Coverage is directly related to adoption: It represents how much of the product experience is built using design system tokens and components, rather than custom, one-off solutions. A higher coverage percentage indicates that a greater portion of the product is aligned with the design system, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and maintainability.
Coverage can be measured as a percentage, calculated by comparing the number of system components used against the total number of components in the product. For example, if a product's UI consists of 80% design system components and 20% custom-built elements, its coverage would be 80%.
High coverage suggests strong adherence to the design system, leading to benefits such as faster development, easier updates, and a more cohesive user experience. Low coverage, on the other hand, might indicate fragmentation, technical debt, or resistance to adoption, often requiring intervention to standardise components and improve efficiency.
To improve coverage, teams can audit their product’s UI, identify areas where custom solutions can be replaced with design system components, and provide guidance to designers and developers on how to fully leverage the system.
