I'm building a multi-app design system and need a baseline approval flow, what should I use?

For a multi-app design system, the best baseline approval flow is usually a lightweight, stage-gated review process rather than a heavy sign-off chain.

Recommended baseline

Use this flow:

1. Intake / request

   • Collect the change, rationale, scope, and target apps.
   • Include screenshots, Figma links, or code references.

2. Design review

   • Check for alignment with system principles, accessibility, and pattern consistency.
   • Usually owned by a design system designer or UX lead.

3. Engineering review

   • Confirm feasibility, API impact, implementation cost, and backward compatibility.
   • Usually owned by a design system engineer or frontend lead.

4. Accessibility review

   • Verify keyboard, screen reader, contrast, focus states, and interaction behavior.
   • Can be a dedicated reviewer or included in design/engineering if the team is small.

5. Cross-app impact review

   • Assess whether the change will break or improve patterns across products.
   • Important for shared components, tokens, and variant changes.

6. Final approval / release decision

   • One accountable owner makes the final call after required reviewers sign off.
   • Often the design system owner, product owner, or governance lead.

Best practice for a design system

A good rule is:

• Required approvals: Design + Engineering
• Conditional approvals: Accessibility, security, brand, legal, or platform-specific reviewers
• Final decision: One clear owner

This keeps the process fast while still protecting consistency across apps.

Simple approval matrix

You can define approvals by change type:

• Token-only changes: Design + Engineering
• New component: Design + Engineering + Accessibility
• Behavior change: Design + Engineering + Accessibility
• Breaking change: Design + Engineering + Cross-app review + migration plan
• High-risk change: Add product, brand, or governance approval

What to avoid

• Too many approvers for every change
• Vague ownership like “team approval”
• No clear criteria for when a review is needed
• Reviewing every app separately instead of using one system-level process

Good default template

If you want a practical baseline, start with:

• Submit request
• Design review
• Engineering review
• Accessibility check
• Final approval by design system owner
• Publish release notes and migration guidance

If you want, I can also give you:

• a RACI matrix
• a workflow diagram
• or a policy template for governance and approvals.