Start Small, Ship Fast: The Power of Starting with Containers in #DesignSystems

Key Highlights from Taylor Cashdan:

1️⃣ Start with Common Elements:
→ Instead of trying to solve for every use case across multiple teams before delivering, start by shipping the core **container**—the most reusable, foundational part of the component.
→ This incremental approach provides immediate value, saving teams time and effort while laying the groundwork for future iterations.

2️⃣ Avoiding Perfection Paralysis:
→ Many teams fall into the trap of over-engineering a solution to satisfy all potential needs, which can lead to significant delays.
→ By the time the component is ready, teams may have already built their own solutions, resulting in fragmentation rather than alignment.

3️⃣ Incremental Value as a Healthy Practice:
→ It’s perfectly acceptable to ship an MVP version of a component with a clear roadmap for enhancements, allowing teams to adopt and provide feedback early on.
→ This phased approach sets realistic expectations and fosters a collaborative relationship between the design system team and product teams.

My Thoughts:
I find the concept of shipping containers first very intriguing, and I fully agree with Taylor’s approach.

By focusing on delivering foundational elements like containers, design system teams can **track usage across different product teams**, whether in Figma or code.
→ This data helps identify which teams are using the component family, enabling more targeted conversations and improvements.
→ It also provides a real-world feedback loop, ensuring future enhancements align with actual usage patterns.

❤️ Join Us: Our next Inspect and Reflect session will focus on the Adobe Spectrum Design System—details in my profile. Don’t miss it!

How do you balance incremental delivery with long-term vision in your design system? Let’s discuss in the comments!

#Figma #Storybook