DesignOps is Design with Jose Coronado

Jose Coronado — DesignOps Is Design

Recording 

Passcode: n5VOS0+Q

 

Design operations isn’t just about process—it’s about shaping better products, teams, and organizations from the inside out. José Coronado joins Lou to unpack why DesignOps deserves to be treated as a true design discipline. Drawing on his experience leading global teams at JPMorgan Chase, Target, and beyond, José shares strategies for embedding operational roles into business units, measuring impact, and scaling design without sacrificing quality.

They explore how enterprise UX has evolved since the iPhone, why service design is the right lens for thinking about internal operations, and what it takes to foster effective cross-functional collaboration. The conversation offers a preview of José’s upcoming panel at the 2025 DesignOps Summit—and plenty of practical insights for DesignOps professionals at any stage of their journey.

 

What You'll Learn from this Episode:

• Why José believes DesignOps is design, not just a support role
• How the consumerization of enterprise software changed the game for UX
• What enterprise UX offers that consumer design doesn’t—and why it matters
• How DesignOps leaders can show impact and justify investment
• The role of service design thinking in shaping scalable internal operations
• Key cross-functional challenges when integrating DesignOps, ResearchOps, ContentOps, and ProductOps
• A practical framework for professional development across design teams
• The two main barriers holding back DesignOps pros—and how to overcome them
• Why aligning ops roles with business units (vs. management buckets) can make all the difference
• Resources and thought leaders to follow for career growth in design

 

Quick Reference Guide:

0:10 - Meet Jose 

1:51 - From physical design to digital discovery

3:29 - The complexity (and opportunity) of enterprise UX

7:44 - Why DesignOps IS design

9:16 - Why service design is a good lens for DesignOps

11:57 - The many paths into DesignOps—and who it’s really for

15:37 - Can DesignOps shed its cost center label?

18:04 - The ninth Design Ops Summit – September 10-11, 2025

19:15 - All the Ops: specialization vs. integration

23:49 - Elevating horizontal practices and professional development

28:42 - What holds DesignOps back?

31:18 - Jose’s gift for listeners

Resources and Links from Today's Episode:

Design Ops Summit - September 10-11, 2025 https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-summit/

Tom Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomscottt/

Silke Bochat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bochat/

Lena Kull: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-kul/

Quotes:

“If you can be successful in a complex environment like financial services, a top 10 bank in the world, you can basically take your skills anywhere to any problem.” 

“Design operations is design, full stop.”

“Design operations enables the organization to increase the impact or the efficiency of the processes and the products and services that we put out in the marketplace.”