Resilient Enterprise Design
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Enterprise design must account for complex organizational contexts, not just individual user happiness.
-
•
Resilience in design means creating systems that flex and adapt under stress rather than breaking.
-
•
Customization is essential in enterprise software for companies to express their brand, culture, and workflows.
-
•
Loss of design control due to device variety and user customization requires influence over user behavior rather than strict enforcement.
-
•
Design principles are crucial to reduce indecision and provide a clear framework for decision-making in complex projects.
-
•
Prioritizing clarity over consistency can lead to better user experience outcomes.
-
•
Successful platforms often start by solving specific, concrete problems before generalizing widely.
-
•
Design systems function as living products that maintain consistency, flexibility, and scale across an ecosystem, including users.
-
•
Making it significantly easier to do the right thing drives adoption and behavior change in design.
-
•
Modeling real-world scenarios and anticipating customization scenarios helps create resilient, flexible enterprise applications.
Notable Quotes
"In the enterprise, it’s really about make me effective taking into account non-user personas as well as the individual."
"My boss might be looking over my shoulder and see nothing but red and think I’m not doing my job."
"Designing for the real world means dealing with practical constraints and making refinements in the face of compromise."
"We’re really passionate about our craft but we’re not in control — that’s a shared hallucination we must give up."
"If you design for everyone, no one is satisfied — start with specific solutions then generalize."
"The highest paid person’s opinion, or HIPPO, often makes decisions in the absence of principles and insights."
"Make it difficult to create ugly presentations — make it ten times easier to do the right thing."
"What happens when a user customizes the UI? Does the experience break? This is the question to ask."
"A style guide is an artifact, but a design system is a living, funded product with a roadmap serving an ecosystem."
"Resilient design needs to bend without breaking — to survive stresses while still delivering value."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Communication is nourishment for you and your teams, not just sustenance."
Laura Gatewood Laine ProkayBeyond Buzzwords: Adding Heart to Effective Slack Communication
September 23, 2024
"Companies parachuting in to 'study' marginalized groups often do more harm than good when they don't build local capacity."
Tricia WangThe most popular design thinking strategy is BS
January 27, 2022
"We’re biologically wired to respond to intellectual challenges the same way as physical threats."
Sara LogelYour Colleagues are Your Users Too
March 29, 2023
"I became the Whisperer of the group because I could translate what the business needs were and what the design needs were."
Meredith Black Elyse HornbacherBuilding Community and Common Trends to Look for in 2021
December 17, 2020
"You ask yourself, does this activity directly impact the quality, feature, price, or customer experience?"
Bassel Deeb Will OsbornDo More With Less: Equip and Lead Design Orgs Through Adversity
October 2, 2023
"Vulnerability in communication — admitting what you don't know — is a strength that builds trust."
Margot BloomsteinFostering Trust in Your Brand and Beyond
March 12, 2020
"Designers must take responsibility when designing systems that impact millions."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 3: Introduction
June 10, 2021
"Day one is all about ensuring craft on a massive scale, led by Uday Gahender."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
June 9, 2021
"A vendor provides a service, but a partner delivers value."
Sol MeszHands or Brains? How to Hire for Strategy, Strategically
January 8, 2024
