Elevating Design Quality Across a Matrix Organization
As digital products scale and cross-functional teams diversify, maintaining a consistent and high-quality user experience becomes more complex—but also more critical. This Design Quality Initiative aims to establish shared standards, processes, and accountability around design excellence across our matrixed organization. By aligning around a common framework, we enable designers, engineers, and product managers to deliver cohesive, accessible, and outcome-driven user experiences—regardless of team structure or project scope.
This initiative is not just about visual polish—it’s about embedding quality into every layer of product development. From usability and accessibility to strategic alignment and implementation readiness, this framework supports teams in making informed, consistent decisions that improve both user satisfaction and business impact. Whether you're evaluating a new feature or refining an existing flow, this approach provides the clarity and tools to raise the bar—together.
Soft skills - invest in your people, grow knowledge, skills efficency, motivation = quality
Products reflect the teams who design and build them.
Time - in
Why = Purpose
insert text
How = The Process
What = The Result
insert text
How = The Process
What = The Result
Industry Frameworks
Design quality frameworks help teams assess and maintain high standards across user experiences, ensuring consistency, usability, and alignment with business goals. Here are some widely recognized examples of design quality frameworks used across the industry:
1. Google’s HEART Framework
A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Happiness – user attitudes, satisfaction, NPS
Engagement – user interaction frequency and depth
Adoption – new users adopting features or products
Retention – returning users over time
Task Success – efficiency, effectiveness, error rate
Use case: Great for aligning design goals with product KPIs and measuring user experience over time.
2. Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics
A foundational set of usability principles.
Visibility of system status
Match between system and the real world
User control and freedom
Consistency and standards
Error prevention
Recognition rather than recall
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Help and documentation
Use case: Useful for heuristic evaluations and design QA reviews.
3. Jakob Nielsen’s Five Quality Components of Usability
Focuses on core aspects of usability testing:
Learnability
Efficiency
Memorability
Errors (low error rate, recoverability)
Satisfaction
Use case: Good for evaluating product ease-of-use post-release.
4. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) Principles
Apple emphasizes:
Aesthetic integrity
Consistency
Direct manipulation
Feedback
User control
Metaphors
Use case: For native Apple ecosystem products; can also inspire broader product design standards.
5. Design Ops Quality Criteria (Custom/Internal Frameworks)
Many mature orgs create custom frameworks that evaluate design across multiple dimensions, often including:
Accessibility compliance (e.g., WCAG 2.1)
Brand alignment
Design system adherence
Interaction patterns consistency
Research integration
Developer handoff quality
Performance feedback loops (user, designer, product, QA)
Use case: Enterprise teams like IBM, Salesforce, and Atlassian often develop internal versions of these.
Design Quality Rubic
Let's start by outlining a custom Design Quality Rubric that your team can use to evaluate and improve designs across products or features. This framework will combine best practices from industry standards (like HEART and Nielsen) and DesignOps maturity models. I’ll propose a 6-category rubric that’s practical, scalable, and adaptable to your org's priorities.
Let's start by outlining a custom Design Quality Rubric that your team can use to evaluate and improve designs across products or features. This framework will combine best practices from industry standards (like HEART and Nielsen) and DesignOps maturity models. I’ll propose a 6-category rubric that’s practical, scalable, and adaptable to your org's priorities.
Custom Design Quality Rubric (6 Dimensions)
Each dimension can be rated on a 1–5 scale (1 = Needs Improvement, 5 = Excellent), with clear indicators for what “good” looks like.
1. Usability & Accessibility
Are core tasks easy to complete without friction?
Does the design meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards?
Are error messages and recovery paths clear?
Is keyboard and screen reader access supported?
✅ Score 5: All flows are intuitive, accessible, and thoroughly tested with users.
2. Visual & Interaction Consistency
Are visual patterns (components, spacing, colors) consistent with the design system?
Are interaction behaviors predictable and familiar?
Are states (hover, focus, disabled, errors) handled?
✅ Score 5: Full design system alignment and state documentation.
3. Information Architecture & Content Clarity
Is the content structured logically for user goals?
Are labels, headings, and flows clear and jargon-free?
Are localization and content scalability considered?
✅ Score 5: Clear hierarchy, concise language, and ready for scale/globalization.
4. User-Centered Decisions
Is there evidence of user research or data shaping the design?
Were personas, JTBDs, or journey maps referenced?
