Case Study

As Custom Development scaled from 6 engineers to 190 in two years, design consistency didn’t scale with it. Without shared standards, designers created new components from scratch on every project. Engineers rebuilt the same controls repeatedly — and again when designs changed mid-engagement. On one project, 40% of development work had to be redone, causing a four-week delay and an unprofitable engagement. Clients also rejected ZS’s homegrown design system, demanding enterprise-approved stacks.

Company & Position

ZS Associates, Partner (2017-2024)

Details

The inflection point prompted commitment to a dedicated design system and component library for the Custom Development practice. The team building it spanned UX designers, front-end developers, and a solution architect; the operating model was developed in close partnership with senior UX leadership and the head of Custom Development.

Actions

• Built a dedicated design system for the Custom Development practice — separate from, but informed by, the product design system (ZSUI).
• Delivered a Figma component library maintained by designers and two matching front-end component libraries (Fluent UI and Ant Design) for engineers, aligned to stacks required by pharma clients.
• Established governance processes enabling designers to follow defined patterns, engineers to build or refine a component once, and deployed client systems to be versioned and maintained precisely.

Outcome & Impact

• Design and engineering effort reduced by 35%; testing cycles reduced by 40% across Custom Development engagements.
• Engineers shifted time from rebuilding UI components to delivering functionality.
• Rework cycles eliminated; scalable, client-approved system established serving major pharma clients — each with their own enterprise-approved stack.

The end game was a fully integrated Design Standards + Component Library, with a dedicated team and a governance model.