Moving Fast - PayPal UI 4
A refreshed Design System powering our flagship consumer app release in 4 months
Very aggressive timeline: Kick off Oct 2023 to Public release Jan 25, 2024
Only possible because of the solid Design System foundation we carefully built over years and the full focus of our team to maintain quality in the accelerated schedule
The Challenge
Make big system changes an insane deadline
Directive from new CDO Exec to redesign the DS for native app
Translate the rough concept to real design system
Create beta library for first teams on consumer app
Publish library for rest of the app design teams
Engineering-Design QA on each component
DS Documentation updates
Support January launch, bug bash, QA
Built on a strong foundation
We leveraged our existing design system architecture to move very quickly
Quickly adapted token system to apply base styles - Color, Typography, Grid/Spacing
Prioritized impactful changes, postponed wider efforts like assets (icons/illustrations)
Added template components (new layouts, capabilities)
Strengthened DS documentation
For more of the back story, see case study: DS Evolution.
Full focus sprint
We paused other important projects and collaborative efforts
(-) We paused other important projects and collaborative efforts
(-) We had to minimize support for the existing system and its users
(+) As we worked quickly we had to connect more frequently to make sure we were staying aligned across the system
(+) Product managers helped us prioritize and assign the work
(+) Team reviews were centered around making quick decisions to move things forward
(+) Feedback from leaders was limited so we could avoid churn
My part
We divided up the work and I lead key areas of the project
I updated key components like buttons, avatars, alerts, and form elements
I added support for variables and variant properties
I re-wrote design guidelines for key components
I worked 1:1 with native engineers to QA each update
I helped support training and adoption of the library by the design org
Impressive results
We paused other important projects and collaborative efforts
(We delivered a new DS revision in lightning speed
Delivered the Figma library update in just 3 weeks!
Added guidelines and supported engineering for following 2 weeks
The stars aligned and we delivered our 4.0 library to native app teams, who quickly applied it to their feature screens
Native engineering teams used our revised libraries
Increased adoption of the system through the feature experiences
The new app was ready for the big announcement and public release January 25, 2024
Reflections
Mission Possible
It took a team effort
We had to make big priority decisions to limit scope
We all had to pause other projects to focus
But we did it! Delivered the Figma library update in just 3 weeks
Added guidelines and supported engineering for following 2 weeks
Fastest system iteration in PP history :)
Next time?
I wouldn’t recommend this strategy in the future, yes our team met the deadline, but we also set an expectation that it was wise to rush system work that should be done with care not speed. We had to make compromises that will come back to bite us later.
Better project planning could have allowed us to make better decisions and release the DS on a phased rollout.
Let's connect :)
I can share more about this project when we meet.
