At Ellevation, we believe great products are built when diverse perspectives come together around a shared purpose. For us, product development stands on teams of cross-functional expertise. Each function brings a distinct lens, and our strength comes from leading together.
For the UX team, that leadership goes far beyond designing screens or polishing interfaces. Our designers are active leaders throughout the entire product development lifecycle—clarifying problems, shaping strategy, facilitating alignment, and driving continuous improvement.
Beyond “Design on Demand”
Traditional models of product development often treat design as a service function: PMs define requirements, and designers execute. But that approach doesn’t reflect the complexity or creativity required to build tools that truly serve EL admins and educators.
At Ellevation, our working model positions Product Designers as leaders on their scrum teams—not just contributors, but partners who influence what we build and why.
How Designers Lead at Every Stage
Our designers bring leadership to each phase of the process in unique and tangible ways:
Discovery & Strategy
Designers clarify the problem space, elevate user needs, and help shape the vision for what’s next.
Example: Propose a journey mapping session to align the team around key pain points.
Problem Definition & Planning
We frame experiences, propose incremental scoping options, and help prioritize what gets built now versus later.
Example: Visualize experience trade-offs for different scope options so the team clearly sees the impact of each choice.
Solution Exploration
We enable better decisions through competitive analysis, ideation workshops, prototyping, and early advocacy for usability and accessibility.
Example: Prototype collaboratively with engineers using new technologies, or surface user-centered risks in planning documents.
Delivery & Execution
Designers ensure quality by partnering closely with engineers, participating in backlog refinement and QA, and applying the design system to streamline development and maintain consistency.
Example: Schedule a design QA review before release to preserve intent and uphold quality.
Post-Launch & Iteration
We drive learning after release by gathering user feedback, analyzing outcomes, and pushing for continuous improvement.
Example: Run quick usability tests post-launch to validate assumptions and inform the next iteration.
A Shared Model for Impact
Design at Ellevation is not a service or support function—it’s an equal and pivotal function of the team that keeps our product development balanced and effective. Our designers lead by making the invisible visible, by creating alignment through visuals and prototypes, and by ensuring that what we deliver has real impact for educators and multilingual learners.
By empowering Product Designers to lead, we strengthen not only our products but also the collaborative culture that defines Ellevation.
