Summary
To be successful, Operations has to be many things to many people. Operations might need to present a different face to innovators and designers, who might fear Ops as an imposer of constraints, than to a more established group, who are comforted by the presence of strong operations. Similarly, decision-makers, Legal, Procurement, and other silos might require different “faces” from Ops. Crystal Philcox will draw on her experience helping lead operations at the IRS and GSA to show us how Operations can be most effective by adapting to the needs and expectations of an organization’s other major players. She’ll also help us resolve those different “faces” so that they remain aligned and true to the overall goals of an Operations organization.
Key Insights
-
•
The IRS had zero dedicated UX or design experts despite serving 150 million households annually.
-
•
Government’s risk-averse culture often stems from reactions to isolated incidents, leading to persistent procedural roadblocks.
-
•
The IRS video review board, established in response to a $60,000 video spoof controversy, still governs all video productions seven years later.
-
•
Building multiple communication 'faces' tailored to different organizational stakeholders is essential to advance design operations inside government.
-
•
Deep understanding of program details, such as Earned Income Tax Credit transaction codes, builds credibility and confidence in leadership.
-
•
Assessing risk appropriately and using political capital strategically enables pushing back on restrictive policies without jeopardizing trust.
-
•
Forming alliances both inside (CFO, CIO, legal, HR) and outside (community groups) the organization can extend capacity and influence.
-
•
Soliciting feedback is crucial not only for improving solutions but for preparing people mentally and emotionally for upcoming changes.
-
•
Operational excellence means making your organization easy to work with internally, externally, and in delivering value, involving everyone in the effort.
-
•
In large transformations, mixing internal staff with consultants and gradually involving employees helps manage capacity and skills gaps effectively.
Notable Quotes
"There was zero UX experts at the IRS, not even a job description for that role."
"Sometimes government rules grow from a single mistake that leads to congressional hearings and new regulations."
"The video review board still exists seven years later, so producing any video at IRS requires prior approval."
"You have to put on many faces — different skills and mindsets — to communicate with purchasing, finance, legal, and HR."
"I felt like a fake when I didn’t know the details of the Earned Income Tax Credit program, but later I dug in hard and changed that."
"Use your risk budget wisely; push back only when it truly matters and you can manage the consequences."
"Building coalitions with people who share your goals and have power is critical to navigating high-risk innovation environments."
"The most important part of asking for feedback is not just the feedback itself, but introducing folks to the ideas and getting them on board."
"Operational excellence means making everything easy — for your team, your customers, and others to understand your value."
"When your whole operating model changes, you have to step back, breathe, restart, and rely on the best practices you’ve learned."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We do not have online indicators in our communication software, so people know they shouldn’t wait for an immediate response."
Ana FerreiraDesigning Distributed: Leading Doist’s Fully Remote Design Team in Six Countries
January 8, 2024
"User research can sound intimidating, so our first step was to make it simpler and more approachable."
Roy Opata OlendeHow Zapier Uses ‘All Hands Research’ to Increase Exposure to Users
August 6, 2020
"Growth boards are a more advanced tool that require breaking down walls between disciplines and focusing on outcome-driven metrics."
Kit Unger Jackie Ho Veevi Rosenstein Vasileios XanthopoulosTheme 2: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"To influence others, you must be willing to be influenced and change your mind to align with organizational goals."
Abbey Smalley Sylas SouzaScaling UX Past the Size of Your Team
January 8, 2024
"The relationship between designers and data scientists can actually be pretty magical."
Helen ArmstrongAugment the Human. Interrogate the System.
June 7, 2023
"We answer questions differently when we’re living life and doing activities than when we’re sitting down facing the camera."
Bas Raijmakers, PhD (RCA) Charley Scull Prabhas PokharelWhat Design Research can Learn from Documentary Filmmaking
March 11, 2022
"Kids are not little adults. You can’t just simplify the text and call it for kids."
Mila Kuznetsova Lucy DentonHow Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
March 9, 2022
"Many of ChatGPT's organizing themes are at the same level as the basic themes, which is confusing and inappropriate."
Weidan LiQualitative synthesis with ChatGPT: Better or worse than human intelligence?
June 4, 2024
"Product managers are responsible for value – making sure something valuable is being created that meets real needs."
Christian CrumlishAMA with Christian Crumlish, author of Product Management for UX People
March 24, 2022
