Theme 2: Enterprise Team Journey
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
"Page limits will help equity and focus and level the playing field for small and large firms."
Emily LessardRFPs Without Tears: Writing Inclusive RFPS that Don't Scare Away Talent
December 9, 2021
"Launching something small at MasterCard is inherently huge because of our global scale and complex partnerships."
Todd Healy Jess GrecoDriving Change with CX Metrics
June 7, 2023
"Every assistive technology is not one size fits all, there are thousands of options to configure."
Sam ProulxDesigning For Screen Readers: Understanding the Mental Models and Techniques of Real Users
September 30, 2021
"Every project and initiative we launched has been a Trojan horse navigating through dark matter."
Sofía Delsordo Kassim VeraPublic Policy for Jalisco's Designers to Make Design Matter
December 8, 2021
"You aren't going to understand the healthcare ecosystem right off the bat; it’s incredibly complex."
Theresa NeilDesigning for Wellness: Specializing in Healthcare
May 22, 2024
"Analysts are paid to call your babies ugly; but many companies hide those reports—I'm pushing all of them up to leadership."
John TaschekMaking People the X-Factor in the Enterprise
June 15, 2018
"Every project has a financial job to be done, whether it’s impacting revenue, reducing churn, or cutting costs."
Giff ConstableFinancial fluency for product leaders: AMA with Giff Constable
April 11, 2024
"Scaling design ops means going from zero to one, or one to many, carefully growing your team charter and operating model."
John Calhoun Rachel PosmanBring your DesignOps Story to Life! The Definitive DesignOps Book Jam
October 3, 2023
"Dark patterns like Airbnb's price concealment and Twitter's neglect of accessibility were designed decisions, whether designers were involved or not."
Angelos ArnisNavigating the Rapid Shifts in Tech's Turbulent Terrain
October 2, 2023
