Implementing a design system is a significant undertaking, and the first step towards building it is to understand the current system in place. Regardless of whether the organization is new or established, the inventory of interface components serves as a roadmap for designing the product.
Since each organization has a unique design system, it is essential to start by asking basic questions that help to understand the needs of the product and the users.
Before starting a design system, an organization should consider the following basic questions:
- What are the goals of the design system? What do we hope to achieve with it?
- Who is the intended audience for the design system? Is it for internal or external use?
- What are the current design challenges and pain points that the design system is intended to solve?
- How will the design system be implemented and maintained?
- Who will be responsible for design system development and upkeep?
- What are the existing design assets and resources that can be leveraged for the design system?
- How will the design system be integrated with existing systems and processes within the organization?
- Does our organization support internationalization?
- Which interactions are critical for the business requirement?
- Which components are most frequently used?
An effective technique to simplify understanding of organizational or product requirements is to ask the right questions, which breaks down the information into smaller, more manageable pieces.
