Re-immersion Plan: Setting You Up for Success

Welcome Back

First and foremost, we're glad to have you back and want to ensure your return is positive, supportive, and sets you up for success. This document outlines a progressive re-immersion approach that aligns with the new initiatives our entire design team is implementing. These changes are designed to enhance quality, collaboration, and work-life balance for everyone, and they provide an excellent framework for your transition back to full capacity.

This plan is designed to help you thrive professionally while maintaining personal well-being. It's not about limitations, but about creating the conditions for your best work to shine.

Progressive Return Schedule

To ensure a smooth transition back:

Weeks 1-2: Onboarding & Orientation (50% capacity)

  • Catch up on key updates and documentation (links provided below)
  • Re-establish connections with your team and align with your Design Buddy (@tparker1)
  • Begin involvement in one carefully selected project
  • Daily Slack check-ins with me to address any questions or concerns
  • Schedule coffee chats to reconnect with key team members

Weeks 3-4: Focused Integration (75% capacity)

  • Take ownership of your dedicated Group area aligning with your Counterparts on new iniatives
  • Participate in team rituals and Team Critique sessions (formeraly called Team Reviews modeled after new Design Critiques)
  • Begin implementing the new Milestone Planning approach
  • Weekly check-ins during our 1:1s to assess progress and adjust support as needed

Week 5 onward: Full Re-immersion (100% capacity)

  • Full engagement with your Group, maintaining sustainable practices
  • Weekly reflection during our 1:1s on what's working and adjustments needed
  • Continued support through regular 1:1s
  • Monthly check-ins specifically about your transition experience

Key Focus Areas

1. Focused Specialization

Now that Torian has onboarded and taken over Security Policies work, you'll be able to focus on a single area/Group now. This dedicated focus will allow you to:

  • Develop deeper domain expertise
  • Build stronger relationships with product and engineering partners
  • Create more cohesive user experiences
  • Reduce context-switching that impacts quality and cognitive load

2. Strategic Capacity Management

In line with our new team-wide Milestone Planning Optimization initiative, you'll implement a more structured approach to capacity management:

Focused Capacity Allocation

  • Group Points: Commit approximately 60-70% of your capacity to planned milestone deliverables
  • Flex Capacity: Reserve 30-40% for unexpected tasks, MR reviews, and urgent fixes
  • During your re-immersion period, we'll start with a more conservative allocation (60% Group/40% Flex) to provide additional buffer

Limited Project Focus

For higher-quality outcomes, limit your Group Points to include no more than:

  • 1-2 high-impact projects (Weight 3+) requiring multiple iterations across several pages, OR
  • A single strategic initiative (Weight 5+) with one smaller support project (Weight <3)

Priority-Based Execution

  • Use Design Priority (DP) labels to guide your execution sequence:
    • DP-1: Must-have deliverables with 100% completion expectation
    • DP-2: Important work with 80% completion target after DP-1s are addressed
    • DP-3+: Nice-to-haves with completion expectation ≤50%

Deep Design Time

  • Schedule 2-3 hour blocks daily, free from meetings and interruptions
  • Use these blocks for focused work on your highest-priority items
  • Consider aligning these blocks with your Design Buddy for live Zoom hang outs/collaborative sessions

Scope Negotiation Protocol

When mid-Milestone requests arise, use this approach with your counterparts:

  1. "Is this new request a higher priority than my currently planned work?"
  2. If Yes: "Which existing planned item should be postponed?"
  3. If No: "Let's schedule this for the next milestone so I can deliver current commitments with quality."

3. Design Buddy Collaboration

As part of our new Design Buddy System that's being implemented across the team, you'll be paired with @tparker1. This partnership will provide:

Regular Collaboration

  • 30-60 minute, bi-weekly sync sessions (minimum)
  • Option for asynchronous reviews using Figma comments
  • Potential for recorded walkthrough Ping-Pong for time zone challenges

Practical Workflow

  1. Share your work-in-progress in Figma
  2. Receive feedback through benevolent, radical candor critique
  3. Discuss and iterate together
  4. Implement changes you agree with as the DRI
  5. Share major insights in broader design reviews

Action Steps:

  • Review the full Design Buddy System issue
  • Schedule an introductory session with your assigned buddy, @tparker1.

4. Design Focus Areas

Based on previous feedback, here are some specific areas to focus on with process adjustments that will help you slow down appropriately and establish more effective quality assurance mechanisms:

General Design Process

  • Develop a formal checkpoint in your design process to validate Pajamas component selection decisions
  • Implement a mandatory 24-hour "cooling period" between completing initial designs and conducting your final review to allow for a fresh perspective
  • Set aside dedicated time (minimum 30 minutes) specifically for final alignment checks and polish as a non-negotiable part of your design process
  • Consider implementing a "Self Critique" approach where you deliberately try to find issues with your own designs before sharing them

Copy Quality Assurance

  • Implement a tiered review process that doesn't rely solely on Technical Writer availability:
    • Self-review with tools like Grammarly or Claude AI for initial quality checks or brainstorming copy
    • Meet with your Technical Writing counterpart to align on collaboration approaches, establishing mutual expectations and realistic review timelines that work for both of your schedules
  • Work with counterparts to realign their design thinking so they're empowered to point out design or copy discrepancies - actively invite their feedback on copy during review sessions
  • Involve your Design Buddy in copy reviews during collaboration sessions, with clear guidance on what to look for

Distinct Design Phases

  • Add clear delineation between wearing the "Interaction Designer hat" and "Visual Designer hat"
  • Establish explicit phase transitions in your process:
    • Research & Problem Definition → Wireframing → Interaction Design → Visual Design → Polish & QA
  • Communicate design phase clearly to counterparts to set appropriate expectations
  • When sharing early work, explicitly label the current phase and expected level of fidelity

