Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
IBM User Experience Program—The What, Why and How
Summary
How does IBM co-create with our end-users to design products they love? Learn how the IBM Cloud and AI research team created a User Experience Program that formalizes and scales the relationship between our product teams and the end-users. User Experience “Partners,” as we lovingly call them, co-create with our product team to help refine IBM products by providing feedback, ideas, and domain expertise.
Key Insights
-
•
IBM’s User Experience Program involves long-term partnerships (often 1-2 years) with customers for ongoing, strategic feedback rather than one-off sessions.
-
•
Customers in the program are called User Experience Partners and do not receive incentives, unlike traditional research participants.
-
•
Effective recruitment relies heavily on internal stakeholders like sales and account managers to identify and connect with the right customers.
-
•
Diversity and inclusion remain key priorities; IBM has launched initiatives specifically to recruit partners with diverse abilities and backgrounds.
-
•
A slender core team led by Tracy manages over 700 active user partners globally, requiring scalable processes and collaboration from multiple program managers.
-
•
IBM uses a robust, self-service research repository built on Airtable to track participants, research activities, and avoid over-engagement.
-
•
Communication with partners is highly personalized including quarterly playback meetings where customers discuss roadmaps and past feedback impacts directly with product teams.
-
•
Legal and data privacy challenges are complex, especially with multinational customers, requiring evergreen feedback agreements and GDPR-compliant consent forms.
-
•
Measuring program impact ties into IBM’s overall business objectives and benefits from customers advocating for the program internally.
-
•
The User Experience Program acts like an advisory board, helping IBM anticipate future needs beyond immediate usability issues, fueling innovation.
Notable Quotes
"Yesterday was a prototype – we are continually redesigning around our users’ needs."
"Our user experience partners co-create with product teams to help refine IBM products."
"We don’t promise that every piece of feedback will show up in the product, but we keep partners informed about how their input influences development."
"Recruiting diverse partners takes time and effort, and we are actively building programs to include people with diverse abilities."
"It’s like sending around the Rolls Royce with the champagne bottle – a white glove, concierge service for recruiting partners."
"We have a feedback program agreement that once signed, is evergreen and covers everyone in the customer’s company."
"We’re very careful about PII and only the lead researcher and research ops managers have access to sensitive data."
"Customers in the program become our greatest source of learning and help shape the future of our products."
"Getting internal teams on board is often the biggest challenge, but once they see the value, it lights a fire."
"We don’t need to convince executives of the program’s value – our customers do that for us."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Building strong relationships with marketing requires mutual respect and regularly following up on their insights."
Joanna Vodopivec Prabhas PokharelOne Research Team for All - Influence Without Authority
March 9, 2022
"Don’t talk about delight or loyalty; trust is the single best framing to connect with stakeholders."
Louis Rosenfeld Lashanda Hodge Senongo Akpem Chris HodowanecBecoming a Civic Designer: Making the Move from Private to Public Sector
November 17, 2022
"We are closing out design ops 2024 with innovation curated by the incomparable John Kuda."
Bria AlexanderDay 3 Welcome
September 25, 2024
"Melissa Burnett is a creator of order out of chaos, leader of leaders."
Uday Gajendar Louis RosenfeldDay 2 Welcome
June 5, 2024
"Frequent, bite-sized training is crucial so staff actually remember how to support customers with disabilities."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
June 7, 2023
"Day one is a commencement, a graduation from candidate to employee, not a paperwork slog."
Russ UngerOnboarding: The Ecosystem, not the Afterthought
November 7, 2017
"Physical prototyping is a tool to explore interaction modalities and physically connected environments beyond all things digital."
Catherine DubutBridging Physical and Digital Spaces: Approaches to Retail Service Design
March 18, 2021
"Assistance interfaces combine open-ended dialogue with the ability to do tasks on your behalf."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Design: New Postures for AI-Mediated Experiences (2nd of 3 seminars)
January 29, 2025
"Every manager who works with me knows their responsibility includes sourcing candidates for diverse backgrounds."
Dantley DavisLeadership & Diversity—A Fireside Chat with Dantley Davis
September 17, 2020
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How do organizations integrate customer feedback, survey data, and interview transcripts into a single research repository?
Who are natural allies for healthcare UX professionals inside complex healthcare systems, and how do you engage them?
How should designers prepare for AI-driven cognitive agents that understand emotional personas?