Designing an Implementation Support Framework for Design Systems
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Industrial design engineering (MPDES), MSc
Publicerad
2020
Författare
Davidsson, Elin
Hennings, Theodor
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
In this study, constructive design research has been used to investigate the
implementation of design systems in organizations. Constructive design research is a
research approach which employs the design process to gather insights and knowledge
in a particular area.
A study has been conducted at the web-development company Universal Avenue. The
aim was to identify the need of the designers and developers to suggest a design system
concept. The aim was also to suggest a generalized framework for how to implement
design systems in other organizations to meet the needs of designers and developers.
A design system can be defined as a collection of elements that will support the
designers and developers in the development process. A design system is an open
system which will need control mechanisms to stay relevant and up to date. The theory
defines the content of a design system in more detail, as well as declaring how design
systems could be designed and when it should be introduced in an organization.
Literature about lean management in relation to design systems was included to
support the construction of the design system framework.
The methods used in this study were benchmarking, observations, interviews, card
sorting, co-creation workshops, and KJ analysis. These methods generated insights
about design systems used in other organizations, as well as insights regarding the
needs of designers and developers at Universal Avenue.
The field study resulted in an exposition of the current working process and design
system at Universal Avenue. It also resulted in the creation of user profiles of the
primary users of the design system. Based on the user’s needs, guidelines for the
creation of a design system were listed. The insights from the field study served as
foundation for the concept creation of Universal Avenue’s new design system, regarding
what it should contain and how it should be implemented. The concept created for
Universal Avenue, together with insights from the literature and the benchmarking
resulted in a generalized implementation support framework for how to implement
design systems in other organizations.
It has been concluded that the most prominent needs of designers and developers
regarding the design system could be linked to the collaboration within and across team
boundaries, as well as to the structure of the code. As a second result of this study, the
main building blocks of a design system could be defined as design elements, guidelines,
and component libraries. Finally, design systems should be implemented as an iterative
process which supports the constant improvement and maintenance of the design
system.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Design Systems, Constructive Design Research, Lean Management , Process Design