Summary
In this talk, Michele Wong will discuss the successes and impediments experienced working with UX vendors and share techniques that have worked for her in-house team. Having productive outcomes when working with external design teams requires a unique mindset accompanied by defined methodologies. She will talk about what has allowed her and her team to deliver really good work for their Tax stakeholders without losing focus on some key components that matter when building enterprise apps—brand consistency, quality and speed. She will share how they have helped vendors help them accelerate the delivery of consistent and excellent work.
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
"We reduced the time to approve consent forms from two weeks to minutes through modular content and legal collaboration."
Phil HeskethDesigning Accessible Research Workflows
September 29, 2021
"Safe money has solid returns, so fiscally responsible companies demand higher returns from new investments especially with inflation."
Mike OrenWhy Pharmaceutical's Research Model Should Replace Design Thinking
March 28, 2023
"We'll have a centralized Slack channel for all discussion to come together as one community."
Bria Alexander Louis RosenfeldWelcome
January 8, 2024
"We want to feel valued and find satisfaction in our daily work."
Kit UngerTheme 1 Intro
June 8, 2022
"The SIR model is simple but can be applied beyond viruses—to information spread, finance, and UX adoption."
Scott PlewesWhy Isn't Your UX Approach Going Viral?: A Mathematical Model
March 28, 2023
"There are no mistakes in jazz, just missed opportunities."
Jim KalbachJazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration
November 6, 2017
"Operations tends to be something companies only think about when they are scaling rapidly, but investing early is essential."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"It takes courage to push back against dominant culture and present dissenting opinions in organizations."
Noah BondRedefining truth and inclusivity: Navigating data ownership and ethical research in the age of disinformation
March 11, 2025
"Evaluating interventions must loop back to expand understanding of consequences and radiating effects."
Sheryl CababaExpanding Your Design Lens with Systems Thinking
February 23, 2023
