Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

BUILD: Discussion

Gold
Thursday, June 14, 2018 • Enterprise Experience 2018
Share the love for this talk
BUILD: Discussion
Speakers: Mariah Hay , Marina Martin , Husani Oakley and Eduardo Ortiz
Link:

Summary

In this panel, Marina recounts her multi-year experience navigating bureaucracy at a large organization, emphasizing that meaningful, lasting change requires perseverance rather than quick fixes like high-level sign-offs. Mariah stresses the ethical responsibility of creators to avoid weaponizing technology, using examples like Cambridge Analytica to illustrate unforeseen consequences. The speakers agree that cultural change starts with leadership enabling open conversations and setting examples. They highlight the critical, sometimes resistant, role of middle management and the need to align their incentives with organizational goals. The panel underscores the value of being the persistent, sometimes uncomfortable, voice asking tough questions. Advice includes building coalitions, reading the room, and focusing on people and purpose rather than rigid tools or labels. Marina, Mariah, and others advocate for caring deeply about the impact of one's work and taking personal responsibility, with calls to action for everyone to engage meaningfully both inside and outside work.

Key Insights

  • Meaningful change in large organizations often takes years and cannot be rushed with top-level sign-offs alone, as Marina experienced with a two-and-a-half-year journey.

  • Creators must be vigilant about the potential weaponization of their products, as illustrated by Mariah’s cautionary reference to Facebook’s API misuse and Cambridge Analytica.

  • Leadership buy-in is critical to establishing a culture that encourages ethical thinking and user-first approaches in tech and design work.

  • Middle management can be both a barrier and an opportunity in adopting design thinking and ethical frameworks, often requiring role and incentive realignment.

  • Small daily conversations about user impact and ethics can cumulatively lead to larger organizational changes over time.

  • Being the 'pain in the ass' who asks uncomfortable questions is necessary for healthy teams and organizational growth, though it requires strategic communication and coalition-building.

  • Organizations should not rely solely on buzzwords like 'design thinking' but focus on the core goal of doing right by users and stakeholders.

  • Organizational change benefits from understanding what drives individuals within the system and aligning those motivations with ethical goals.

  • Personal responsibility is crucial as no one else will ensure ethical considerations are prioritized in technology creation.

  • Technology is easy relative to the challenge of managing people and cultures; empathy and care are essential for meaningful impact.

Notable Quotes

"It doesn’t matter whether we are creating an application for sending messages or providing health care; what we do can sometimes mean someone’s life or death."

"No amount of bringing even President Obama to sign paperwork would have changed what really needed to happen."

"If my call to action meant anything, it’s to be the person who asks the question in your organization."

"I am known as that pain in the ass wherever I walk in, but you need those people who speak up and stand up."

"You have to learn to read the room and understand what drives the people you’re working with to build coalitions."

"Leadership must plant the seeds and water the message repeatedly for long-term cultural change."

"Middle management has an ethical responsibility to either adopt new ways or be replaced if resisting change."

"Focus on the reason behind using tools rather than the tools themselves; people and context matter more than labels like design thinking or agile."

"Technology is easy, people are not dealing with people, it takes a lot out of everyone."

"It is your job because no one else is coming to ensure we do the right thing with what we build."

Ask the Rosenbot
Stephen Pollard
Closing Keynote: Getting giants to dance - what can we learn from designing large and complex public infrastructure?
2017 • DesignOps Summit 2017
Gold
Sydney Lawson
Anatomy of a Strong User Panel
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Gold
Joi Freeman
A New Vantage Point: Building a Pipeline for Multifaceted Research(ers)
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold
Harry Max
Priority Zero: Some Things are More Equal than Others
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Nalini P. Kotamraju
An Organizational Story: Salesforce Lightning Design System
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Andy Warr
Under My (Research) Umbrella: The Benefits and Challenges of Building a Unified Insights Function
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Dolly Parikh
Exit Interview #7: Journey of a Social Entrepreneur
2026 • Rosenfeld Community
Billy Carlson
Principles of Team Wireframing
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Kristin Wisnewski
Measuring What Matters
2019 • DesignOps Summit 2019
Gold
Dave Hora
A Research Skills Evolution
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Joseph Williams
Unlocking impact and influence through inclusive hiring in research
2021 • Advancing Research Community
Theresa Neil
Designing for Wellness: Specializing in Healthcare
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Emily Lessard
RFPs Without Tears: Writing Inclusive RFPS that Don't Scare Away Talent
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Daniel J. Rosenberg
Designing with and for Artificial Intelligence
2022 • Enterprise Community
Aleksandra Korczynska
Survey Tools
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Gold
Alla Weinberg
Healing Toxic Stress
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold

More Videos

Gordon Ross

"Flexibility is the network's ability to reconfigure itself and yet retain its goals; scalability means expanding or shrinking size with little disruption; survivability means withstanding attacks to nodes or codes."

Gordon Ross

12 Months of COVID-19 Design and Digital Response with the British Columbia Government

December 8, 2021

Ted Booth

"Culture trumps strategy. When culture derails your best plans, you need both strategic air cover and grassroots momentum."

Ted Booth Sam Ladner Fredrik Matheson Russ Unger

Discussion

June 8, 2016

Peter Levin

"Robust action means making early moves to preserve flexibility and open up opportunity, not trying to forecast 50 steps ahead."

Peter Levin

Solve a Problem Here, Transform a Strategy There: Research as an Occasion for Expanding Organizational Possibility

March 25, 2024

Sylvie Abookire

"Psychological safety creates an atmosphere where it’s safe to speak up, ask questions, and be imperfect."

Sylvie Abookire Susan Abookire Caitlyn Nalder

A Civic Designer's Guide to Mindful Conflict Navigation

November 17, 2022

Yunyan Li

"Love principle is about emotionally supporting users, celebrating achievements, and creating visually beautiful products."

Yunyan Li Anna Le Jen Kim

UX Best Practices

June 11, 2021

Sam Proulx

"Mobile accessibility features are built in and ready to go without needing to install or configure anything extra."

Sam Proulx

Mobile Accessibility and You

June 9, 2022

Kavana Ramesh

"Watching users navigate with assistive technology exposes you to barriers that people with disabilities face online."

Kavana Ramesh

Meaningful inclusion: Practicing accessibility research with confidence

September 24, 2024

Jemma Ahmed

"Every time we say, I would prefer not to, we reclaim a little bit of agency."

Jemma Ahmed

Theme 1 Intro

March 10, 2026

Jim Kalbach

"The head means the melody of a song."

Jim Kalbach

Jazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration

June 4, 2019