Case Study

Empower by Design: Establishing a Scalable, Designer-Led UX Process with Measurable Impact

A unique approach to UX team enablement through structured autonomy, real-time tracking, and multi-location scalability.
  • Role: UX Manager / UX Lead
  • Company: Yum! Brands
  • Team: I led the effort as the sole UX Manager, working alongside 5 Product Designers and a cross-functional team of Engineers, Product Managers, and Business Analysts.
  • Duration: 4 months
  • Scope: This project spanned UX leadership across research, strategy, stakeholder alignment, phased process redesign, and rollout to broader multi-location teams.

Some details and visuals have been redacted or adapted to protect proprietary information. The case study emphasizes leadership approach and outcomes over exact designs.

Horisontal infographic showing key UX process transformation outcomes: JIRA automation linked to design stages; delivery time reduced from 244 to 88 days; centralized FigJam documentation hub; weekly design team syncs and retros; process scaled to multi-location teams.

Summary at glance

A snapshot of what was achieved through this custom, scalable UX process transformation.

🔄 JIRA Automation

Dynamic workflows based on UX stages; auto-generated tickets with Definitions of Done, Steps, Templates, and Best Practices

🧭 Design Process Framework

Standardized across 5 core stages (Kickoff → Research → Design → Handoff → Validation  ) with clear checkpoints and sign-offs

🧠 Centralized Knowledge Hub

FigJam workspace storing project timelines, research summaries, and design links in one source of truth

🤝 Design Team Enablement

Weekly team syncs and structured retros to align, reflect, and iterate collaboratively

📉 Time-to-Delivery Improvement

Reduced average delivery time from 244 days to 88 days.

Improved delivery time based on limited historical data; exact figures may vary by project scope.

 

😀 Engineer Satisfaction Score

Informal feedback rated around 8.4/10, with engineers noting smoother handoffs and better design clarity.

🌍 Scalability

Process extended across multi-location product teams with ongoing playbook evolution

1. The Challenge: Navigating Ambiguity and Stress

Our team was running into predictable chaos:

  • Designs were behind

  • Steps were unclear

  • Managers became bottlenecks

  • Feedback came too late

  • Stakeholders had no visibility

This wasn’t just a process gap,  it was a growth ceiling. We needed a unique process that worked for our team size, tools, time constraints, and culture: not a one-size-fits-all industry framework.

Screenshot showing a Slack conversation between cross-functional team members discussing design versioning confusion. Messages reveal uncertainty over which screen version to implement, concerns about developer misunderstanding, and discussion of icon placement. A blurred Figma preview is partially visible on the left, representing the overlapping design assets that led to misalignment

2. Phase 1: Grounding in Reality

I didn’t jump to solutions. Instead, I grounded the process change in real-world insights:

  • Audited 3 past projects to identify delays and decision bottlenecks

  • Conducted informal 1:1s with Engineers, PMs, BAs

  • Explored previous retor meetings to map frustrations and improvement ideas

3. Phase 2: Co-Creating the Solution

Rather than imposing a rigid, top-down process, I facilitated a collaborative approach that involved not only the design team but also stakeholders and engineers: ensuring the process would be both embraced and effective across disciplines.

We worked through:

  • A structured Retro workshop with the full team

  • Open discussions about the balance between autonomy and alignment, especially in cross-functional work

  • Workshops and 1:1s with engineers and PMs to understand what they need from the design process to build confidently and efficiently

  • Shared definition of what a scalable process should enable: predictability, visibility, and team trust

💡 Key Insight:

The team wasn’t asking for more control or micromanagement: they wanted clarity, shared expectations, and reduced rework.
Engineers emphasized the importance of timely handoffs, structured documentation, and being involved early in the process, while stakeholders wanted greater visibility and confidence in delivery timelines.

4. Phase 3: Building the UX Operating System

The process was transformed into a trackable, repeatable system with strong team alignment:

✅ What Was Implemented:

  • JIRA Automation: New tickets are auto-created when the previous stage is completed

  • Definitions of Done: Each stage (Kickoff, Research, Design, Handoff, Validation) has its own DoD and templates

  • Checkpoints: Each phase includes a sign-off step with clear owner responsibility

  • Knowledge Hub in FigJam: Every project now has a centralized page with:

    • Research summaries

    • Project timelines

    • Links to designs and specs

 

Side-by-side visual of two design process stages showing structured goals, Definitions of Done, and key alignment steps. The left side focuses on the research phase, outlining research objectives, findings, and stakeholder sharing. The right side highlights the design delivery phase, including requirements for high-fidelity Figma files, accessibility standards, and multi-role reviews for sign-off.

5. Results That Speak

🏆 Delivery Time Improvement

244 → 88 days (based on available data; note: historical projects varied in scope)

Significant trend toward shorter cycles and earlier feedback.

🏆 Higher Engineer Satisfaction

Approx. 8.4/10 from feedback collected in survey and and syncs

🏆 Better Team Alignment

Increased engagement in weekly syncs, more proactive stakeholder participation

By translating these improvements into measurable business terms: reduced delivery cycles, higher satisfaction, and better alignment, the design process project demonstrates clear ROI.

Faster cycles lower operational costs, happier teams deliver higher-quality outcomes, and improved alignment drives efficiency across product development.

6. Next steps: Scaling to Multi-Location Teams

Following strong internal feedback and initial success, we’ve begun scaling the process to additional product teams across multiple locations. This expansion is currently underway and shaped by the unique needs of each new team.

To support a broader rollout, we’re now:

  • Running tailored onboarding sessions for distributed and remote teams

  • Developing a Design Process Playbook to ensure shared understanding while allowing local flexibility

  • Introducing async templates and check-in rituals to support time zone independence

  • Gathering feedback continuously to adapt and evolve the framework based on real usage and cross-team input

What I Learned

This project taught me that process design is not about control — it’s about clarity, trust, and enablement. As a UX leader, my role wasn’t to dictate steps, but to create a system that supported designers, engineers, and stakeholders in working better together.

Key Takeaways:

  • Co-creation unlocks buy-in: The best process isn’t handed down: it’s built with the people who use it. Bringing in designers, engineers, and PMs early gave us not just alignment, but ownership.

  • Structure doesn’t kill creativity, it protects it: Having defined stages, clear expectations, and templates didn’t limit innovation – it gave teams the space to think deeply without operational chaos.

  • Stakeholder visibility matters as much as design quality: A good design process includes clear touchpoints for input, check-ins, and shared understanding, not just handoffs.

  • Scalability requires flexibility: As we scaled to new locations and teams, I realized the process needed to adapt, not be copy-pasted. Supporting diverse teams means designing a living system.

  • Leadership is about stewardship: My role evolved from process architect to ecosystem caretaker: continuously gathering feedback, reinforcing habits, and enabling others to lead within the framework.