Helping Them Help Us
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Onboarding external designers in complex enterprise settings requires firm-specific resources and an industry-centric acronym cheat sheet to reduce initial overwhelm.
-
•
An effective onboarding kit acts as a 'Tax 101' for designers to bridge knowledge gaps before they start working.
-
•
Discovery activities often face internal resistance due to time constraints, which can be mitigated by offering short, familiar workshop formats.
-
•
Providing facilitation guides and how-to videos with discovery methods reduces the learning curve for external designers and stakeholders alike.
-
•
A unified, brand-approved design system is essential to avoid duplication, inconsistency, and wasted effort when multiple design teams collaborate.
-
•
Early and continuous engagement with the brand team prevents costly reworks caused by brand misalignment.
-
•
Toolkits designed in proprietary design software can hinder adoption and personalization; universal, easily editable formats increase flexibility.
-
•
A shift from an 'us vs them' mindset to an 'us and them' approach between internal and external designers is crucial for toolkit success.
-
•
Toolkits should be treated as living projects with defined update processes and sponsorship to maintain relevance and user trust.
-
•
The three kits together—onboarding, discovery, and design—improve overall workflow velocity, quality, and shared vision across teams.
Notable Quotes
"External vendors are overwhelmed with tax technical documents, emails, calendar invites, and tasks before even starting."
"Salt actually stands for state and local taxes, and MSG stands for multiple service groups in the tax world."
"Discovery workshops are seen as time-consuming and costly, causing resistance from internal stakeholders."
"With the discovery kit, internal and external designers can dance in unison by speaking the same language."
"Without a design system, designers recreate and reinterpret their own versions of the brand, causing inconsistent UI across applications."
"Always engage with the brand team on day one to avoid awkward and confrontational approval processes later."
"Design toolkits created in design software requiring special licenses slow down personalization and adoption."
"Their success is our success, especially when you treat external designers as part of the team."
"Don’t expect perfection with the toolkits on day one; iterative feedback and time will flesh them out."
"Manage the toolkit as a project—have a backlog, prioritize changes, and dedicate sprints to keep it updated."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Conflict resolution skills include self-regulation, acknowledgment, asking exploratory questions, and deep listening."
Laura WeissTurn Down the Heat: 3 Ways to Handle Conflict in the Moment
November 20, 2024
"Our intercept survey is more reliable than NPS and works well even for illiterate drivers because it uses emojis as response options."
George Zhang Molly StevensUX Research Excellence Framework
March 11, 2021
"Belonging means understanding the shape, size, and cause of your community and your unique purpose in it."
Daniel GloydWarming the User Experience: Lessons from America's first and most radical human-centered designers
May 9, 2024
"I think you can't be good at research unless you're also good at getting that research across."
Megan Blocker Mujtaba Hameed Victor UdoewaPanel: Excellence in Impact
March 25, 2024
"No matter how good I am at my job, it doesn’t make me a good parent. What makes a good parent is time, love, compassion, and a sense of humor."
Dan WillisEnterprise Storytelling Sessions
June 3, 2019
"Establishing research is years-long work, requiring coordinated action, self-awareness, rigor, and honest assessment."
Dave HoraAdvice for Establishing Research
December 8, 2022
"Conversation is 21st century design; it's how we share values, align intentions, and coordinate action."
Paul Pangaro, PhDSystems Disciplines: Table Stakes for 21st Century Organizations
June 6, 2023
"Low UX maturity is often a symptom of a bigger problem in how you build product, not just design adoption."
Bob Baxley Sara Asche Anderson Sharon Bautista Frank Duran Jamie Kaspszak Abbey Smalley Sylas SouzaTheme 4: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Existing research repositories die at the bottom of slide decks; that’s why I started Everywhere to rethink how we manage insights."
Andrew MichaelBuilding a Product Insights Team
March 10, 2022