Quality Assurance Process

  • Continue to use your design checklist Figma component to align with these recommendations
  • Add a mandatory "Checks and Polish" review step to your process before publishing to your team

Counterpart Collaboration

  • Proactively educate counterparts about design quality considerations so they can provide more valuable feedback
  • Explicitly invite specific types of feedback during different stages (e.g., "At this stage, I'm looking specifically for feedback on the overall workflow")
  • Establish a shared understanding of design terminology with your cross-functional partners
  • Leverage our updated Design Critique handbook page to help structure feedback from your counterparts to guide more constructive critique

Action Steps:

  • Evaluate your current Figma quality checklist against these focus areas and update it as needed
  • Identify specific gaps where your current process could be enhanced
  • Develop concrete implementation plans for each quality improvement mechanism
  • Schedule a call to meet with your Technical Writing counterpart to align on collaboration approaches and establish mutual expectations for review timelines
  • Schedule regular reflection sessions to assess which mechanisms are most effective for you

5. Daily Routine Optimization

Establishing a structured yet flexible daily routine will support both quality and well-being:

Energy Management

  • Schedule Deep Design blocks during your peak cognitive hours
  • Implement the Innovation Buffer concept (one day weekly for exploration)
  • Establish at least one meeting-free day each week

Focused Work Approach

  • Use the Pomodoro technique (25-minute focused work, 5-minute break)
  • Setup your Google Calendar to block out specific focus periods throughout your day - this will automatically update your Slack status
  • Close email and Slack during deep work sessions

End-of-Day Ritual

  • Implement a 15-minute daily wrap-up to document progress
  • Set clear intentions/ToDos for the following day
  • Practice a "shutdown complete" protocol to mentally disconnect from work

Action Steps:

  • Identify your peak cognitive hours and create a model weekly calendar that protects these times - we can collaborate on this if you'd like
    • Establish one dedicated meeting-free day per week for focused design work
    • Implement a simple end-of-day wrap-up ritual to document progress and set intentions for the next day
  • Begin a quick weekly reflection to track which routine elements are most effective for your productivity and wellbeing

Support Structure

You'll have multiple layers of support as you re-immerse:

Regular 1:1s

  • Weekly 1:1s with me
  • Focus on both tactical work and strategic growth
  • Dedicated time for questions and concerns

Design Buddy Partnership

  • Structured feedback sessions following the team-wide buddy system
  • Collaborative problem-solving opportunities
  • Safe space for constructive critique

Team Critiques

  • Participate in our bi-weekly Team Critique sessions
  • Use the structured critique framework being implemented across the UX Department
  • Learn from and contribute to collective design excellence

Re-entry Support

  • Following GitLab's approach to supporting team members returning from leave, we'll have regular check-ins on a specific cadence: first day, first week, two weeks, one month, and 2-3 months
  • We'll discuss how you're feeling about the transition and what additional support you might need
  • We'll provide space for both personal and professional reflection during this adjustment period

Mental Health Resources

  • Access to Modern Health if you feel you need additional support during your transition
  • Options for time blocking on your calendar that team members will respect
  • Flexibility to adjust your schedule if needed during the re-immersion period

Important Updates & Resources

To help you get up to speed, please review these key documents:

  1. FY26 Security Product Design Strategy - Our comprehensive plan for elevating security product design, which outlines our three-pillar approach:
    • Strategic Foundation & Vision
    • Design Excellence & Validation
    • AI & Security Integration
  2. Design Buddy System Initiative - The framework for our new designer-to-designer collaboration approach that's being implemented across the team
  3. Milestone Planning Optimization - Our team-wide strategy for better capacity management and work prioritization
  4. Bill's Q2 Kickoff Memo - Summary of organizational priorities and direction

Re-immersion Activities

Based on GitLab's re-immersion best practices, we've developed the following activities to help you transition back smoothly:

First Week Focus

  1. Reconnection Meetings: Coffee chats with key team members and stakeholders
  2. Knowledge Updates: Dedicated time to review what you missed while away
  3. Low-Pressure Tasks: Begin with smaller, well-defined tasks to build momentum
  4. Team Changes Review: Overview of any organizational or process changes that occurred during your absence

Expectation Setting

  • Clear understanding that ramping back up takes time and is expected
  • Permission to block time on your calendar for focus and catching up
  • Transparent communication about any concerns or challenges you're experiencing
  • Regular check-ins to ensure the pace feels sustainable

Measuring Success

We'll know this re-immersion plan is working when:

Quality Metrics

  • Design solutions demonstrate consistent alignment with design system guidelines
  • Reduced revisions required in review processes
  • Positive feedback from Counterparts, Design Buddy, and during Team Critiques.
  • Improved content quality and consistency

Workload Balance

  • Milestone commitments align with capacity (60-70% Group Points, 30-40% Flex)
  • Deep Design time blocks are protected and utilized effectively
  • Scope Negotiation Protocol successfully manages mid-milestone requests
  • Work completion aligns with priority levels (100% DP-1, ~80% DP-2, ≤50% DP-3+)

Well-being Indicators

  • Consistent work hours within expected ranges
  • Positive engagement in team activities
  • Self-reported satisfaction with work-life balance
  • Confidence in setting appropriate boundaries

We'll review these indicators every two weeks during our 1:1s and make adjustments as needed.

Final Thoughts

This re-immersion plan leverages both our team-wide initiatives and established best practices for supporting team members returning from leave. It's designed to provide you with a structured, supportive framework for your return.

Your unique skills and perspective are valued on this team. This transition period is an opportunity to reset, refocus, and rediscover the joy in your craft as a designer within our evolving team structure. I'm committed to supporting you every step of the way.

Welcome back, we're really happy to have you back!

Edited by Justin Mandell