Bridg(ing) the Gap: Enhancing Communication for Effective Design System Adoption in Multidisciplinary Teams
摘要
As digital product ecosystems grow in complexity, ensuring visual consistency and efficient collaboration across teams becomes increasingly challenging. At Altice Labs, internal communication gaps between the design and development teams hindered the proper implementation and adoption of their Design System (BDS). This study explores strategies to improve the communication of Design System changes by focusing on internal documentation practices, semantic versioning, and communication workflows. Using a qualitative, inductive case study methodology, the research included direct observations, semi-structured interviews with seven participants, and benchmarking of industry Design Systems. The findings identified that a lack of structured communication processes within the design team often translated into inconsistent implementations and rework by developers. To address this, several strategies were proposed: restructuring documentation on Confluence, introducing an impact/frequency matrix for communicating changes, applying semantic versioning principles, and offering real-world examples of change communication. The validation phase showed strong alignment with team needs, enhancing overall efficiency and adoption confidence. This paper offers a practical framework for organizations facing similar cross-functional communication challenges in Design System implementation. The proposed processes not only increased internal clarity but also paved the way for a scalable, sustainable design governance approach.