WORKING AT DELL
During my time at Dell Technologies, I engaged in daily collaboration with teams spread across the globe. As a Product Designer, my primary responsibility was developing the Dell Design System. I contributed across all stages of component development, encompassing research, design, and documentation.
Operating within two-week sprints, I actively participated in daily Standups, Pre-Iteration Product Meetings, Iteration Product Meetings, and Team Retrospectives.
Design considerations incorporated aspects such as accessibility, globalization, and developer constraints. I collaborated closely with accessibility specialists within the organization and utilized various tools to guarantee the accessibility of my designs.
When incorporating components into the Dell Design System, I had to account for the thousands of internal users who would rely on these designs in their daily tasks. This involved assessing the existing design system, studying other design systems, and considering various use cases.
I'll outline three components that I collaborated on: Tooltip, Dropdown, and Table components. For each component, I'll provide artifacts and key highlights of my contributions. To begin, let's delve into the Pie Chart component. You can explore my case study on the Pie Chart by clicking here.
Operating within two-week sprints, I actively participated in daily Standups, Pre-Iteration Product Meetings, Iteration Product Meetings, and Team Retrospectives.
Design considerations incorporated aspects such as accessibility, globalization, and developer constraints. I collaborated closely with accessibility specialists within the organization and utilized various tools to guarantee the accessibility of my designs.
When incorporating components into the Dell Design System, I had to account for the thousands of internal users who would rely on these designs in their daily tasks. This involved assessing the existing design system, studying other design systems, and considering various use cases.
I'll outline three components that I collaborated on: Tooltip, Dropdown, and Table components. For each component, I'll provide artifacts and key highlights of my contributions. To begin, let's delve into the Pie Chart component. You can explore my case study on the Pie Chart by clicking here.
TOOLTIP COMPONENT
I researched various design systems to understand the prevalent practices across different industries for tooltips. I explored similar components, identifying both the shared characteristics and the distinctions that differentiate a tooltip from a popover.
To justify incorporating a table within the component, I needed to validate its usage in data visualization to persuade other designers on the team.
I presented specific use case scenarios where a table within the tooltip significantly enhanced user comprehension and interaction. By illustrating real-world examples where a table was necessary for effective data communication, I made a compelling case for its inclusion.
While designing the tooltip, considerations were made for accessibility and touchscreen triggers. It was necessary to illustrate how the tooltip would be shown on a mobile device.
From my research, I determined if the tooltip is triggered by touch, it will have the option to tap on a close button. This is unique to touchscreen devices.
This feature led to much debate over distinguishing a tooltip from a popover component that always has a close button. It was ultimately decided that if the tooltip was triggered by tapping, it would need to be dismissed by tapping.
This feature led to much debate over distinguishing a tooltip from a popover component that always has a close button. It was ultimately decided that if the tooltip was triggered by tapping, it would need to be dismissed by tapping.
Shown below is the final documentation for the Tooltip Component. My objective was twofold: to craft a Simple tooltip catering to general use cases and to create a Data tooltip tailored for data visualization purposes.
DROPDOWN COMPONENT
Following a comprehensive review of other design systems and various use cases for the Dropdown Component, I opted to include single-select, multi-select, and filterable variants.
Leveraging existing components, I designed the new component shown below. After all the reviews for accessibility, globalization, and handoff to developers, the Dropdown Component was released.
THINGS I LEARNED
1. Talk to developers early and often.
2. Document your reasons for everything.
3. How and when to pivot.
4. How to organize my work.