Jared HawkinsPrototype-to-Production Diagnostic

Design system studies

These independent studies ask two practical questions: How well does a design system stay aligned from design through production? Can an AI coding agent use it to produce working software?

GitHub’s Primer

GitHub’s Primer design system report

Primer is strong, but it needs better proof that Figma, code, and product patterns stay aligned.

Evidence through

System readiness73.75 / 100

A strong foundation with incomplete proof that the system stays aligned at scale.

Agent performance14 / 15 runs

The agent produced working software in most runs, but one missed form behavior shows why automated tests and human review still matter.

IBM’s Carbon

IBM’s Carbon design system report

Carbon is mature, but its strongest guidance is not yet backed by system-wide proof.

Evidence through

System readiness72.5 / 100

A strong system with mixed proof that design, code, product flows, and governance stay aligned at scale.

Agent performance13 / 15 runs

The agent produced working software in most runs, but two missed accessibility connections show why automated interaction and accessibility tests still matter.

AWS Cloudscape

AWS Cloudscape design system report

Cloudscape has a mature public system, while a purposive agent benchmark found uneven compliance with its full answer, evidence, and executable requirements.

Evidence through

System readiness68.75 / 100

A mature public system with mixed proof that design, code, product flows, and governance stay aligned at scale.

Agent performance24 / 60 runs

The agent met every blocking benchmark requirement in 24 of 60 frozen-evidence runs. This purposive result is not a production reliability estimate.

U.S. Web Design System

U.S. Web Design System report

USWDS is mature in code, while its design kit remains the main readiness gap.

Evidence through

System readiness68.75 / 100

A mixed result with strong code, guidance, components, layouts, and governance, but a dated design kit and no public machine-readable design-to-code mapping.

Agent performance14 / 15 runs

The agent passed every token, button, validated-field, and governance run, plus two of three complete-form runs. One incorrect workflow label blocked the remaining form.

Apply this method to your design system

The Prototype-to-Production Diagnostic identifies where design, code, product behavior, and team practices drift, then turns the findings into an achievable improvement plan.

See the diagnostic