The Design System lifecycle: it’s simply push and pull

How tokens, components, and patterns are pushed and pulled into a living, breathing Design System.

By understanding how Design Systems fit into the wider product development lifecycle, its chances of succeeding are better. You don’t need a dedicated team to start getting its benefits. It’s more than just components, too. I wanted to share how I was able to successfully build out a Design System from scratch, and used a “push/pull” mental model to embed a Design System culture.

Here’s an introduction to Design Systems, that’s friendly for non-designers, if you‘d like a refresher.

A typical product development process

First, let’s recap a typical product development lifecycle, taking more of a Lean UX approach within a team working in sprints.

• As part of your Discovery Process, a new feature or problem is identified, and you’ve validated it’s worth investigating
• Next it goes to Definition and Wireframing. You articulate and agree the problem to be solved, identify barriers, do post-it note based storyboarding, and assemble some rough wireframes
• Next is Design Critique—getting input on this early thinking in a…