Are edge cases and diverse user needs considered?
✅ Score 5: Design is rooted in validated user insights with edge cases handled.
5. Feasibility & Developer Readiness
Is the design dev-ready (components, tokens, specs)?
Are responsive behavior and breakpoints defined?
Are interactions/animations documented?
✅ Score 5: Design is implementation-ready, documented, and reviewed with engineers.
6. Strategic Alignment & Outcomes
Does this design align with product or OKR goals?
Are success metrics defined and measurable?
Is there a feedback loop for performance (post-launch analytics, user feedback)?
✅ Score 5: Tied to clear outcomes with measurement and iteration plan.
Implementation and Governance
1. Strategy Plan
A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Framework– user attitudes, satisfaction, NPS
deliverable – user interaction frequency and depth
Establish a baseline -
Training and Onboarding
Link UX role to quality
ORAP
Establish a baseline -
Training and Onboarding
Link UX role to quality
ORAP
a. Owner (Program Owner)
A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Role – user attitudes, satisfaction, NPS
Responsibilities – user interaction frequency and depth
a. Reviewer (Stakeholders)
a. Reviewer (Stakeholders)
A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Role – user attitudes, satisfaction, NPS
Responsibilities – user interaction frequency and depth
a. Approver (Stakeholders)A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Role – user attitudes, satisfaction, NPS
Responsibilities – user interaction frequency and depth
a. Participant (Team)
a. Participant (Team)
A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Role – user attitudes, satisfaction, NPS
Responsibilities – user interaction frequency and depth
Behavorial - UX Point, Respect the dev, Design Crits, Dev reviews, Development Framework (Agile vs Scrum), Dual track Discovery vs Development.
Behavorial - UX Point, Respect the dev, Design Crits, Dev reviews, Development Framework (Agile vs Scrum), Dual track Discovery vs Development.
Tracking and Reporting
A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Reporting Review Cycle – description
Reporting Scorecards – description
Reporting Capture Points and Performance Mapping – How and when do we capture a snapshot of quality tracking to go into a person's Performance Review Document?
Design Quality Lifecycle – which frame works map where across a product cycle. BRDs, UX Design Cycle, Build Reviews etc - Diagram
Functional Signoff for release – individuals, functional leads (Design) signoff process, Poster celebration.
Design Quality Lifecycle – which frame works map where across a product cycle. BRDs, UX Design Cycle, Build Reviews etc - Diagram
Functional Signoff for release – individuals, functional leads (Design) signoff process, Poster celebration.
>> insert table control acceptance scorecards
Tools and Templates
Would you like a template version of this rubric in Notion, Figma, or Google Sheets to use with your team?
Would you like a template version of this rubric in Notion, Figma, or Google Sheets to use with your team?
1. Notion – Design Evaluation Templates
Notion offers a collection of design evaluation templates that can streamline your design review process. These templates provide structured approaches to collect feedback, track revisions, and document design decisions. You can explore the top 9 design evaluation templates in Notion to find one that suits your team's needs. Notion
2. Figma – Design Reviews Template
Figma provides a Design Reviews Template available through the Notion Marketplace. This template allows you to store your design proposals and share them with your teammates to solicit feedback. By using the slash command /figma, you can easily integrate your Figma designs into the Notion workspace. Notion
3. Google Sheets – Evaluation Rubric
For teams that prefer using spreadsheets, there's a Google Docs Evaluation Rubric available on Google Drive. This rubric provides a structured format to assess various aspects of design quality, making it easier to quantify evaluations and track progress over time. Google Docs
Integrating Google Sheets with Figma
If you're interested in integrating Google Sheets data into your Figma designs, you can use the Google Sheets Sync plugin. This plugin allows you to import data from Google Sheets into Figma, enabling dynamic content updates and facilitating data-driven design. For a step-by-step guide on how to use this plugin, you can refer to the tutorial on how to import a Google Sheet into Figma.
Updated saved memory
Great! To get started customizing the design quality rubric for your team, could you tell me a bit about:
Your team structure – Are you primarily working with designers, developers, PMs, or a mix?
How you currently review design work – Is there a formal process in place (like design crits, QA, or tickets)?
Preferred tool – Do you want the rubric in Notion, Google Sheets, or both?
Once I have that, I can deliver a tailored, plug-and-play version for your workflow.
