What is Design System Health?
Design system health is a composite measure of how well your design system is being adopted and maintained, typically expressed as a score based on metrics like component usage, token compliance, and consistency across products.
Why Health Metrics Matter
Without measurement, design system quality degrades invisibly. Teams ship inconsistent UIs, design debt accumulates, and the system loses trust. Health metrics make the invisible visible—giving design system teams data to prioritize work, demonstrate value, and catch problems early.
Key Health Indicators
Common metrics include: adoption rate (percentage of UI using system components), detached instance count, token violation count, component coverage (features using the system vs. custom solutions), and override patterns. Each metric reveals different aspects of system health and usage.
Calculating a Health Score
A health score typically weights multiple factors based on severity. Critical issues like detached instances might have 3x weight versus minor issues like non-standard spacing. The score normalizes across file sizes so a 10-component file and 1000-component file are comparable. Scores trend over time to show improvement or regression.
Acting on Health Data
Health metrics are only valuable if they drive action. Low scores in specific areas guide where to focus—high detachment rates might indicate component inflexibility, while token violations suggest missing variables. Regular health monitoring creates accountability and makes design system ROI concrete.
Automate Your Design System Audits
ComponentQA automatically detects design system problems across your Figma files. Get actionable insights with deep links to fix issues where they live.