Driving a federated contribution model for scalable product growth
I architected a Federative Contribution Model at Suzy that empowered a diverse product design team to co-author a design system. By shifting the system from a centralized artifact into a "shared ownership" asset, I accomplished synchronized growth for both B2B design systems and feature tracks, fostering a culture of collaborative quality that resolved long-standing organizational silos.
Category
Role
Team
Time frame
Tools
Key context
Suzy is a B2B SaaS platform specializing in modular market research. Following five years of hyper-growth, the product suffered from significant "speed over quality" tech debt. As the solo design system designer tasked with immediate implementation across 20+ active feature tracks, I recognized that a centralized "gatekeeper" approach would fail. I established a federated model to enable feature designers to contribute to the global library, ensuring the system evolved at the speed of the product without sacrificing technical integrity.
impacts
100%
library adoption across all active features.
60%
upskilled in designers’ technical fluency score.
30%
reduction in engineering handoff time.
Testimonial placeholder
Name, Role
Deliverable
A federative contribution model comprising three layers of considerations from expertise-based responsibility distribution, decentralization of component library, and dynamic documentation collections that empowered feature designers to maintain global standards within their specific squads.
Describe the image
Describe the image
Project highlights
challenge
Standardizing with Diversity in Expertise
The core challenge was enabling designers with varying strengths to contribute to a central library with identical technical standards and system thinking. I had to build a framework that was accessible to all yet rigorous enough to maintain a high-quality design system standard.
key process
Image label
Strategic Contributor Stewardship
I moved from a "gatekeeper" model to a "strength-based" stewardship. I categorized contributors based on their unique expertise: Technical Builders focused on the architecture and "stress-testing" of components, while UX Logic Stewards served as testers and iterative suggestion providers. This ensured that every asset added to the library was not only a high-standard technical build but was also battle-tested to withstand real-world product experience needs.
Risk-mitigate file architecture
I shifted Suzy Design System away from a centralized library file toward a "Single Asset Per File" strategy. This decentralized structure allowed feature designers to work on isolated components without the risk of breaking the global library, facilitating safer, faster contributions and easier version control.
Image label
Image label
Contextual and Dynamic Education
I transformed static documentation into a living educational program. This included hosting "Design Advocacy" sessions and integrating contribution checklists directly into Slack and Figma workflows, ensuring that governance felt like a supportive resource rather than an administrative hurdle.
success factors
People-Centered Technical Leadership
I prioritized the "Human" side of the system, recognizing that a design system is 20% tools and 80% people. By making every designer feel like an "owner," I ensured the system's long-term sustainability.
Image label
Proactive Debt Stewardship
I integrated "clean-as-you-go" practices into the contribution loop, empowering feature teams to modernize legacy B2C components while building new B2B features.
Image label
Cross-Functional Advocacy
I acted as a bridge between Design and Engineering, ensuring that every design contribution had a corresponding code implementation, neutralizing "design-dev drift" across the organization.
Image label
