Challenge

A React refactor opened the door — engineers weren't ready to walk through it

Ticketmaster redesign — before

Aging tech made every UX improvement harder than it needed to be. The refactor created room for a global design system — and plenty of engineering resistance.

The existing product was stale, built on aging technology that made every UX improvement harder than it needed to be. A refactor to React was underway, and it created an opening to do something bigger: build a global design system spanning both consumer and enterprise products.

Engineers weren't sold. They'd built their own ways of working over years, and a shared component library felt like it was taking that away. Skepticism was high, and so was resistance to change.

Solution

Advocates first, then put the library in engineers' hands

Ticketmaster redesign — after, screen 2

Instead of mandating adoption, we heard concerns directly — and minds changed fastest once engineers could build with the new components.

Instead of mandating adoption, I found engineering advocates early and asked them to lead discussions with their peers, backed by me and by leadership. The goal was to actually hear their concerns and answer their questions directly, not talk over them.

The meetings answered questions and calmed concerns, but what changed minds faster than any conversation was getting the new component library into engineers' hands. Once they could build with it instead of just hearing about it, the resistance started to break down.

From there, we rolled the design system out alongside a wave of ongoing UX and feature work, all grounded in a simple standard: does this make things better for the fan. That included a redesigned native mobile onboarding flow, easier ticket management experience, and a more personalized shopping experience.

Results

A shared design language — and a 42-point NPS lift

+42ptNPS lift

The refactor and design system shipped together. Fan-facing improvements followed, and Ticketmaster had a shared design language across consumer and enterprise for the first time.

The refactor and design system shipped together, and fan-facing experience improvements followed close behind. NPS rose 42 points, and Ticketmaster had a shared design language across consumer and enterprise products for the first time.

The pandemic halted the culture, energy, and rapid pace of change I oversaw. But while I was there, I helped usher in a dramatically improved Ticketmaster experience that was more fan-focused than it had ever been.