Summary
How do you establish a thriving UX organization in a century-old company? Our opening presentation is a tale of two organizations and two different UX leaders. They followed very different paths and come from different industries, yet their stories of success and lessons for others have a lot in common. Rob Mitzel spent his entire career at Ford, starting from a Safety Engineer and changing roles to evolve into a Design Ops Manager, as the company evolved. Sébastien Malo parachuted to CN (Canadian National Railway) only a couple of years ago, but has already changed the course of his organization. Rob and Sebastien compare and contrast stories of how UX adapted and iterated their teams, skills and service to meet the needs of an evolving enterprise IT organization and the business at large.
Key Insights
-
•
The right mindset and passion for UX can drive significant change within an organization.
-
•
Transforming a team's culture from protective to collaborative enhances overall productivity.
-
•
Creating shared resources and training sessions elevates UX awareness across teams.
-
•
Emphasizing partnerships with different departments fosters advocates for UX.
-
•
Improving processes—even informally—can lead to greater efficiency and resource utilization.
-
•
A balanced approach between guidance and autonomy empowers team members to take ownership.
-
•
Responding strategically to shifts in project methodologies (e.g., from waterfall to agile) is crucial for adaptation.
-
•
Networking within the organization provides valuable insights and opportunities for growth.
-
•
Building a strong internal UX culture requires using tangible examples to show value rather than just communicating vision.
-
•
Encouraging team members to pursue their passions can lead to a more motivated and effective force.
Notable Quotes
"We needed to change to focus more on making better UX versus who does the work."
"It was very important to expose more information and create our usability patterns."
"Teaching the classes helped strengthen the skill sets in the team."
"Our areas of focus for transformation were share, fill the void, and look forward."
"UX can bring so much value; there's so much good we can do here."
"Selling vision is important, but for the rest of the org, it's about showing value."
"Managing down is comfortable, but managing across and up is where change happens."
"UX could have an impact beyond the pixels, and we demonstrated this with user story mapping."
"Sometimes your vision is challenged, but it's about getting out of your comfort zone."
"In large enterprises, the UX practice can bring a lot, but it takes work and time."
More Videos
"Designing with AI is about speeding up processes, not replacing creativity."
Noz UrbinaRapid AI-powered UX (RAUX): A framework for empowering human designers
May 1, 2025
"These same rules of engagement apply everywhere."
Jim KalbachJazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration
June 4, 2019
"When you onboard somebody new, give them a journal."
Holly ColeUnderstanding Experiences: When you have to do more than work
November 8, 2018
"We can achieve pixel parity by working with the same source of truth."
Jack BeharHow to Build Prototypes that Behave like an End-Product
December 6, 2022
"Welcome to day two of Design Ops 2023. If you can believe it, we are halfway through our programming today."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
October 3, 2023
"The workshops emphasized understanding people and their workflows before jumping to tools."
Erika FlowersAI-Readiness: Preparing NASA for a Data-Driven, Agile Future
June 10, 2025
"When we tailor education to individual needs, everyone benefits."
Kristin SkinnerFive Years of DesignOps
September 29, 2021
"Our goal is to create a sound for you, the audience, and empathize with each other to do that."
Jim KalbachJazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration
November 6, 2017
"There's so much creative talent in 8 billion creative humans on planet Earth."
Surya VankaUnleashing Swarm Creativity to Solve Enterprise Challenges
June 10, 2021
