Scaling Systems: Enterprise Change Without Authority

Leading systematic adoption of naming conventions across 500+ designers in four business solutions

Role

Design Program Manager, Tools & Infrastructure

Timeline

16 months (3 phases)

Impact

400+ designers adopted systematic framework

Situation

Following success of crisis-born naming convention framework during Operation Warp Speed, my director challenged me: “Go get the rest of the design organization to adopt this system you created.” CVS Health’s 500+ designers across 22 teams operated in fragmented tools (Sketch, InVision, SharePoint) with completely different terminology for identical functions, creating redundant work and collaboration barriers.

Key challenge: Lead organizational change without formal authority across multiple business units with deeply entrenched naming habits and competing workflows.

Task

Scale naming convention framework across 22 design teams in four business solutions, translating disparate vocabularies into shared taxonomies while securing voluntary adoption from teams with no obligation to comply.

Action

Phase 1: Stakeholder Engagement

(January – June 2021)

Conducted individual meetings with each of 22 design team leads
Demonstrated value through Operation Warp Speed outcomes and efficiency metrics
Addressed team-specific concerns and workflow constraints
Built consensus around shared problems: file discovery, version confusion, cross-team collaboration

Phase 2: Mental Model Documentation

(June – December 2021)

Facilitated individual workshops with design leads across all four business solutions
Mapped existing “buckets of work” vocabulary through discovery exercises
Documented platform-specific and audience-specific language patterns Identified shared concepts using different terminology across teams
Recognized that platform, product, date, and audience were easy to standardize—but ‘feature’ vocabulary was unique per team

Phase 3: Cross-Organizational Taxonomy Creation

Extracted common themes across 22 team vocabularies
Validated terminology with subject matter experts
Built consensus around standardized approaches by identifying terms already used by multiple teams (bottom-up methodology)
Integrated testing across multiple business contexts with iterative refinement

Phase 4: Multi-Tool Implementation & Governance

(January – May 2022)

Coordinated adoption across Sketch files, InVision prototypes,
SharePoint documentation, local file systems
Created team champion networks with leads responsible for teaching standards
Developed training protocols for onboarding new team members Built documentation systems in Confluence cataloging approved terminology
Established enforcement mechanisms through peer review and shared directory maintenance

Result

Enterprise adoption

400+ designers actively using systematic naming conventions by Figma migration completion

Change Leadership

Successfully led 16-month organizational transformation without formal authority through individual relationship building

Cross-team collaboration

Eliminated redundant design efforts through improved work discoverability

Efficiency improvement

Reduced time spent in coordination meetings and file location activities

Migration foundation

Systematic file organization enabled seamless Figma enterprise transition

Change Leadership

Created scalable governance structures supporting continued organizational growth

Overcoming resistance

Maintained professional execution despite executive director actively attempting to halt the work, ultimately achieving buy-in from all 22 design team leads

Tools and Methods