Summary
More than 50 years ago, Thomas Watson Jr., the second President of IBM declared, “Good design is good business”. Today, the global company continues to operate on the belief that human experiences drive business. Doug Powell, Distinguished Designer at IBM, will expose what it means to practice design at the global tech company, exploring the inner workings of the largest UX design operation in the world. He will also elaborate on a new Forrester Research study examining the value of design and the design thinking practice at IBM.
Key Insights
-
•
Demand for design skills now outpaces supply, with designers entering strategic leadership roles.
-
•
Design is expanding into unlikely, complex legacy organizations like government agencies.
-
•
IBM distinguishes between highly skilled designers and broad design thinking accessible to all employees.
-
•
IBM organizes 1,800 designers in a decentralized structure across 25 semi-autonomous business units.
-
•
Cross-disciplinary collaboration, often with only one formal designer per team, is crucial for success.
-
•
Scaling design thinking training through an online platform enabled over 140,000 IBM employees to learn foundational skills.
-
•
Measuring design impact requires aggregating multiple metrics into a concise, consumable story for business leaders.
-
•
Business leaders are data-driven, competitive, and have a high sensitivity to inauthentic claims, requiring clear evidence to invest in design.
-
•
Maintaining healthy designer-to-developer ratios sparks important dialogue about staffing needs and business impact.
-
•
Diversity is a core design ops issue essential for building authentic experiences that represent a diverse world.
Notable Quotes
"We are truly in a golden age for designers and design."
"Design and design thinking are intentionally two different things in this mission."
"Everything is a prototype."
"User experience will allow us to win."
"There’s no faking it with this crowd."
"When we have teams with the right design thinking knowledge, they’re measurably more aligned, more efficient, and more agile."
"Business leaders make decisions by evidence and data, not just by gut."
"Design is here to stay when governments and 100-year-old companies are investing in it."
"We found that 80% of teams with the right ratios and sponsorship moved to market twice as fast."
"Diversity is beyond just the right thing to do; we must elevate it as a design ops issue."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If design didn’t move the needle, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."
Standardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
June 15, 2018
"Space has meaning in a map—if you move components around without reason, it’s no longer a map."
Simon WardleyMaps and Topographical Intelligence (Videoconference)
January 31, 2019
"The Reflexive Compass helps us discern bias patterns early, take accountability, and measure impact."
Sandra CamachoCreating More Bias-Proof Designs
January 22, 2025
"By observing Jeff’s concerns and asking questions, I was able to show empathy and focus on the problem rather than get defensive."
Darian DavisLessons from a Toxic Work Relationship
January 8, 2024
"My goal today is to showcase how generative AI can go beyond just speeding up our processes and actually catapult us in our career."
Fisayo Osilaja[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist
June 4, 2024
"Craft should evolve from making a beautiful final object to serving as a facilitative anchor in enterprise UX."
Uday GajendarThe Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX
May 13, 2015
"Trust is often underestimated but is critical when designers face public critique and feedback."
Davis Neable Guy SegalHow to Drive a Design Project When you Don’t Have a Design Team
June 10, 2021
"Once cash prizes were gone, people stopped feeling ownership of the design system."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"Our two-way Jira integration allows you to link design activities directly with epics, user stories, and tasks."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022