Have you ever felt like your design team has so much potential, but it's just not translating into the impact you expect? I’ve seen this problem over and over in my career, and I’ve built a framework to solve it.

 

I help build, scale, and maximize the impact of UX, CX, and product design teams. Over the years, I’ve worked as both a consultant and a full-time leader across various organizations. No matter the setting, one challenge keeps surfacing: the disconnect between design teams and leadership.

 

On one side, you have designers eager to create meaningful, user-centered solutions. On the other, leaders and executives seeking tangible business outcomes. Both groups want the same thing—impact. But what does impact actually mean? That’s where things get tricky. If we aren’t aligned on what impact looks like, we won’t achieve it effectively.

 

Through my experience, I’ve identified a simple equation that determines a design team’s impact:

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Capability × Capacity ÷ Priority = Impact

 

Let’s break it down.

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Capability is all about the design team—what they can do, how well they can do it, and the tools they have access to. It includes:

• Skills: Research, strategy, design, business acumen, and leadership.

• Expertise: How many are learning versus independently executing versus leading.

• Tools: Do they have the right research, prototyping, and collaboration tools? More importantly, do they know how to use them effectively?

 

Capacity refers not only to whether or not there are enough designers, but also considers if each one has enough time, energy, and focus to bring their best work to the table. Even the most skilled team won’t make an impact if they’re stretched too thin.

 

Priority ensures that capability and capacity are being directed toward the right initiatives. We need to ask:

• What are the most critical initiatives aligned with the company’s 1, 3, and 5-year goals?

• What mix of design capabilities does each initiative require?

• How much design capacity does each initiative need? Not all projects are equal, and allocation must be strategic.

 

When there are issues in any of these three areas, impact diminishes. And the more issues, the more they compound.

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How do we diagnose where the problems are? That’s where my Design Impact Assessment comes in. It’s a four-step process:

1. Define & Align on Impact – Establish what impact means for your team and company, how to measure it, and assess the current state.

2. Evaluate Capability – Assess skills, expertise levels, and access to the right tools.

3. Analyze Capacity – Ensure enough designers and bandwidth exist for meaningful contribution.

4. Prioritize Effectively – Align work with business goals, assign the right skills to the right initiatives, and allocate capacity thoughtfully.

 

Once we understand the current state, we create a roadmap to build the ideal future state. This includes specific milestones to develop, grow, and reshape capability, capacity, and priority.

 

When this framework is implemented successfully, both design teams and executives get what they want. Designers feel empowered to make a difference, and leaders see the tangible impact they’ve been looking for.

 

Now, you might be thinking, "This sounds simple." It is—but simple doesn’t mean easy. That’s where I come in.

 

I’ve applied this framework as an FTE at organizations like Lifetime Fitness, RBA, and Best Buy. Through my consultancy (XDGO!), I’ve helped companies like IKEA, Goosehead Insurance, Marathon Health, and Flashtract unlock their design teams’ full potential.

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If you’re ready to unlock the true impact of your design team, let’s talk and start solving this puzzle together."