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.

Power of Insights: Why sharing is better than silos with Uber’s Insights Platform
Monday, December 16, 2019 • Advancing Research Community
Share the love for this talk
Power of Insights: Why sharing is better than silos with Uber’s Insights Platform
Speakers: Etienne Fang
Link:

Summary

Uber is powered by insights. Chances are good that your company is, too. We’ve all had firsthand experiences of an inconvenient truth: insights are only as good as our ability to make use of them, and centralizing insights in a tool is only one piece of the puzzle. In this session we’ll not only share how we created our insights database, Kaleidoscope, but also what we’ve learned about changing behavior through partnerships and processes at an organizational level.

Key Insights

  • A unified insights taxonomy with 'who, what, why' improves clarity and usability of insights.

  • Insights are defined as actionable learnings that inform decisions, not just raw data or facts.

  • Triangulating insights across functions and geographies reveals broader opportunities and regional nuances.

  • Insight creators want their learnings applied responsibly and without being taken out of context.

  • Insight consumers seek deep understanding to inform strategic decision-making.

  • Adoption of insight platforms is boosted by social incentives like awards and collaborative events.

  • Connecting existing siloed systems rather than replacing them encourages buy-in and richer networks.

  • Real-world connections and knowing who to contact are vital alongside digital insights tools.

  • Maintaining quality control and vetting content is key to building trust in the platform.

  • Ongoing challenges include incentivizing consistent submissions and automating insight imports to ease user effort.

Notable Quotes

"An insight is an important learning about people, our applications, or the world that helps us make an informed decision about a project, roadmap, or program."

"Who, what, and why help ensure an insight is complete enough to stand alone."

"Uber bus drivers in Cairo end up working longer than their scheduled shift because they still receive requests 20 to 30 minutes before their shift ends."

"Sharing is actually the end—it’s basically the last step that means you’ve completed your study or analysis."

"A kaleidoscope helps us see changing patterns to perceive new images and pursue new possibilities."

"People want to get credit and recognition for the work that they’re doing."

"The person sitting next to you probably solved that problem already—just talk to one another."

"Connecting strings of Christmas lights is a mental model for connecting teams’ insights without superseding their systems."

"Validation helps drive action, so feedback and social engagement keep people motivated to share insights."

"Sharing enables lots of great things to happen—it’s better than being locked in silos."

Ask the Rosenbot
Alexia Cohen
Increasing Health Equity and Improving the Service Experience for Under-Served Latine Communities in Arizona
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Christian Crumlish
Introduction by our Conference Chair
2022 • Design in Product 2022
Gold
Dave Hoffer
UX Job Search AMA #2 with Joanne Weaver and Dave Hoffer
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Joseph Williams
Unlocking impact and influence through inclusive hiring in research
2021 • Advancing Research Community
Stefanie Owens
Optimizing for Outcomes: Transformation Design in Systems at Scale
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Nathan Shedroff
Redefining Value: Bridging the Innovation Culture Divide
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Allison Sanders
Operating with Purpose
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
Do you want to work on climate? (Climate UX Discussion Series)
2023 • Climate UX Interest Group
Sam Proulx
Accessibility: An Opportunity to Innovate
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Erin Hauber
Design is Not the Frosting on the Scaled Agile Layer Cake
2019 • DesignOps Summit 2019
Gold
Ted Booth
Discussion
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Greg Petroff
Everything is About to Change: Software as Material
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Patrizia Bertini
Pushing DesignOps’ Influence into New Global Markets
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Lija Hogan
Doing more with more: Lessons from the Front Lines of Democratization
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Hugh Dubberly
Problems with Problems: Reconsidering the Frame of Designing as Problem-Solving
2019 • Enterprise Community
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks Day 1
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold

More Videos

Sam Proulx

"When you design for the edges, you make things better, more fluid, more customizable for everyone."

Sam Proulx

Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience

June 7, 2023

Ignacio Martinez

"Career managers develop close relationships with designers and advocate for staffing and promotions on their behalf."

Ignacio Martinez

Fair and Effective Designer Evaluation

September 25, 2024

Sarah Kinkade

"Stakeholders saw design as a slow-moving black box — exactly what we were trying to move away from."

Sarah Kinkade Mariana Ortiz-Reyes

Design Management Models in the Face of Transformation

June 8, 2022

Daniel Gloyd

"Design is often framed as problem solving, but conversation is a better framework to respect users as active experts."

Daniel Gloyd

Warming the User Experience: Lessons from America's first and most radical human-centered designers

May 9, 2024

Patrick Boehler

"Finding meaningful insights is not just casting a wide net—it requires discipline, structure, and knowing where to fish."

Patrick Boehler

Fishing for Real Needs: Reimagining Journalism Needs with AI

June 10, 2025

Andy Barraclough

"Providing stakeholders with real user voices alongside insights is key to internalizing and acting on research."

Andy Barraclough Betsy Nelson

From Costly Complexity to Efficient Insights: Why UX Teams Are Switching To Voxpopme

September 23, 2024

Alexandra Schmidt

"We should reconsider the savior complex designers sometimes have — we’re not all powerful."

Alexandra Schmidt

Why Ethics Can't Save Tech

November 18, 2022

Louis Rosenfeld

"A lot of DevOps is about empathy — doing our piece but thinking about the larger connection."

Louis Rosenfeld

Discussion: What Operations can teach DesignOps

November 6, 2017

Mitchell Bernstein

"Previously, IBM designers were inventing their own buttons for every product, which exasperated chaos and inconsistency."

Mitchell Bernstein

Organizing Chaos: How IBM is Defining Design Systems with Sketch for an Ever-Changing AI Landscape

September 29, 2021