Summary
To be alive in the twenty-first century is to rely on countless complex systems that profoundly affect our lives, where small mistakes can turn into massive inefficiencies and failures. These failures seem to stem from very different problems, but their underlying causes turn out to be surprisingly similar. This talk will cover about the common threads of these failures, how they can be detected and ultimately prevented using various research disciplines – from market research to anthropology to data science. We need to get good at designing and building for systems to tackle multi-dimensional problems at the intersection of people and technology.
Key Insights
-
•
Judy Ellis taught that the key to good design is combining aesthetics, manufacturing knowledge, business understanding, and an appreciation of play.
-
•
Successful processes must be transparent yet become invisible in their application to empower creativity and decision-making.
-
•
Shopify divides work into product lines addressing audiences and service lines ensuring knowledge flow and organizational alignment.
-
•
Data types fall into two complementary streams: object-oriented 'what' data and context-oriented 'where' data.
-
•
The brain processes 'what' and 'where' data in different hippocampus areas before combining them for decision-making.
-
•
Qualitative, context-rich data (the where stream) reaches decision centers earlier and is critical for effective decisions.
-
•
Cross-disciplinary collaboration among UX researchers, data scientists, anthropologists, and market researchers maximizes insight quality.
-
•
Knowledge distribution is best managed by shaping the environment and workflows rather than micromanaging the process itself.
-
•
Leadership support and clear executive ownership are vital to sustaining centralized research and knowledge cycles.
-
•
Tools like Shopify’s merchant frustrations database improve asset visibility and continuous improvement for customer-centric decisions.
Notable Quotes
"Toy design is not about the toy itself but a tool that unlocks unlimited possibilities before a child."
"Successful operations must have well laid out and transparent process documentation but that process must become invisible in its application."
"Service lines bridge gaps between product lines by facilitating knowledge flow and alignment."
"Our brains are terrible at operating on only one type of information—object-oriented or context-oriented."
"It’s the context-related data gathered through qualitative research that reaches our decision-making centers first."
"UX researchers at Shopify travel across product lines to share expertise and knowledge continuously."
"Knowledge creation, distribution, application, and evaluation form a reusable circular process, not a linear one."
"Leadership is really important—having an executive who understands the value of the knowledge cycle is key."
"Shopify’s merchant frustrations tool tracks customer issues over time, making that knowledge available to all teams."
"Properly maintained, knowledge becomes a vehicle that probes the most hidden spaces of what’s possible."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Creating a roadmap built enough space to make meaningful design changes for developers to implement."
Darian DavisLessons from a Toxic Work Relationship
January 8, 2024
"Iterative engagement models mean we test, learn, and adapt rather than seeking a perfect solution from the start."
Aaron Stienstra Lashanda HodgeLeveraging Civic Design to Advance Equity and Rebuild Trust in the US Federal Government
December 8, 2021
"You’re really there to learn because the person with assistive technology is the expert of their setup."
Kavana RameshMeaningful inclusion: Practicing accessibility research with confidence
September 24, 2024
"The relationship between designers and data scientists can actually be pretty magical."
Helen ArmstrongAugment the Human. Interrogate the System.
June 7, 2023
"All models are wrong, but some are useful."
Scott PlewesWhy Isn't Your UX Approach Going Viral?: A Mathematical Model
March 28, 2023
"The New European Bauhaus combines aesthetics, inclusivity, and climate-neutral ambitions to transform built environments by 2050."
Christian BasonExpand—Rethinking Design for Public Challenges
September 14, 2022
"Tool use lets the model decide itself when to call external APIs or services to get needed information."
Peter Van DijckBuilding impactful AI products for design and product leaders, Part 3: Understand AI architectures: RAG, Agents, Oh My!
July 30, 2025
"Large language models are where computers and language become indistinguishable, breaking down boundaries between cognition and technology."
Soma Ghosh Savina Hawkins Dave Hoffer Rob Thomas Victor UdoewaWhat emerging methods are advancing UX research [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 28, 2023
"As soon as I started writing stories down, more memories came back from all over my research career."
Steve Portigal Susan Simon-Daniels Tamara Hale Randolph Duke IIWar Stories LIVE! Q&A-Discussion
March 30, 2020
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How should a design ops team define and use lead measures and scorecards to track progress effectively?
What implications does AI agent technology have on the evolving relationship between designers and developers?
How can design leaders use reflection and conversation to balance their time, confidence, and enjoyment in leadership responsibilities?