What makes a design system win
summary
Shows how a ubiquitous chat assistant ships to 60M users yet bypasses the design system, then flips that failure into adoption by doing specific work: code mods that automate breaking upgrades, clear upgrade guides, regular office hours and hands‑on workshops teaching compound components. Includes measurable outcomes: Slack community grows to ~600 members, demos and workshops reach a large percentage of product teams, and teams move several major versions in under an hour after running the automation. Practical playbook for driving real uptake.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Introduction and personal story
- 3:28Hidden failure of the product
- 8:01Joining the design system team
- 11:34Showing up everywhere
- 15:47Teaching and workshops
- 18:17Release demos and office hours
- 22:13Tracking adoption and growth
- 24:41Code mods and upgrade guides
- 28:53Handling unexpected upgrades
- 34:15Community and celebration
- 35:41What makes a design system win
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