Performance Goals Mapping and Tracking
Insert Template for mapping Design Quality goals and commitments. Qualitive and Quanitative (anidotle). Diagram
Product - UX - Engineering
Insert Template for mapping Design Quality goals and commitments. Qualitive and Quanitative (anidotle). Diagram
Product - UX - Engineering
1. Stakeholder
A user-centered framework for measuring UX quality.
Framework– user attitudes, satisfaction, NPS
deliverable – user interaction frequency and depth
Sample Industry - Job Description
The Sr. Design Program Manager for Design Quality will be part of Devices & Services Design Group's (DDG) Design Strategy, Systems & Operations organization. This role will report into our Sr. Manager of Design Quality, and partner very closely with our Design Program Management and Design Systems team, as well as the Design leaders across Devices & Services to define, operationalize and scale the quality bar across DDG’s major design functions (interaction design, expressions design, research, operations).
This role will be responsible for working with cross organization partners and stakeholders to define various aspects of Design Quality. In order to be successful, this person will need to bring along cross organization stakeholders to gain their buy-in and support for this program. The ideal candidate will exhibit leadership, high judgment, the ability to influence, and exceptional organization and communication skills.
In this role, you will collaborate closely with designers, researchers, engineers, product managers, and other cross functional partners through the definition, rollout and execution of Design Quality mechanisms. You will combine expert program management skills with a passion for user experience to help teams across Devices and Services improve the designs of Amazon’s products and services. You will need to manage communications across levels and organizations within Amazon to train teams on how the mechanisms work, communicate reporting on the impact of the mechanisms, and manage escalations when design is at risk.
Key job responsibilities
This role will be responsible for working with cross organization partners and stakeholders to define various aspects of Design Quality. In order to be successful, this person will need to bring along cross organization stakeholders to gain their buy-in and support for this program. The ideal candidate will exhibit leadership, high judgment, the ability to influence, and exceptional organization and communication skills.
In this role, you will collaborate closely with designers, researchers, engineers, product managers, and other cross functional partners through the definition, rollout and execution of Design Quality mechanisms. You will combine expert program management skills with a passion for user experience to help teams across Devices and Services improve the designs of Amazon’s products and services. You will need to manage communications across levels and organizations within Amazon to train teams on how the mechanisms work, communicate reporting on the impact of the mechanisms, and manage escalations when design is at risk.
Key job responsibilities
Define, implement, and manage cross-functional mechanisms that embed inclusive design practices and improve overall design quality.
Lead change initiatives, driving engagement, and effectively managing challenges to drive successful organizational transformation.
Collaborate with design, product, and engineering leaders to align on shared strategy, goals, and metrics for quality mechanisms.
Lead operational initiatives that support design quality at scale, including planning, training, documentation, and process development.
Proactively identify risks, manage escalations, and make informed trade-offs to support scalable, effective operations.
Develop and scale repeatable, measurable processes and tools that help teams operationalize inclusion.
Create documentation and reporting to communicate progress, impact, and areas of opportunity to stakeholders.
Build strong relationships with cross-functional partners and foster alignment with senior leaders across Devices & Services.
Promote transparency, visibility, and a strong culture of collaboration and shared ownership.
About The Team
The Amazon Devices and Services Design Group (DDG) is a multidisciplinary design team that is responsible for the UX of Echo Family Devices, Alexa Mobile, Fire TV, Fire Tablets and more. DDG’s mission is to bring to life delightful, easy-to-use, and high value experiences for our customers.
Basic Qualifications
The Amazon Devices and Services Design Group (DDG) is a multidisciplinary design team that is responsible for the UX of Echo Family Devices, Alexa Mobile, Fire TV, Fire Tablets and more. DDG’s mission is to bring to life delightful, easy-to-use, and high value experiences for our customers.
Basic Qualifications
7+ years of design experience
Experience understanding needs of business and end customers and translating them into right solutions
Experience building and managing cross-functional programs.
Skilled in creating tools, training, and processes that support team efficiency and design excellence
Preferred Qualifications
Knowledge of human-centered design process
Experience working and contributing to project playbooks, building schedules, managing issues/risks, establishing communication plans and stakeholder management
Familiarity inclusive design principles, accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG), and equity-centered design
Experience driving change in complex, matrixed organizations with distributed design teams
Familiarity with design quality frameworks, design systems, and impact measurement
Experience building communities of practice or enabling behavior change at scale
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.