A Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approach to User-Centric Maturity at Scale
Summary
Vasilieos will present a case study for top-down and bottom-up approach taken at LEGO with practical information, learnings and reflections so far.
Key Insights
-
•
Enterprise UX maturity requires both top-down executive buy-in and bottom-up grassroots training.
-
•
Starting UX without support leads to ‘lipstick on a pig’ outcomes where UX is superficial.
-
•
Treating the UX department as a business with responsibilities increases influence and strategic impact.
-
•
With only seven UX designers for 400 products, focusing on highest ROI products is necessary but causes coverage gaps.
-
•
Embedding a UX partner at leadership level within business streams aligns UX vision with product strategy.
-
•
Using system usability scale (SUS) scores as a KPI standardizes measurement across a large product portfolio.
-
•
Vendor selection criteria incorporating usability prevents long-term failure from poor off-the-shelf solutions.
-
•
The UX academy trains non-designers on practical UX methods, increasing UX capacity organically by upskilling existing staff.
-
•
Securing dedicated time (20%) for UX activities within product teams is crucial for effective bottom-up adoption.
-
•
User-centric mindset spreads more successfully when peer colleagues, not external UX teams, lead the change.
Notable Quotes
"User experience is not like the sauce you put on your steak to make it taste better. It is the actual protein within the steak."
"Before, UX was usually brought in very late and expected to just put lipstick on a pig."
"We cleared three weeks of calendars to detach and look at the big picture — that was our UX reboot."
"We run our UX department as a business, with responsibilities, requirements, and expectations."
"With seven UXters for 400 products, the math doesn’t add up, so we must choose where we focus."
"A UX partner needs to develop a thick skin when engaging senior VPs and directors."
"We set the system usability scale score as a KPI for all products to improve measurement and usability."
"The UX academy gave non-designers 20% of their time to learn and practice user experience methods."
"The colleagues sitting next to you, not outsiders, are the best champions to spread UX mindset."
"One of our UX ambassadors transitioned to a full-time UX designer role after the academy."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Automation bias is a predictable cognitive response when a system presents recommendations with confidence."
Eric ShumakeDiagnosis UX: Building Influence in Healthcare Design
April 9, 2026
"Melinda Belcher has succeeded both as an outsider consultant and as an inside enterprise manager, and will share how to leverage those differences."
Dan WillisTheme 3: Intro
January 8, 2024
"Users often re-enter the journey process after a pause, but compress previously taken steps when they come back."
Sean DolanA Practical Look at Creating More Usable Enterprise Customer Journeys
October 31, 2019
"Playbacks are safe spaces where an intern can challenge a senior VP without hierarchy getting in the way."
Adam CutlerPeople + Places + Practices = Outcomes
June 8, 2016
"Short-term pairings with different design people help bring back contributions into the central system."
Nathan CurtisBeyond the Toolkit: Spreading a System Across People & Products
June 9, 2016
"Who are we excluding? That is the better question to ask when talking about inclusive design."
Saara Kamppari-MillerInclusive Design is DesignOps
September 29, 2021
"This poor young airman is not entering into a super cool sci-fi command center but using apps built by their grandparents."
Michal Anne RogondinoSaving Outer Space: The First UX Design System for Our Nation’s Satellites
January 8, 2024
"If we become too self-preservation about our craft, then we could actually be blocking doors."
Feyikemi AkinwolemiwaUninvited, Not Unwelcome: What Researchers Bring When Nobody Asked
August 19, 2026
"Not all climate jobs have digital outputs, so don’t waste your time chasing digital roles in fields like green concrete."
Max Gadney Andrea Petrucci Joshua Stehr Hannah WickesAssessing UX jobs for impact in climate
August 14, 2024
