Summary
Making design simple in siloed and dated governmental organization with a baggage of tradition and slumped public reception is not an easy task. This talk presents a case study transforming a large government-regulated gambling monopoly from the product-driven world of the past into the emergent and rapidly shifting markets where the customer is placed front and center. How to refresh an organization without causing more obstacles? Organizing for continuous learning and allowing natural competence development can be achieved with reviewing the foundations of the business model and design organization. This talk presents solutions from the presented case study.
Key Insights
-
•
A dated company vision hinders alignment and adaptability in fast-changing industries like gambling.
-
•
Co-creating vision statements with the entire design org and basing them on customer interviews improves focus.
-
•
Regulation to prevent addictive gaming can directly conflict with traditional design goals like engagement.
-
•
Organizational resilience relies heavily on fulfilling psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
-
•
Excessive meetings without clear goals decrease productivity; workshops and agendas improve focus and speed.
-
•
Trust enables transparency and information sharing, which are key to scaling design efficiency.
-
•
Remote design workshops succeed more by managing participant focus and agenda than by the tools themselves.
-
•
Low-threshold design methods and toolkits accelerate learning, confidence, and adoption across diverse teams.
-
•
Continuous customer dialogue beyond surveys drives better prioritization and product responsibility.
-
•
Flexible budgeting and continuous projects reduce knowledge loss and improve adaptability over time.
Notable Quotes
"Many obstacles we faced came from inside the organization, not just external factors."
"The red buttons are forbidden to reduce excessive engagement — that runs counter to typical design goals."
"Nobody really knew what we should be reaching for because the vision was outdated."
"People were pushed but had no idea what was expected from them — adaptability was lacking."
"Transparency can be a master source of efficiency when people are trusted to share."
"Every meeting should have a predefined agenda, at least if no clear goal is determined."
"It was not the remote tools that were the challenge, but getting people to focus."
"Organizations are made of people — resilience is an outcome of a successfully organized group."
"Autonomy means having confidence to make choices and affect ways of working."
"Low-threshold peer designing exponentially develops confidence very quickly."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Find your blind spots and be honest about your and your team’s abilities to avoid harm."
Mariah HayEthics in Tech Education: Designing to Provide Opportunity for All
June 14, 2018
"Progress over perfection—that’s how accessibility wins get made and sustained."
Nicole Bergstrom Anna Cook Kate Kalcevich Saara Kamppari-MillerAccessibilityOps: Moving beyond “nice to have”
September 19, 2024
"It’s about making researchers, designers, cross-functional collaborators more efficient and more highly performant."
Jon FukudaTheme One Intro
September 8, 2022
"We are not collecting vanity analytics, the data is doing real work on informing design."
Mackenzie Cockram Sara Branco Cunha Ian FranklinIntegrating Qualitative and Quantitative Research from Discovery to Live
December 16, 2022
"Draw your ideas, draw your ideas — it unlocked a skill I never thought I had and made my ideas have more traction."
Mujtaba HameedFrameworks for Excellence: Using Visual Thinking and Communication to Elevate Your Research
March 26, 2024
"You have a strategy either by design or by default; most often, that default is doing whatever is most politically expedient or urgent."
Chris GeisonWhat is Research Strategy?
March 11, 2021
"One digital accessibility lawsuit was filed every single hour in 2018."
Suzan Bednarz Hilary SunderlandAccessibilityOps for All
January 8, 2024
"This is not just a typical HR survey; it focuses deeply on the products and experiences employees use daily."
Adel Du ToitGet Your CFO To Say: 'Our Strategic Goal is User Obsession'
June 10, 2022
"Space matters, but don’t start with the space; start by changing people, processes, and mindsets."
Sam YenDriving Organizational Change Through Design? Do more of this and less of that
June 9, 2017
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
Why is it important for design teams to invest in community outreach and academic collaborations?
How can continuous professional development help designers stay relevant amid rapid industry change?
What role does storytelling at project milestones play in communicating design work to leadership in the federal government?