DESIGN LEAD & STRATEGY
Building a world-class Product Design function inside a fast-scaling B2B SaaS company
CONTEXT & CHALLENGE
When I joined Agorapulse as Head of Design, the company had just closed a €17M funding round and was entering a period of rapid acceleration.
The product was growing, but design quality, UX maturity, and team structure were not scaling at the same pace.
My mission was to build the entire design function from scratch ; team, processes, research practice, design system... to elevate the product experience across web, mobile, and brand touchpoints.
APPROACH & METHODOLOGY
1. VISION & FOUNDATIONS - WHAT WE BUILD
To support scale, I established the foundations of a modern product design organization:
→ Built the Design System from scratch, including UI foundations, components, tokens, accessibility and documentation.
→ Defined the information architecture, workflows, and quality benchmarks for product consistency across squads.
→ Standardized design delivery with a shared file structure, review rituals, and clear handoff workflows.
→ Introduced a long-term UX vision and design principles to guide feature teams’ decisions.
Design System Screenshots: (buttons / inputs / snackbars / avatars)
UI components with all states, variations and usage rules
Globally adopted notification patterns with specs, motion, and accessibility rules
Reusable components with clear usage guidance and platform rules
Processes & Guides + Design Quality Definition overview
Centralised hub documenting all design processes, standards, and guidelines
Revamps & User Feedbacks guide
Guideline helping Product & Engineering manage user reactions during major releases
Project Cover + Components view
Standardized feature folders with covers, flows, and component references for smoother handoffs
2. RESEARCH & USER-CENTRIC STRATEGY - WHY WE BUILD IT
One of the company’s biggest gaps was the almost total absence of structured user research.
I built a UX Research practice from zero:
→ Created a complete research stack: interviews, surveys, diary studies, usability testing, prototypes.
→ Established continuous discovery with PMs and engineers to align on real user needs.
→ Produced lightweight, actionable research artifacts to democratize insight sharing across teams.
→ Trained the company in research best-practices and made user evidence the default decision driver.
A UNIFIED PRODUCT DESIGN PROCESS
To ensure research was fully connected to design and delivery, I created a custom product design process adopted by every squad.
This hybrid model combined the speed of Lean UX with the clarity of the Double Diamond, and structured our work into three phases:
→ Think: discovery, problem framing, user interviews, insights
→ Make: team workshops, ideation, wireframes, prototypes, UI design
→ Check: usability tests, A/B tests, flow validation, frontend reviews
It gave the company a common language, predictable rituals, and a shared methodology that guaranteed consistent quality and user-centered thinking at scale.
The model became the backbone of our UX maturity and was used across all product teams.
Process “Think / Make / Check”
The hybrid Lean UX + Double Diamond process adopted by all product squads
Research & Testing / User Interviews Process
Research playbooks I created to structure interviews, testing, and insight reporting + usability testing workflows used across squads to validate concepts early
Trello Research Board
Research iteration board I designed to guide PMs and designers through consistent discovery practices
Trello Best Practices (Goals / Insights / Screener)
Standardized templates for goals, screeners, insights and action items to ensure research quality at scale
UX Research Agorapulse's Training Program
Internal training program I built to raise UX maturity across the company
Company-wide session on UX strategy, research and product design methodology
3. METRICS, QUALITY & BUSINESS IMPACT - HOW WE MEASURE IT
To ensure design influenced business outcomes, I introduced:
→ UX success metrics tied to onboarding, activation, and workflow efficiency.
→ A cross-functional scoring grid to evaluate clarity, usability, and product coherence.
→ Company-wide UX benchmarking to track improvements from version to version.
→ Collaborative workshops with PMs to link UX actions with retention, adoption, and revenue impact.
UX Metrics Cycle
Standard process to measure impact and validate improvements over time.
Used to benchmark every redesign: measure → improve → measure again
The ROI of UX Workshop - Design & Business Alignment
Training PMs & designers to connect UX changes with measurable business impact.
