Resourcing Models

At any time, if you're given headcount, you should have a resourcing plan in place to determine how you'll resource and staff your team. As a design leader, you'll need to ensure your team shape matches the short and longterm goals of your organization. This starts with knowing how you'd allocate 1 or 10 new people at any time.

Resourcing Models

Experience Team Model

  • Ratio: 1:1 (Designer to Product Team)
  • Best for: Product development teams shipping customer-facing products
  • Key benefits:
    • Deep domain expertise development
    • Strong partnership with product and engineering
    • Clear ownership and accountability
    • Faster decision-making and iteration
  • Considerations:
    • May need additional support for platform/infrastructure teams
    • Requires strong design system to maintain consistency
    • Need mechanisms to share learnings across teams

Platform Team Model

  • Ratio: 1:5 (Designer to Platform Teams)
  • Best for: Infrastructure, API, and platform teams
  • Key benefits:
    • Efficient resource utilization
    • Consistent approach across platform teams
    • Shared learning and patterns
  • Considerations:
    • Need clear prioritization mechanisms
    • May require "office hours" or similar support models
    • Focus on developer experience and tooling

Agency Model

  • Ratio: 1:Many
  • Best for: Any team model where design workstreams are formed and handed back to development teams
  • Key benefits: Focus on delivery and speed.
  • Considerations: May not allow for discovery/dual-track, mercenaries instead of missionaries.

UX Research Team

  • Ratio: 1:10 (Researcher to Designers)
  • Structure Types:
    1. Centralized Model
      • Dedicated research team serving all product areas
      • Consistent methodology and tooling
      • Strong research practice development
    2. Embedded Model
      • Researchers assigned to specific product areas
      • Deep domain expertise
      • Closer alignment with product teams
    3. Hybrid Model
      • Core team for methodology and tooling
      • Embedded researchers for key product areas
      • Flexible resourcing for project needs

Research Focus Areas

  1. Design Research (Evaluative)

    • Works closely with product teams
    • Focuses on usability and design validation
    • Provides rapid feedback loops

  2. Foundational Research (Generative)

    • Explores future opportunities
    • Conducts market and user behavior studies
    • Informs product strategy and roadmap

  3. Research as a Service

    • Improving research practice within product development teams or models where everyone is a researcher

Design System Team

  • Ratio: 1:40 (Design System Designer to Product Designers)
  • Structure: Typically includes:
    • Visual Designer(s): Own aesthetic direction
    • Interaction Designer(s): Own component behavior
    • Frontend Developer(s): Implementation and maintenance
  • Key responsibilities:
    • Enable speed and consistency across multiple teams with shared assets and resources for designers and developers
    • Create, document, and evolve components and patterns
    • Support adoption across teams

Design Operations

  • Ratio: 1:12 (DesignOps to Designers)
  • Focus areas:
    • Process optimization
    • Tool management and governance
    • Resource planning and allocation
    • Budget management
    • Team health and engagement

Implementing a Service Layer

Design-as-a-Service Model

This approach helps teams without dedicated design resources while maintaining quality and consistency.

Key Components:

  1. Clear Request Process

    • Intake form or ticket system
    • Criteria for what constitutes a design request
    • SLA expectations

  2. Prioritization Framework

    • Impact assessment criteria
    • Urgency evaluation

  3. Delivery Models

    • Quick consultations
    • Project-based support
    • Office hours
    • Design reviews

Research-as-a-Service Model

Similar to design services, but focused on research support for teams without dedicated researchers.

Components:

  1. Research Request Framework

    • Study objectives and scope
    • Timeline and resource needs
    • Expected deliverables

  2. Research Methods Library

    • Templates for common studies
    • Self-service tools and guides
    • Best practices documentation

  3. Support Types

    • Research planning consultation
    • Methodology review
    • Data analysis support
    • Workshop facilitation

Making Resourcing Decisions

Key Questions to Consider

  1. What is the nature of the work?

    • Customer-facing vs. internal
    • Strategic vs. tactical
    • Ongoing vs. project-based
    • Research needs and timing

  2. What is the required expertise level?

    • Domain knowledge requirements
    • Technical complexity
    • Strategic importance
    • Research methodology expertise

  3. What are the collaboration needs?

    • Cross-functional dependencies
    • Geographic distribution
    • Communication requirements
    • Research and design integration

  4. What are the business constraints?

    • Budget limitations (fixed headcount vs contract)
    • Timeline requirements
    • Quality expectations
    • Research tool costs

Growing teams

As design teams grow, their resourcing needs evolve:

  • 1-30 designers: Focus on strong core team and basic processes
  • 31-50 designers: Introduce specialized roles and formal processes
  • 51-200 designers: Establish centers of excellence and shared services
  • 200+ designers: Complex matrix organization with multiple service layers