Agile
I think it's vital that the development team completely take ownership of the design, and for that, a completely Agile environment, as well as Lean UX methodologies, help a lot in this task.
I believe that Agile environments, using Scrum or Kanban, can help a Designer's activities, and also provides project-wide transparency for the entire company, collaborating with people in other areas to capture the best ideas for the projects.
Data
Data is needed from the beginning of the project, at all times. It's not because something looks good, that it’s really good and it works, you can only be sure of that by analyzing the data. To determine whether a design is working, you need data.
I like to define success metrics at the beginning of a project. At critical decision points, I ask myself and others, 'How will this affect our success metrics? Solid reporting and analytics is critical in deeming whether a project is successful.
Technical knowledge
I can communicate directly with developers on a technical level. So I can ensure that developers, since the beginning of the project, understand what needs to be done about the design. It also allows technical constraints to be circumvented or solved, with original forms and collaboration.
Mentoring and Evangelizing
Extensive experience in mentoring UX professionals, teaching skills, explaining process, storytelling, creating and showing examples. I’m always available to discuss ideas, researches, and trying to stimulate the search for new solutions. To me, it is essential to create an environment of constant feedback, to adjust, and reward when it’s needed.
Evangelize UX culture is an essential part of my work when I start working in a place without UX culture; my first action is to construct it.