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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
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IBM’s User Experience Program partners with invested customers who provide ongoing feedback without receiving incentives, creating deeper co-creation relationships than typical research participants.
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Recruitment of UX partners involves multiple internal stakeholders and requires evangelizing the program internally to build trust and identify the right users.
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User Experience Partners engage about one hour per month on average and must be involved at least once per quarter, balancing engagement without overburdening participants.
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Legal agreements signed are 'evergreen' covering all company employees and do not expire, simplifying ongoing feedback collection but creating some onboarding friction.
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Maintaining relationships with UX partners requires a dedicated program management team coordinating closely with lead researchers to deliver personalized paybacks and updates.
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Diversity and inclusivity in UX partner recruitment are top priorities, but finding edge cases and users with diverse abilities remains a significant challenge.
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Research outputs are stored in a robust Airtable-based repository enabling researchers self-service access while tracking participant engagement to avoid overuse.
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The program aims to integrate UX partner feedback not only for usability improvements but for long-term strategic input shaping product roadmaps and innovation direction.
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Effective communication with stakeholders requires flexibility: adapting style when talking to executives, account managers, or technical end users is essential.
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IBM’s executive leadership strongly supports the program, helping drive recruitment and internal alignment through advocacy and public call to actions.
Notable Quotes
"Yesterday was a prototype means that we are continually rethinking and redesigning around our users' needs."
"Our goal is to create and deliver world-class user experiences for our customers period."
"User experience partners are our greatest source of learning. Without their feedback, we’re just guessing what they want."
"It’s a white glove concierge service to build trust and make customers comfortable to share meaningful feedback."
"We don’t promise that the feedback will show up in the product, but we regularly update partners on impact through meetings and newsletters."
"Diversity and inclusivity are huge areas we’re actively working on, especially recruiting users with diverse abilities."
"It takes a long time to get people across the company onboard and to build this type of program, but it’s worth it."
"The feedback program agreement is evergreen and covers everyone in the customer’s company, making ongoing recruiting easier."
"The most rewarding part is talking daily with customers worldwide and helping solve their problems through product improvements."
"We don’t measure this program with separate objectives; we tie its outcomes directly to the company’s overall business goals."
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