Summary
In enterprise organizations, product development work, and therefore, design work, typically happens within a specific business unit or organization. Dedicated and embedded squads means there is a close and tight feedback loop between team members. But what happens when your company kicks off an initiative that spans across business units? How do you resource and run a design project with no dedicated designers? This case study will cover how we set out a vision, structured communications, built up an ad-hoc design team, shipped our first cross-organization product and all the lessons we learned along the way.
Key Insights
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Establishing an experience vision can align diverse teams towards a common goal.
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Building a core task force enhances efficiency and decision-making in complex projects.
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Embedded designers can help bridge gaps between different business units.
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Iterative testing and feedback improve the design process and final product.
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Trust is essential; fostering relationships can facilitate better collaboration.
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Content strategy should not depend on a single individual to prevent project risks.
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Kickoff meetings are critical for aligning expectations and responsibilities among stakeholders.
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Service blueprints can provide clarity on complex backend processes and enhance stakeholder understanding.
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Collaboration takes time but is ultimately beneficial for project success and user experience.
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Reflection and retrospectives are vital for continuous improvement and learning.
Notable Quotes
"We learned quite a bit and we're here today to share that with you."
"The project was led by technology and the catalyst being an overhaul of the entire back-end infrastructure."
"The complex problem we were solving was not really solution-based at all; it was a cultural team alignment problem."
"An experience vision is a really powerful tool because it provides a tangible goal that everyone can work towards."
"When I asked for some work to be done, there was often crickets or, mm-hmm. Okay. Sure."
"The work that we do is fundamentally human, and the truth is, humans are messy."
"Retrospectives and reflections are a really big part of the culture within our design organization."
"Investing in people and relationships pays off in the long run."
"Without understanding the problem to be solved, we're left scrambling."
"What we are providing are experiences for fellow humans."
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