Why Scaling HCD Matters
Human-Centred Design (HCD) is highly effective at the project level, but how do you ensure it works across larger organisations or multiple projects? Scaling HCD is about embedding principles, processes, and culture so that user-focused design becomes the norm, not the exception.
Without scaling, even successful projects can remain isolated, limiting organisational impact and innovation. This blog explores strategies, frameworks, and best practices to embed HCD across teams, departments, and large-scale initiatives.
Challenges of Scaling HCD
- Consistency Across Teams
Different teams may interpret HCD differently, leading to inconsistent user experiences. - Resource Constraints
Large projects often require more designers, researchers, and facilitators than available. - Stakeholder Alignment
Getting executive buy-in and aligning multiple stakeholders can be challenging. - Maintaining Quality at Scale
Scaling shouldn’t dilute the depth of user research, prototyping, or testing. - Cultural Adoption
HCD requires a mindset shift, which can be slow in traditional or hierarchical organisations.
Principles for Scaling HCD
- Embed HCD in Organisational Culture
- Encourage empathy, experimentation, and iteration
- Reward user-focused decision-making
- Establish Clear Governance
- Define roles, responsibilities, and processes for HCD across teams
- Set standards for research, prototyping, testing, and iteration
- Create HCD Champions
- Train and empower designers, product managers, and researchers as HCD advocates
- These champions help drive adoption and mentor other teams
- Standardise HCD Tools and Methods
- Use shared frameworks, templates, and collaboration platforms
- Maintain consistency while allowing flexibility for context-specific solutions
- Measure and Share Impact
- Track HCD outcomes across projects
- Celebrate successes and share lessons learned to reinforce the value of HCD
Strategies to Scale HCD in Organisations
1. Develop a Centralised HCD Function
- Create a design or research hub that provides expertise to multiple teams
- Responsibilities: Training, guidance, quality assurance, and resource allocation
- Example: A government agency centralises its UX team to support digital services across departments
2. Train Teams in HCD Principles
- Offer workshops, courses, and hands-on training
- Focus on research methods, prototyping, testing, and iteration
- Encourage non-designers (product managers, developers, analysts) to understand HCD principles
3. Standardise Processes Across Projects
- Define common workflows for research, design, prototyping, and testing
- Use shared templates for personas, journey maps, and testing reports
- Maintain flexibility to adapt processes for project-specific needs
4. Foster Cross-Team Collaboration
- Create communities of practice to share knowledge, tools, and insights
- Encourage co-design and joint testing sessions across departments
- Use collaborative platforms (Miro, Figma, Confluence) to maintain transparency
5. Align HCD with Organisational Strategy
- Link HCD outcomes to business objectives, KPIs, or public service goals
- Demonstrate how user-focused design drives efficiency, satisfaction, and innovation
Governance Framework for Scaling HCD
- Roles and Responsibilities
- HCD Leads: Oversee methodology adoption and quality
- Project Designers/Researchers: Execute HCD processes at project level
- Stakeholders/Decision-Makers: Approve research plans, prototypes, and major decisions
- HCD Standards
- Minimum usability and accessibility requirements
- Standard templates for personas, journey maps, and testing documentation
- Guidelines for co-design, prototyping, and iterative feedback
- Quality Assurance
- Regular reviews and audits to ensure adherence to HCD principles
- Peer review of research findings, prototypes, and iterations
- Knowledge Management
- Maintain a repository of insights, case studies, and best practices
- Ensure learnings are easily accessible across teams
Tools to Support Scaled HCD
| Purpose | Tool | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
| Collaboration | Miro, Mural, Figma | Cross-team workshops, journey mapping, prototyping |
| Research | Dovetail, Airtable | Collect, organise, and analyse user insights |
| Project Management | Jira, Trello, Asana | Track iterations, HCD tasks, and approvals |
| Knowledge Sharing | Confluence, Notion | Maintain HCD guidelines, templates, and case studies |
| Analytics & Feedback | Google Analytics, Hotjar | Measure adoption, usability, and user engagement |
Real-World Example: Scaling HCD in a Large Government Project
Scenario: A national healthcare agency wanted to redesign multiple digital services, including patient portals, appointment booking, and telehealth platforms.
Approach:
- Centralised HCD function provided guidance and templates
- Teams were trained in HCD methods and co-design practices
- Shared prototyping and testing platforms enabled cross-service collaboration
- Governance framework ensured minimum usability and accessibility standards
Results:
- Consistent, user-friendly experiences across services
- Increased adoption and patient satisfaction
- Faster iteration cycles due to shared insights and standardised methods
Best Practices for Scaling HCD
- Start Small, Scale Gradually
- Pilot HCD practices with a few teams before rolling out organisation-wide
- Communicate Value Clearly
- Share metrics, success stories, and lessons learned with leadership
- Maintain Flexibility
- Standardisation should not stifle creativity or context-specific innovation
- Invest in Training and Mentoring
- Build internal capacity and reduce reliance on external experts
- Continuously Measure and Iterate
- Use feedback loops to improve HCD adoption and effectiveness across the organisation
Common Pitfalls
- Treating HCD as a “project” rather than a cultural approach
- Ignoring executive buy-in or stakeholder alignment
- Over-standardising, reducing flexibility for project-specific needs
- Failing to track impact across multiple teams or services
- Neglecting training and capacity building for non-designers
Conclusion: Embedding HCD at Scale
Scaling Human-Centred Design is about more than increasing the number of designers or projects — it’s about creating an organisation-wide culture that values empathy, user insights, and iterative problem-solving.
By combining governance, training, standardised processes, and cross-team collaboration, organisations can:
- Deliver consistent, user-focused solutions across projects
- Foster innovation and efficiency
- Embed continuous learning and improvement in every initiative
Scaling HCD ensures that user-centered thinking is not an isolated activity but a fundamental part of how the organisation works, enabling solutions that are meaningful, usable, and impactful for all stakeholders.