Summary
Teams Work How People Work You’re part of a cross-functional team dedicated to creating an amazing product experience. You’re an essential piece of a larger puzzle. But how does your piece mesh with all the others? This first-of-its-kind interactive session will blend improvisation, audience participation, panel-style discussion, and more to explore the inner dynamics of cross-functional enterprise teams. We’ll illustrate a few best (and probably a few worst) practices, and you’ll walk away with a new found understanding for your colleagues and a renewed sense of ways to make the fit between your different roles clearer and more effective. Participating in this session: - Christian Crumlish, Head of Product, 7 Cups - Jacqui Frey, Director of Design Operations, MailChimp - Kristina Halvorson, Founder, CEO, Brain Traffic - Jamie Janssen, Research Manager for Shared Rides, Uber Technologies, Inc - Ramya Mahalingam, Associate Design Director, McKinsey & Company - Adam Penly, Lead Frontend Architect, Capital One
Key Insights
-
•
There are two kinds of conflict in cross-disciplinary teams: zero-sum tug-of-war and creative tension that creates new outcomes.
-
•
Dog Business and Dog Company is a fictional B2D (business-to-dog) enterprise exploring innovative technology like blockchain for dog-to-dog secure communication.
-
•
Product management often leans heavily on business priorities but must balance design and technology to succeed, as Christian highlights.
-
•
Design teams at the company are stretched thin and lack enough time for prototyping and thorough validation, impacting confidence in shipped products.
-
•
Project management sits at the intersection of brand experience and business strategy, requiring cross-team alignment as noted by Jackie.
-
•
Engineering excels at execution but struggles with deeper engagement in design and user experience processes, limiting collaboration.
-
•
Research teams are centralized and large but face unique challenges of representing non-human users (dogs), demanding specialized expertise.
-
•
Content strategy is undervalued and fragmented across the organization, leading to inconsistencies; leadership must elevate content’s role.
-
•
Interactive improv exercises and role-playing hiring games foster understanding and reveal real-world team dynamics and collaboration challenges.
-
•
The invocation improv game helps teams build empathy by exploring their connection to the product at increasing emotional and spiritual depth.
Notable Quotes
"There are two kinds of conflict: one is a zero-sum tug of war, and the other is creative tension that creates something unexpected."
"We are a B2D company – business to dog – making technology so dogs can speak English to people and each other."
"Having a business background is almost the oldest form of product management, but great product requires balancing design and tech too."
"Designers want more time to prototype and really ensure what ships is successful, but we just don’t have enough people or time."
"Project management is the ecosystem connecting everyone to deliver the best branded dog communication technology."
"Engineers are great at executing code but often lack connection to user experience and design processes."
"Content is created all over and inconsistently; leadership needs to see content as the fuel driving the experience."
"When product leaders ask for research just to validate ideas, the best response is to say, ‘fuck this group,’ then do real user interviews."
"We need to sequence activities carefully so we innovate while also keeping code shipping without stopping progress."
"Thou art community, connection, and meaning – the product is not just code or design, it is a shared experience between humans and dogs."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Alex has been instrumental in setting the internal standards, and many team members have adopted his approach for consistency."
Ryan Matthew Alex KurchevDesignOps without Boundaries: Building More with What You Have
September 10, 2025
"Changing how we operate and relate to each other is the only thing in our control, regardless of organizational position."
Alla WeinbergHealing Toxic Stress
September 23, 2024
"Visualizing data in a way executives can interpret is key to shifting from I think to I know."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"OKRs can sometimes suck the oxygen out of the room if they focus only on bottom-line results, missing process and experience."
Bria Alexander Benson Low Natalya Pemberton Stephanie GoldthorpeOKRs—Helpful or Harmful?
January 20, 2022
"I just said yes to everything climate-related until I found the right fit."
Louis Rosenfeld Matt Jones Olga Khroustaleva Michael Leggett Karol MunozDo you want to work on climate? (Climate UX Discussion Series)
November 15, 2023
"It’s less about empathy and more about building an understanding of barriers and user needs."
Elana Chapman Li Wen Huang Divyen Sanganee Annabel WeinerGetting started with accessibility research
February 20, 2025
"AI will ensure appropriate human judgment, not replace it."
Carol SmithOperationalizing Responsible, Human-Centered AI
June 7, 2023
"I took roughly three months to get the first shareable version of the roadmap, including onboarding and interviews."
Peter BoersmaHow to Define and Maintain a DesignOps Roadmap
October 3, 2023
"User research's value lies in linking user needs and pain points directly to business profit and loss."
Dr. Jamika D. Burge Nick Fine Alexandra Jayeun Lee Greg Nudelman Bo WangHow UX researchers can partner with (and not be replaced by) AI [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
August 31, 2023
