Summary
Mark Interrante, the SVP of Engineering at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, has an extensive history of building out design and product teams in technology. Listen as he shares tips and tools to improve collaboration between multi-disciplinary teams.
Key Insights
-
•
Organizational silos often manifest visibly in product design, reflecting internal boundaries rather than customer needs.
-
•
Bringing in external UX experts like Jakob Nielsen can reveal uncomfortable truths about organizational alignment.
-
•
Assuming positive intent when working across teams dramatically improves collaboration and conflict resolution.
-
•
Mapping horizontal workflows across teams helps identify bottlenecks, usually caused by delays and waiting time rather than workload.
-
•
Writing the fences — explicitly defining cross-team boundaries and interaction protocols — increases trust and collaboration between departments.
-
•
Small, incremental changes in team habits compound to transform culture much more effectively than large sweeping reforms.
-
•
Clarifying the deeper goals behind tasks using four simple outcome questions prevents wasted effort and uncovers better solutions.
-
•
A concise proposal framework (side-pav) that states situation, complication, position, action, and benefit dramatically increases approval rates for change initiatives.
-
•
Large organizations benefit from treating teams as having APIs—clear, documented interfaces for interaction and requests.
-
•
Focusing on optimizing workflow latency delivers far greater productivity returns than increasing work hours or additional headcount.
Notable Quotes
"You can see our organization through the homepage of our site — we each owned a rectangle."
"Culture is what you tolerate — if you tolerate rudeness or tardiness, it becomes part of who you are."
"Assume positive intent from their point of view — they’re trying to have a good day, not work against you."
"Up to 90% of time in work streams is delay or waiting time, not active work."
"If you want to get faster output, optimize the work and workflow first — not add more hours."
"We started to build an API for how other teams could interact with us like a contract."
"Use four simple questions to find out what people really want and why — it avoids misaligned efforts."
"Side-pav proposals answer what’s going on, why it matters now, what you propose, what action to take, and what benefit comes from it."
"Small micro changes every week add up — ask your team what tiny improvements they’ve made recently."
"Making issues visible, sharing models, and iterating versions of workflows helps uncover blockages and solutions."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Every project and initiative we launched has been a Trojan horse navigating through dark matter."
Sofía Delsordo Kassim VeraPublic Policy for Jalisco's Designers to Make Design Matter
December 8, 2021
"Using program dollars to hire freelancers helped me avoid difficult conversations with HR and finance early on."
Sarah Kinkade Mariana Ortiz-ReyesDesign Management Models in the Face of Transformation
June 8, 2022
"Welcome to the AI party, we've got 10 years of research to share."
Dan SafferWhy AI projects fail (and what we can do about it)
May 14, 2025
"The hyperbolic discounting bias means researchers prefer immediate gratification over deferred rewards from reusable knowledge."
Ben Davies Matt Duignan Andrew Michael Dr. Emily DiLeoExpert Panel: The Principles of Research Repository Design
March 11, 2022
"We dropped the word prototyping for simulation because it resonated better with clinicians and learning departments."
Carol MassaDesigning Health: Integrating Service Design, Technology, and Strategy to Transform Patient and Clinician Experiences
December 3, 2024
"I stay motivated because my assignment is to get human-centered design products shipped into people’s hands to improve their lives."
Ovetta SampsonTurning UX Passion into Real Product Influence
June 7, 2023
"Google’s photo algorithm mistakenly tagged Black people as gorillas, which was called out by Jackie Elsene."
Nancy DouyonWe'll Figure That Out in the Next Launch: Enterprise Tech's Nobility Complex
June 15, 2018
"Flexibility is not about using the same methodologies; it’s about moving together towards the same goal."
Sol MeszHands or Brains? How to Hire for Strategy, Strategically
January 8, 2024
"There is often a gap between intentions and impact in design, and accountability closes that gap."
Sandra CamachoCreating More Bias-Proof Designs
January 22, 2025