I recently stepped into a leadership role as a Product Design Lead in an organization where structure is central to how work gets done.
That shift changed my responsibilities overnight.
My role no longer ended in Figma files and prototypes. It now extends into design operations, performance management, documentation, and also team accountability. One of my first major tasks in this new role was defining how members of my team (designers) will be measured.
This is where things got interesting, because measuring design is not as straightforward as measuring sales or engineering velocity. For more context, Sales has revenue targets, and Engineering has sprint velocity or even story points, but Design does not have an obvious numeric equivalent. Our general performance structure was built around three perspectives:
- Internal Process
- Learning and Growth
- Customer Focused
Some of the first metrics used include (options 4 & 5 were introduced by me):
Indicator #1: Document Design Process per Feature
Description – For every new feature, produce a structured documentation flow covering requirements gathering, sketches, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes.
Indicator #2: Create Product Manuals and Templates:
Description – Develop product manuals, brochures, and communication templates within a defined timeline. Ensure clarity and brand consistency for both internal and external stakeholders.
Indicator #3: Design Delivery Rate and Accuracy:
Description – Maintain at least a 95 percent on-time design delivery rate with minimal revision cycles. Track timeline adherence and iteration accuracy per sprint.
Indicator #4: Collaboration and Feedback Score:
Description – Maintain an average rating of at least 4 out of 5 from PMs and developers on clarity and handoff quality.
Indicator #5: Product Documentation and Showcase:
Description – Publish two case-study-style product articles per quarter, highlighting process, decisions, and outcomes.
At first glance, these felt solid because they were measurable, had structure, and were Objective enough to apply to every member of the team.
But something was missing because design is not only about output.
Thoughts:
It is about thinking. It is about clarity. It is about ownership.
When I observed how my team operated under these initial KPIs, I noticed improvement opportunities in two areas:
- Designers were executing well but not always framing the problem deeply.
- Designers were completing assigned flows but rarely initiating improvements outside their assigned scope.
The metrics were rewarding completion, But not initiative.
They were measuring delivery, But not depth.
To address this, we’ve now evolved our KPI structure and introduced two new indicators (listed below) while taking out a few outdated ones.
Indicator #1: Problem Framing and Research Synthesis
Description – Each designer must produce a structured research report for at least one product within the review period. This report should:
- Define the core problem clearly
- Highlight gaps in the current experience
- Provide improvement recommendations backed by insight
- This shifts designers from “UI executors” to “product thinkers.”
Indicator #2: Initiative and Ownership in Design Execution
Description — Each designer must independently identify and design at least one unassigned product flow or feature per half-year. From problem definition to review-ready design.
This metric does something subtle but powerful.
- It encourages proactive behavior.
- It builds ownership culture.
- It reduces dependency on constant assignment from leads.
- And most importantly, it signals that designers are responsible for product quality, not just their assigned task.
My Lessons So Far
Stepping into this role has forced me to see design from a new lens.
Before, my focus was craft, Now, my focus is leverage. I’ve learnt that Good and maybe even SMART KPIs do three things:
- They reward the behavior you want repeated.
- They make invisible thinking visible.
- They shape culture over time.
If your KPIs only measure speed and output, you will build a fast team.
If your KPIs measure clarity, ownership, and synthesis, you will build leaders.
And in growing organizations, especially in emerging markets where structure is still evolving, that distinction matters.
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Thank you for reading.
