Lead DesignOps, Jun 2022 – May 2023

Mastering the Menu

<aside> ✨ Key highlights

• Introduced team-building programs including Figma game sessions, monthly meetups, and weekly co-working days to foster team unity.

• Developed Notion templates and trained Lead and Senior designers to enhance communication efficiency in new projects.

• Crafted a DesignOps menu for clarity on operational assistance, promoting transparency and support.

• Identified inefficiency in meetings, saving 10 work hours per employee monthly.

• Established mechanisms for smooth communication of strategic changes, keeping the entire team aligned. </aside>

• Table of Contents

Leading Design Operations Like a Kitchen Porter

Stepping into LottieFiles as Lead Design Operations felt like walking into a fast-paced kitchen filled with 30 talented chefs. Just like a Kitchen Porter, I was there to coordinate, clean up, and bring order to the creative chaos. "In a virtual kitchen stretching from Malaysia to Singapore, my role was to turn confusion into collaboration, transforming a group of individual designers into a united and thriving team." The challenges were hot, the pace was relentless, but I had the recipe for success, and I was ready to cook.

"I traded familiarity for adventure, leaving my role at airasia to explore the operations realm—a journey guided by natural talent and a desire to excel.” — Riz

Facing Challenges Head-On and Fueling Growth at LottieFiles

LottieFiles is no ordinary company. With staff spread across the globe and a design team firmly rooted in Malaysia, the company thrives in a fully remote environment. The team lead, based in Singapore, orchestrates the harmony. But even the best-laid plans can face hurdles, and the design team at LottieFiles was no exception, much like a bustling kitchen where every chef plays a crucial role.

1. Diverse Roles and Rapid Growth: With 30 designers, each with different roles and responsibilities, coordination was a real challenge. Imagine a kitchen with 30 chefs, each an expert in a different dish. Coordination is essential but challenging. This complexity only grew as the team tripled in size in a single year. More people meant more ideas, but also more potential for confusion.
2. Communication Issues: Working remotely has its benefits, but communication isn't always one of them. Misunderstandings arose. It's like taking orders over a noisy phone line. Messages got lost in translation. The tools that were supposed to help – Notion, Figma, Figjam, Pitch, Slack, Telegram, Midjourney, OpenAI – sometimes made things more complicated instead of simpler.
3. Lack of Experience with Operations: The designers were experts in their fields but novices when it came to company operations. They were much like master chefs who've never planned a full menu. They had the talent but needed guidance to align with the company's goals.
4. Inefficient Processes and Too Many Meetings: Time is precious, but it seemed to be slipping away. The design processes were slow, and there were too many meetings. Imagine spending more time talking about work than actually doing it. Something had to change.