Rosenverse

Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.

Log in Create free account

100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.

Meeting of the Waters: Designing for Successful Inorganic Growth
Thursday, August 12, 2021 • Enterprise Community
Share the love for this talk
Meeting of the Waters: Designing for Successful Inorganic Growth
Speakers: Jorge Arango
Link:

Summary

There are two ways for organizations to grow: organically (i.e., through internal development) or inorganically (i.e., through mergers and acquisitions.) In this session, Jorge Arango discusses how designers can help their organizations grow inorganically. We cover design's role in creating a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts and learn three "plays" to help us chart a path towards more cohesive product experiences.

Key Insights

  • Inorganic growth via mergers often results in teams functioning side-by-side without true integration, causing fragmented user experiences.

  • Confusing product portfolios post-merger are common, with overlapping, complementary, or vaguely distinct offerings.

  • Misaligned terminology and multiple design systems contribute to incoherent experiences and redundant efforts.

  • Political and ego conflicts between acquired teams complicate integration beyond mere engineering challenges.

  • Design has strategic roles beyond production, including clarifying vision and facilitating organizational alignment.

  • Vision types are powerful artifacts akin to concept cars that help executives visualize long-term possibilities.

  • Design projects can serve as MacGuffins, catalysts that enable hard conversations and cultural integration.

  • Conceptual modeling helps teams agree on abstract system concepts before UI design, reducing ambiguity and conflict.

  • Successful mergers require a clear unified vision, aligned incentives, shared language, and executive support.

  • Balancing top-down vision with bottom-up user insights is crucial for meaningful product and cultural integration.

Notable Quotes

"Teams continue functioning kind of as they were for a while, running alongside each other like two rivers for miles without mixing."

"Confusing product portfolios often arise when two successful teams’ products overlap, complement, or have vague distinctions."

"Politics and ego conflicts are inevitable and separate challenges that seriously impact merger integration."

"Design is often seen as a production function but can and should be a strategic partner in organizational transformation."

"Steve Jobs’ product matrix simplified Apple’s sprawling portfolio and refocused their efforts, which arguably saved the company."

"A design project can become the catalyst for conversations where teams realize they have not talked to each other."

"Conceptual models are ideas about the world and how parts behave in relation to each other; they precede screen-level design."

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast—integrating cultures is the hardest and most critical part of mergers."

"Vision types help us envision ideal futures freed from near-term constraints but must avoid magical thinking."

"The whole should be greater than the sum of the parts, but achieving that requires intentional design and leadership."

Ask the Rosenbot
Megan Blocker
Theme 2 Intro
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Josh Clark
Sentient Design: New Postures for AI-Mediated Experiences (2nd of 3 seminars)
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Julie Baher
Culture Change—My Journey
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Deanna Washington
Connecting the Ops: Plenary Panel and Closing Circle
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Briana Thomas
When Design Ops Comes in H.O.T. : A Tale of a Transformed Design Org
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Magdalena Zadara
Zero Hour: How to Get Far Quickly When Starting Your Digital Service Unit Late
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Sara Conklin
A UXer’s 12-Month Journey from Climate Concern to Climate Credibility
2025 • Climate UX Interest Group
Peter Levin
Solve a Problem Here, Transform a Strategy There: Research as an Occasion for Expanding Organizational Possibility
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Corey Long
Hiring in DesignOps: A Critical Study on How to Hire and Get Hired
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Elana Chapman
Getting started with accessibility research
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Jemma Ahmed
Redefining the research toolkit: Expanding methodologies for a changing world
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Alla Weinberg
Workers Are Sick of Change: The Cure is Psychological Safety
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Jessica Norris
ADHD: A DesignOps Superpower
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Cheryl Platz
Merging Improv with Design
2019 • Enterprise Community
Ted Booth
Discussion
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Marc Fonteijn
First Insights from the 2025 Service Design Salary(+) Report
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold

More Videos

Matt Stone

"Everyone was just staying in their lane and focused on delivery, not seeing how their project impacted others."

Matt Stone

Scaling Empathy, A Case Study in Change Management

June 11, 2021

Aditi Ruiz

"Empathizing with product managers is a great first step towards turning understanding into bigger influence for product and design."

Aditi Ruiz Christian Crumlish Farid Sabitov

A PM State of Mind: Empathy Mapping Your Product Manager, Pt. 1

December 6, 2022

Dave Malouf

"We're learning from each other in the community, which is much healthier than going to Google because anything can be on Google."

Dave Malouf Meredith Black Farid Sabitov

The Past, Present, and Future of DesignOps: a 2-part DesignOps Community Call (Part 1)

February 17, 2022

Sheri Byrne-Haber

"Accessibility isn’t just about visible disabilities; it’s about invisible disabilities and situational impairments too."

Sheri Byrne-Haber

Accessibility at Scale

June 9, 2021

Nidhi Singh Rathore

"Participatory research feels more like improv, not a scripted play; you don't know where the session will go, which is exciting."

Nidhi Singh Rathore Amber Davis

Embracing participation to unlock deeper truths in commercial research

March 12, 2025

Laine Riley Prokay

"Adding inclusivity to the career ladder took three years and this is still a living document with room for change."

Laine Riley Prokay

How DesignOps can Drive Inclusive Career Ladders for All

September 30, 2021

Ariba Jahan

"The whole give yourself an oxygen mask before helping others metaphor is very true here."

Ariba Jahan

Team Resiliency Through a Pandemic

January 8, 2024

Noreen Whysel

"By understanding your environment and having those conversations with your product manager, you can create a relationship that is sustainable and efficient."

Noreen Whysel Katie Saindon

Short Take #4: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers

December 6, 2022

Rittika Basu

"Anyone can become a person with accessibility needs at any time, so inclusivity should be a default."

Rittika Basu

Age and Interfaces: Equipping Older Adults with Technological Tools

February 23, 2023