The Lean Approach

Eliminating Waste Through Component Reduction

The core principle of lean manufacturing—eliminating Muda (waste)—translates directly to design systems. Just as physical products benefit from fewer unique parts, digital systems thrive when component counts are minimized. Each unique component requires:

• Documentation and maintenance

• Cross-functional coordination

• QA and accessibility validation

• Developer implementation time

Impact: More components mean more coordination overhead, slower velocity, and increased technical debt.

Designing for Multiple Configurations

The most efficient components accommodate multiple use cases without modification. This approach:

• Reduces the total component count

• Increases consistency across products

• Accelerates implementation

• Simplifies maintenance

Subassembly Architecture

Nesting Components for Maximum Value

Individual components gain power when grouped into subassemblies. Like Russian nesting dolls, complex interfaces are built from simpler, reusable parts. This creates:

• Offline optimization: Complex patterns can be refined independently

• Increased throughput: Teams work in parallel on different layers

• Captured complexity: Sophisticated functionality packaged in simple APIs

Real-World Application: The Hospital Headwall

Challenge: Design a structural frame for a hospital headwall supporting numerous electrical and plumbing devices while meeting code requirements and maintaining manufacturing efficiency.

Solution: Built on a standard 2×2 grid panel system, customized only where necessary. By using existing frameworks and repeating blocking panels:

• Reduced unique parts from 34 to 13

• 62% increase in efficiency

• Maintained flexibility for various configurations

• Inherited proven manufacturing workflows

Translation to Digital Design Systems

Information Architecture

Organize components by type and nest related elements. This creates hierarchies that are:

• Intuitive to navigate

• Easy to maintain

• Scalable as the system grows

Component Libraries

Maintain a design system where components are reused across contexts:

• Maximizes individual component impact

• Reinforces brand consistency

• Reduces design and development time

Implementation

Well-structured component architecture means:

• Code written once, debugged once

• Referenced repeatedly across products

• Faster feature development

• Reduced maintenance burden

Key Principles

Minimize Unique Parts: Every additional component has downstream costs. Question whether new components are truly necessary.

Design for Reuse: Build components that accommodate multiple configurations rather than single use cases.

Create Subassemblies: Group related components into patterns that can be maintained and optimized independently.

Think Systematically: Your design decisions impact engineering, QA, documentation, and ultimately the end user.

Results

By applying lean manufacturing principles to design systems:

• Faster product development cycles

• Increased consistency across platforms

• Reduced maintenance overhead

• Improved collaboration between design and engineering

• Scalable systems that grow efficiently

The closer design and development work together—seeing the full lifecycle from concept to production—the more opportunities emerge to validate ideas quickly and make decisions that truly serve users downstream.