Summary
In this session, Ross, Mark, and Ariel address common challenges faced by UX and product teams within large organizations, including government agencies and enterprise companies. Ross discusses creating detailed journey maps and the importance of building shared understanding across multiple departments despite political complexities. He highlights the need for empathy and ongoing dialogue with policy makers and stakeholders. Mark explains how establishing lightweight 'API' processes for design requests improves clarity and manages resource allocation, especially in sales support. Ariel shares experiences building civic design toolkits and fostering design culture through proactive workshops and community building. The group also tackles issues such as integrating design in fast agile cycles via methods like dual-track agile and A/B testing, overcoming siloed teams across global time zones by respecting cultural differences and travel practices, and maintaining continuity amid team changes by emphasizing core design artifacts and thorough handoffs. They underscore the value of involving support teams to surface design-focused feedback and the benefits of incorporating technical writers within UX teams to improve documentation clarity. Throughout, the speakers stress making processes accessible, fostering empathy with stakeholders and economic buyers, and using data-driven arguments to align business goals with user needs.
Key Insights
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Ross created a 75-page detailed journey map document to build shared understanding across government departments, despite political challenges.
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Building empathy with policy makers involves deep knowledge of policy and making it safe for them to discuss challenges and opportunities for change.
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Mark uses lightweight, structured 'API' style requests for design input and sales support to manage resources and provide transparency.
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Ariel's civic design toolkit combines passive materials like stickers and posters with active workshops, creating a community of design-curious participants.
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Respecting time zones and cultural differences is crucial for effective collaboration across distributed teams; rotating meeting inconvenience fosters equity.
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Travel for remote teams should avoid quick visits; extended stays and working alongside local teams build trust and visibility.
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Embedding support team members into design and engineering processes surfaces critical design feedback and reduces support costs.
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Using A/B testing and dual-track agile enables design teams to iterate and validate ideas ahead of development sprints in short agile cycles.
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Maintaining continuity across feature teams requires keeping core design artifacts visible, proactive handoffs, and horizontal roles overseeing consistency.
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Integrating technical writers into UX teams can improve documentation quality and make design knowledge more accessible across disciplines.
Notable Quotes
"The consolidated journey map was a 75-page book with labeled dots and narratives, issued internally to commissioners, staff, and providers to build shared understanding."
"I had to learn a lot about policy so I could have deep discussions and work alongside policy folks as a peer."
"We created APIs so other teams can request design work and sales support with clear response times and status tracking."
"We use stickers, pins, and posters to bring design methods front and center in people’s daily office lives."
"Respect for time zones is the most important thing when collaborating across global teams, and inconvenience should be rotated."
"Don’t do hit and run travel; I try to stay three or four days so I can have pickup meetings and lunch to build relationships."
"Spending a day in support helps designers learn critical user pain points and builds empathy across teams."
"A/B testing allows small design teams to show real value through data when integrated into fast-moving agile processes."
"Make leaving team members write a going away document capturing uncompleted work and lessons learned as a gift to successors."
"Our toolkit uses plain English to avoid jargon so everyone can understand and engage with design tactics."
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