Design System Documentation Website
Single source of truth for Unified Design System (UDS) standards, usage guidance, and release updates
I led the end-to-end launch of the UDS Documentation Website, replacing fragmented documentation spread across multiple tools with one centralized, searchable, self-serve destination for Merchandising developers and UX team members. The website reduced onboarding friction, minimized support interruptions, and accelerated consistent adoption of UDS at scale.
Department
Albertsons – IT Merchandising
Role
Scope
Documentation platform for Merch UDS, including:
• Foundations and standards
• Components, templates, and usage patterns
• Release updates and change communication
• Consolidation of documentation sources across design, development, and tracking tools
• Governance model and contribution workflow
Scope
• UDS repository downloads exceeded any other GitHub repository in the company
• Reduced “how to use UDS” support tickets by 65%
• UDS documentation became almost completely self-sufficient for onboarding and day-to-day usage
• Onboarding improved with no hand holding, even for junior developers
• Junior developers specifically called out the clarity and ease of use
Executive Snapshot
Ownership
Treated the documentation website as a product surface, not a static reference. I owned the experience strategy, information architecture, templates, content standards, and governance model required to scale adoption across teams.Mandate
Reduce delivery friction in Merchandising by eliminating fragmented documentation and establishing a single source of truth that improves implementation consistency, accelerates onboarding, and reduces dependency on the UDS team.Key outcomes
• Established the UDS Documentation Website as the primary destination for standards, usage guidance, and release updates
• Enabled self-serve adoption at scale and reduced onboarding friction
• Reduced “how to use UDS” support tickets by 65%
• Increased adoption by consolidating guidance into one searchable hub
• Sustained long-term quality through governance, templates, and repeatable validation workflows
Problem Statement
Fragmented documentation and inconsistent guidance increased onboarding friction and slowed delivery
Before the UDS Documentation Website, teams had to search across disconnected sources for answers. This increased time to implementation, created repetitive support requests, and contributed to inconsistent execution across pods.
Operating Model
Scope, Delivery & Governance
• Owned the operating model for UDS adoption across pods, including intake, prioritization, stage gates, and outcome reporting
• Partnered cross-functionally across design, engineering, product, and quality
• Maintained governance to prevent duplication, protect standards, and keep the system cohesive as contributions scaled
Strategy & Architecture
Documentation platform approach
The documentation website was designed to: • Centralize standards, guidelines, examples, resources, updates, and release dates into one hub
• Make component usage clear and repeatable through consistent documentation templates
• Reduce back-and-forth support by improving discoverability and self-serve guidance
• Support real team workflows through responsive layouts and predictable content structure
Core decisions
• Standardized documentation templates to keep pages consistent, scannable, and maintainable
• Search-first information architecture based on naming conventions and predictable patterns
• Integration mindset, aligning documentation to design and engineering workflows so teams stop hunting for answers
Governance & Quality
Governance, QA, and Dev validation model
UDS was managed as a living product with repeatable quality practices: • Defined lifecycle including review, implementation, validation, release, measurement, and deprecation
• Audit checklists covering typography, layout and spacing, form behaviors, icons and imagery, and interaction details
• Cross-browser and responsive validation as a baseline expectation
• Documentation practices designed to keep guidance accurate and easy to find as the system evolved
Roadmap & Impact
Adoption, roadmap, and scale
The roadmap treated the documentation website as a first-class platform epic alongside components and themes work: • UDS core components
• UDS 2.x themes updates
• UDS website
• UDS demo application
Documented epics and roadmap for
• Why the documentation epic mattered A comprehensive documentation website reduced the need for extensive guidance for pod developers and minimized back-and-forth communication as more teams adopted UDS.
Prioritization
• Defined a prioritization model across MSP PODs, Collective Hub needs, and the UDS backlog to keep high-impact work ahead of “nice-to-haves.”
Flagship Use Case
BEFORE AND AFTER
Before Docsite
• Documentation scattered across multiple platforms
• Slow onboarding and frequent hand holding
• Repeated questions and high support interruptions
• Inconsistent implementation and rework
After Docsite
• One centralized hub for standards, examples, resources, updates, and release dates
• Strong search success for Merchandising developers and UX teams
• 65% reduction in “how to use UDS” support tickets
• Documentation became almost completely self-sufficient for onboarding and ongoing usage
• Junior developers praised the clarity and ease of use
UDS adoption demonstrated measurable business impact beyond consistency
• 76% reduction in supplier onboarding Service Level Agreement [SLA], from 21 days to 5 days
• 23% reduction in errors
• +15 Net Promoter Score [NPS]
LEADERSHIP VALUE STATEMENT
• Positioned UDS as a product platform by making guidance discoverable, scalable, and reliable across teams.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE
• This case study reflects internal platform work. Proprietary implementation details have been generalized while preserving strategy, operating model, and outcomes.
"We made UDS feel like a product, not a side project."
