The Big Question about Innovation: A Panel Discussion
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Defining and agreeing on core design values like integrity and respect is foundational for fostering innovation in design ops.
-
•
Innovation succeeds best when focused on solving one key prioritized problem, avoiding trying to fix everything at once.
-
•
Balancing innovation with existing organizational rhythms and tempos is essential for impactful adoption.
-
•
AI will transform design operations incrementally, with humans needed to maintain accountability and oversee outputs.
-
•
Large enterprises face unique AI adoption challenges due to security protocols and concerns over data residency.
-
•
Empathy is crucial in innovation workflows to truly understand and address user needs beyond mere efficiency metrics.
-
•
Workshops can help break down communication barriers and build collaboration even when chemistry is initially poor.
-
•
Aligning teams early on a clear, shared ‘north star’ problem supports sustained alignment despite differing perspectives.
-
•
Shared tooling and standardized taxonomies across design, product, and development teams improve communication and outcomes.
-
•
Overcapacity and competing priorities threaten sustainable innovation; operations must manage workload for scalable delivery.
Notable Quotes
"Each team should talk about their core values like integrity, accountability, and respect to work together with the same mindset."
"We’re lucky if we solve a single thing; everything else has to be parking lot."
"Innovation has to fit within the tempo and rhythm of the organization and leadership."
"AI won’t transform all things at once; it’s about piloting and delivering discrete business value first."
"A large organization’s security protocols make AI adoption slower and more complex than in smaller groups."
"Without a human in the loop, AI can go off and do crazy disastrous things."
"Empathy means constantly going back to the people using the tools and hearing their feedback."
"Getting people who don’t communicate well to at least work together on a single thing is the first step to innovating together."
"Aligning on a north star problem gets everyone excited and aligned from the beginning."
"If design, product, and development use different tools, we end up talking past one another."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Change is fundamentally about people—our approach lives out agile principles in service design to create a team that can build."
Laura Smith Tom GaylerEmbedding Service Design and Agile Practice within UK Planning Teams to Create Services that Last
December 3, 2024
"By default, you’re getting I am very confident of my answers."
Trisha Causley[Demo] Complexity in disguise: Crafting experiences for generative AI features
June 5, 2024
"Timely engagement helps stakeholders make faster, more informed decisions leading to better business outcomes."
Fisayo Osilaja[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist
June 4, 2024
"Developing team flow is a lot like dating—you have to nurture it, build instinct, and practice."
Ruzanna RozmanGetting in Flow with Your Team
January 8, 2024
"You have to ask specific, very precise questions, not big general ones, to get useful AI results."
Karen McGrane Jeff EatonAI for Information Architects: Are the robots coming for our jobs?
November 21, 2024
"Balancing how often you signal someone and how many questions you ask is key to reduce participant fatigue."
Amelia ColeData-Prompted Interviews
December 17, 2021
"We can over-index on capability and opportunity, but motivation is critical for non-researchers to engage in research activities."
Trisha TerharEmpathizing with the Empowered: Non-Researcher Responses to Democratization
March 10, 2022
"All of our models and metrics are temporary scripts. What matters is the rehearsal and how we keep rewriting the score together."
Jen van der MeerService design performs value
November 19, 2025
"I never record interviews with staff, never. Recording invites sugarcoating or lying because people are already vulnerable."
Steve Baty Richard Dalton Maria Giudice Harry MaxDiscussion
June 9, 2016
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What factors lead experienced UX leaders like Sarah B. Nelson to leave corporate design roles for artistic paths?
What is the difference between consulting and contracting in independent design work?
Why do current capitalist incentives make systemic and community-focused tech solutions difficult to implement?