Overview

I established the design system foundation for Software AG’s Digital Business Platform (DBP) to ensure a consistent and seamless user experience across its diverse product ecosystem. This initiative set the groundwork for unified design and development practices, improving efficiency and brand consistency.

CONTEXT

Software AG, a 50-year-old enterprise software company, has a vast portfolio of products—some developed in-house, others acquired. This diversity led to inconsistencies in design, interaction patterns, and development practices, resulting in fragmented user experiences across webMethods products.

As webMethods expanded into cloud platforms, the need for a unified experience became a priority. Addressing these inconsistencies required a scalable and structured approach to introduce a design language that could evolve with the company's growth.

Approach

1. Gaining stakeholder buy-in

Conducted a UX audit across all webMethods products to highlight inconsistencies. Presented findings to stakeholders to secure alignment and approval. Assembled a small core team of four designers to kick off the project.

2. Collaborative design strategy

• Facilitated a design strategy workshop with the UX team to identify pain points and product requirements.
• Encouraged co-creation, allowing UX designers to contribute ideas on colors, typography, and components.

3. Cross team alignment

• Partnered with product teams to ensure the design language (DL) aligned with technical constraints and business needs.
• Worked closely with developers to define feasible implementation strategies.

4. Prioritizing deliverables

Given release deadlines, we categorized and prioritized components for incremental rollout. Focused on core foundational elements first:

• Fonts, color palette, and typography
• Product logos, Header, footer, main navigation
• Basic form components, login & registration screens

5. Release strategy & implementation

• Developed the first version of the Design System libraries in iWiki/Confluence due to limited front-end development resources.
• Mapped out application use cases to define update priorities.
• Go-Live Initiative: Stakeholders allocated one dedicated week for all teams to integrate Level One components, with our team providing documentation, training, and real-time support.

Outcome

Internal impact

• Improved cross-team collaboration: The UX team gained trust and influence across product teams, fostering stronger partnerships with engineering.
• Leadership recognition: Stakeholders saw the tangible impact of a unified design approach, leading to increased investment in UX.
• Scaling the initiative: By 2018, the company hired additional resources to expand Delite Design System beyond Level One.
• Design System Evolution: Initially housed in Confluence, it later matured into a dedicated Design System Portal with design tokens for seamless implementation.

External impact

• Development efficiency: Pre-built components and standardized styles reduced development time significantly.
• Brand consistency: Created a cohesive, recognizable brand experience across all applications.
• Enhanced UX: Standardized patterns improved usability and minimized friction for end users.
• Accessibility compliance: Boosted accessibility scores, ensuring an inclusive user experience.
• Customer feedback: Small UX improvements released in every iteration led to positive feedback from customers, especially those using multiple products.

Personal growth & leadership

This project was a turning point in my career, shaping my leadership skills and ability to drive large-scale design initiatives. Key takeaways:

• Strategic Leadership: Led the design system vision, defined the roadmap, and influenced company-wide adoption.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Improved communication and trust between design and engineering teams.
• Incremental Change Management: Demonstrated how small, steady UX improvements could drive long-term transformation.
• Design System Evangelism: Transitioned from Lead Product Designer to Design System Evangelist, mentoring teams and guiding the system’s evolution. Help team to design complex component such as dynamic data tables and more.

The Delite Design System started as a small initiative and evolved into a scalable, self-serve design framework that continues to enhance Software AG’s product ecosystem.