When I started at PointClickCare designers had to constantly detach components from the sketch library we used back then so they can use components appropriately in our products. There were no guidelines in place, and interactions were not consistent across different products. Building a design system catered to specific needs of health care software users is more complicated than I ever imagined. I had the oppurtunity to work on both design guidelines and a component library in sketch along with other team members.
This one needs no convincing for designers. But there are benefits a design system has for users
Accelerate time to value for users
Eliminate inconsistencies in UX
Ensures all products are accessible
Reduce time and cost spent on training
Front end engineers are the ones that create UI components. I had the chance to conduct some user research interviewing some of our front end developers and learn about a day in their lives. I wanted to get to bottom of what they need from our design system guidelines. I learned that engineers can benefit from a design system because it helps them
Stop code and component duplication
Create modular, reusable components that share the same enhancements
Make development easier and less time consuming
The results of these interviews were synthesized, and gave the UX team a better idea on how to write components guidelines
