Summary
The talk emphasizes the critical role of empathy in user experience (UX) across all levels of an organization. The speaker discusses the common challenges faced by UX teams as companies grow—such as maintaining a coherent user experience amidst increasing product silos and ensuring every employee is a design thinker. Through examples from three notable speakers at different stages of organizational growth, including VB Rosenstein from Zendesk, Vasilio Sampalis from LEGO, and Jackie Ho from VMware, the talk outlines strategies for scaling UX practices, fostering a culture of user-centricity, and balancing team autonomy with accountability. Practical insights and methods are shared to help attendees apply these ideas within their own organizations, emphasizing that user experience is a collective responsibility and not solely that of the UX department.
Key Insights
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Empathy for customers should permeate all roles within an organization.
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UX is often an afterthought in rapidly growing companies, leading to challenges in influence and impact.
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Maintaining a coherent user experience is crucial as product teams proliferate.
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Every employee can contribute to a user-centered design process through design thinking.
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Scaling UX involves adjusting processes to match organizational growth stages.
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Establishing credibility in UX work is essential for broader organizational buy-in.
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Top-down and bottom-up approaches can increase user-centric maturity.
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Accountability among teams is necessary while allowing them to operate autonomously.
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Shared experiences and stories from various speakers can provide actionable insights for challenges in UX.
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Continuous engagement and conversation about UX are vital for improvement.
Notable Quotes
"Imagine if everyone you worked with had deep empathy for your customers."
"In the enterprise space, the UX function is added later; it's not part of the company's original DNA."
"Each stage of growth brings different challenges for UX teams."
"The user experience is everyone's responsibility, not just UX's."
"We need to create an army of design thinkers across the organization."
"VB Rosenstein will share how she scaled up Zendesk's global UX research practice."
"Vasilio Sampalis will talk about creating a top down and bottom up approach for user-centric maturity."
"Jackie Ho will discuss how to keep teams accountable while maintaining their autonomy."
"I'll be monitoring Slack looking for your questions, so please keep them coming."
"User experience is a collective responsibility and should involve everyone."
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