Making the Invisible Visible: The most critical deliverable isn't always the design
Summary
Designers often create journey maps, service blueprints, prototypes, and models. But their greatest value may not be what they define about digital products—it may be what they reveal about organizations! This session explores how visual artifacts expose hidden assumptions, organizational blind spots, and unmet human needs, helping teams align on what's really important. In this moment of speedy AI-generated outputs, Robin Beers and Uday Gajendar argue that one of the designer's most enduring roles is creating the shared understanding that makes meaningful change possible.
Upcoming events
Making the Invisible Visible: The most critical deliverable isn't always the design
Exit Interview #7: Facing a blank slate in retirement when constraints are all you’ve ever known
Transcendent Experience (ZX) Design: A Design Framework for Human Connection
More Videos
"We heard from the community through surveys which helped us understand what you hope to see at this year's Design Ops Summit."
Alana WashingtonTheme 3 Intro
October 1, 2021
"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
"Sometimes government rules grow from a single mistake that leads to congressional hearings and new regulations."
Crystal PhilcoxThe Many Faces of Operations
November 6, 2017
"Screen readers navigate based on the code and semantics, not on visual layout or appearance."
Sam ProulxDesigning For Screen Readers: Understanding the Mental Models and Techniques of Real Users
December 10, 2021
"Choosing a research repository is a big battle in your organization; the right decisions can really help you succeed."
Sofia QuinteroThe Product Philosophy Behind EnjoyHQ
March 10, 2021
"Disruptive change is the new normal, coming from every direction — not just technology."
Doug PowellDesignOps and the Next Frontier: Leading Through Unpredictable Change
September 11, 2025
"The product leadership really doesn’t see the value in research and they’re thinking about shutting the research team down."
Johanna KollmannInsights-Driven Product Strategy: Get your Research to Count
December 6, 2022
"Almost 90% of data science projects do not make it into production—they die on the vine."
Joel BranchHumanizing AI: Filling the Gaps with Multi-faceted Research
March 11, 2021
"Failing early is critical because you can’t control the model."
Katie JohnsonDisrupting generative AI products with just-in-time consumer insights
June 4, 2024