibility into increasing inefficiencies and discrepancies.
Understanding the problem
Getting lost in documentation
Engineers often got lost while toggling searching for redlines. Sometimes, an engineering ticket scope encompassed updates across files, leading to further confusion.
Double, triple review standards
Some designers passed and failed design reviews with varying consistency standards.
Additionally, not all tickets requiring design review went through review.
Mismatching bug priorities
Design and Engineering had misaligned resolution urgency for bugs. In an overcorrection, many design bugs were deprioritized and unaddressed for an average of 32 days.
This led to a large accumulation of small inconsistencies that impacted the quality of the product.
Hypotheses
Standardizing design review thresholds & bug severity will lead to consistent review outcomes and reliable resolution times
Improving discoverability of design specifications in design files will lead to greater clarity in development for Engineers
Setting metrics for Engineering x Design workflows will hold teams accountable for their work and help evaluate process changes
Multi-faceted solutions
Design file restructure
Created a universal design file structure with shared documentation practices and centralized redlines to minimize navigation within design files. These standardized workflows were documented in an onboarding resource for new team members.
Design bug triaging
Added design definitions for bug triaging and aligned with Engineering’s expectations of resolution urgency, ensuring that designers reliably prioritized bugs and engineers resolved bugs in a timely manner.
Design bug & review data dashboards
Created a Jira dashboard using JQL filters to capture design bug and review preformance across the company. The metrics informed org-wide quarterly goals and visualized processes.
Next steps
OKRs & Performance Indicators
Metrics from the data dashboard will be used to track cross-team efficiency and output quarterly beginning in 2024. Followed by monthly check-ins, teams will debrief and iterate to continue improving cross-team processes.
Resolved Design Bugs from Backlog
Accountable: Product
Measures the count of bugs pulled into progress. Quantifies efforts to tackle the backlog of neglected design bugs and to build momentum towards product consistency.
Design Review Pass Rate
Accountable: Engineering, Design
Measures the percentage of tickets that pass review in one attempt. Reveals opportunities to improve redline documentation, and brings to attention most common failure reasons for review failure for Engineering.
Hours Spent in Design Review
Accountable: Design
Measures the number of hours a ticket remains in Design Review status (idle or actively reviewed). Allows designers to remain accountable for timely reviews that prevent delays product release.
Average Days for Design Bug Resolution
Accountable: Product, Engineering
Measured from number of days between the creation and resolution of a bug. It quantifies persisting discrepancies between design and implementation.