From Chaos to DesignOps

How I scaled design across teams on Astore Suite (ACCOR)

When I joined the Astore Suite project at Accor, the challenge was clear: multiple product teams, parallel features, tight deadlines and no shared way of working. Design files were scattered, research lived in slide decks, decisions were lost in meetings, and nobody had a single source of truth.

This wasn’t a design problem.
It was an operations problem.
So I built a DesignOps system to bring order, speed, and clarity across teams.

The Problem

• Work was duplicated across teams

• UX decisions were not traceable

• Research wasn’t reused

• Design and delivery were misaligned

• Stakeholders lacked visibility

• Designers were firefighting instead of designing →We needed a system and not more meetings.
  
  

The DesignOps Approach

My strategy was simple: structure + visibility + traceability.
I built an operational ecosystem using Figma + FigJam + Condens + Teams automation, all ruled by a Discovery Discipline Framework to ensure user-centered decisions.

1. Figma – Design System & Delivery Structure

I organized design at scale by:
• Building a Design System library (components + tokens + guidelines)
• Structuring Figma files by product domains
• Creating templates for delivery (UI kit, UX specs, flows, annotations)
• Adding versioning and component governance

Impact: Faster delivery + consistent UI across squads + easier dev integration.

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2. FigJam – Decision and Documentation Hub

Instead of documentation getting lost, I centralized it in FigJam:
• User flows per feature
• Problem framing maps (Discovery workshops)
• Design decisions logged and linked to Jira
• Specs for handoff (behavior rules, edge cases, data notes)

Impact: No more chaos. Everyone could see why and how a feature was built.

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3. Condens – Research & UX Knowledge Base

I stopped losing research by implementing Condens:
• All UX research stored and tagged by feature/module
• User interviews + usability tests + insights centralized
• UX deliverables attached to evidence
• Searchable repository → no more “Didn’t we test this already?”

Impact: Decisions backed by evidence. Discovery became a continuous practice.

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4. Teams + Automation – Sharing at Scale

To avoid siloed knowledge, I connected Condens → Microsoft Teams via API:
• Automated UX insight reports to product teams
• Stakeholders received digest summaries per feature
• Design became transparent and visible

Impact: Alignment without extra meetings.

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5. Workflows & Rituals

I built simple, repeatable processes:
• Design runs one sprint ahead of development
• Weekly design reviews for alignment
• Discovery loops before every feature
• Handoff checklist for smooth delivery

Impact: Predictable delivery. Fewer surprises. Less chaos.

Measurable Outcomes

• –40% design rework thanks to traceable decisions

• +60% reuse of UX knowledge via Condens

• –30% delivery friction between design and dev

• Consistent UI across 6+ product modules

Final Takeaway

DesignOps is not documentation or process. It’s enablement.
It helps teams design faster with clarity, make decisions with evidence, and collaborate without chaos.
Tools don’t scale design. Systems do.