Enabled the organisation to predict UX ROI and make evidence-based investment decisions
UX KPIs Framework
Guideline to define UX success metrics aligned with product goals.
Baseline method used across squads to ensure comparable metrics for onboarding, activation and efficiency
TEAM LEADERSHIP & CULTURE
I grew and led a 7-person multidisciplinary team (Product Designers, UX Researcher, Brand Designer + freelancers).
Key initiatives:
→ Formalized onboarding, growth frameworks, and performance reviews.
→ Mentored each designer individually on craft, strategic thinking, and autonomy.
→ Established a culture of high standards, healthy critique, and continuous improvement.
→ Encouraged designers to own their scope while elevating collaboration with Product and Engineering.
→ My goal: create one of the strongest design teams in the Paris B2B SaaS landscape.
UX Workshops & Rituals
Weekly and monthly rituals to align designers and keep quality high
UX/UI Level-Up Program
A monthly learning program to help designers grow skills in research, writing, AI, and UI
Managing Feedback Workshop
Tools and techniques to anticipate reactions, structure critique, and improve communication
User Research Learning Sessions
Internal training to elevate mastery of qualitative and quantitative methods
Learn more about the Design Rituals implemented at 1:16:50
Skills Growth Framework
A competency mapping system used to track progression and set individual development goals
Team Training (NN/g Courses)
Company-supported training accelerating designers’ mastery of advanced UX topics
Hiring Process Frameworks
Clear evaluation methods ensuring fair, structured, and consistent hiring decisions
Design Onboarding Week (in green)
A structured onboarding plan to help new designers ramp up efficiently and confidently
Performance & Craft Evaluation
A transparent scoring system used for performance reviews and craft improvement
IMPACT & RESULTS
Over 3 years, Design became a force multiplier for the entire product organization:
→ Grew and structured a 7-person design team with strong autonomy, craft, and strategic maturity
→ Established a UX Research discipline that shaped roadmap decisions across all squads
→ Rolled out a company-wide Design System that cut design & dev inconsistencies by more than half
→ Improved usability and clarity of core workflows, resulting in major gains in adoption and task success
→ Reduced design–to–development turnaround by 30–40% thanks to better processes and shared standards
→ Increased usability test success rates to 80–90% on critical flows after redesign
→ Improved delivery confidence: teams shipped faster, with fewer reworks and higher quality
→ Design became a key contributor to product strategy, business alignment, and long-term vision.
LESSONS & REFLECTIONS
→ Scaling a Design function is a long-term game: vision + process + culture must evolve together
→ Democratized research accelerates alignment and improves decision quality
→ Great leadership means raising the bar while giving teams the autonomy to exceed it
WHAT THEY THOUGHT ABOUT MY WORK
“Lucas built our design team from the ground up and led it with a rare mix of clarity, humility and vision.
He helped me grow as a designer and a person, and created a culture where learning and excellence came naturally.
One of the best leaders I’ve worked with.”
Thomas Cazal
Product Designer @Shine
"Lucas brought design at Agorapulse to the next level.
He introduced a new design system, redesigned all the core features, and established a strong brand design foundation.
Beyond his craft, Lucas has been a key leader for the team; mentoring designers, improving processes, and helping everyone grow.
He’s a true asset for the product organization, and his impact is still visible across the company."
Sebastien Gendreau
VP Product @Agorapulse
“Lucas was my Head of Design for nearly two years, and his leadership had a profound impact on my growth.
He combines high standards, strong process thinking and attention to detail with trust and genuine autonomy.
He built a motivated, ambitious design team and elevated the role of Product & Brand Design across the company.
I highly recommend him to any organization looking for a true design leader and culture builder.”
Malek Aziri
Senior Product Designer @MatchGroup/E&E
WANT TO BUILD OR SCALE YOUR PRODUCT'S DESIGN FUNCTION? LET'S TALK.
Lucas Lengagne | Senior / Lead Product Designer (Freelance)
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