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.
Summary
During our May 28 community videoconference, we provided a live interactive preview of some "in development" material from the upcoming EX2020 virtual conference. We had two speakers from one of our themes trying out their talks, with provocations and reactions from the Enterprise Experience community. Melinda Belcher, who heads up the Content Design practice at Mastercard's Tech Hub in New York City, described what it's like to "boomerang" from in-house, to agency, and back again, with all the cultural and operational aspects. Sol Mesz, co-founder and Product Strategy Director at Kambrica, one of the leading UX consultancies in Argentina, offered advice on how to hire the right UX consultant for enterprise projects.
Key Insights
-
•
The Enterprise Experience Conference is designed to foster year-round conversation, not just during its annual event.
-
•
Dan Willis emphasizes the complexity of insider vs outsider dynamics in enterprise UX, especially under COVID-19 remote work conditions.
-
•
Melinda highlights agencies’ short-term, project-based structure contrasts with enterprises' long-term product ownership and continuity.
-
•
Agency work often lacks feedback loops; it's rare they get to see long-term impact of their work in enterprises.
-
•
Effective agency integration requires including junior agency members in meetings and feedback to avoid burnout and poor deliverables.
-
•
Melinda underscores that agencies bring strong resource allocation, project tracking, and accountability skills to enterprises.
-
•
Saul Mezz argues that typical vendor selection criteria (portfolio look, industry experience, price) are inadequate for choosing strategic consultants.
-
•
Consultants should be valued as partners who add strategic business value, not just vendors executing tasks.
-
•
Flexibility is key; consultants must adapt to the client’s culture, but clients should also leverage consultants’ diverse experience.
-
•
Consultants can provide critical business support including helping internal teams justify decisions, handle conflicts, and present outcomes.
Notable Quotes
"Conference is really just the polished version of the community conversation, so why not keep those conversations going?"
"Having an agency person embedded gave me a real taste of what enterprise life was like without actually being part of it."
"We bring agencies in to evangelize and help us tell our story because we don’t often have the talent or time to do that ourselves."
"An agency project can end quickly and you might never see what happens after you send a PDF."
"You hire agencies partly for their accountability; if they fail, we fail together."
"When hiring a consultant, partnership over vendorship is crucial because you want results, not just project completion."
"You want someone who brings flexibility who can adjust to your way of doing things but also push boundaries."
"Consultants don’t suffer internal politics as much but have to defend their work continually, so they provide business support."
"If you miss out on flexibility, you miss out on the learning and experience the consultant brings."
"Software never ends when you’re in house; there’s always follow-up and iteration, unlike many agency projects."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"There’s never enough attention you can give to change management in scaling design impact — don’t do it alone."
Standardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
June 15, 2018
"Very few people in business are familiar with situational awareness unless they served in the military."
Simon WardleyMaps and Topographical Intelligence (Videoconference)
January 31, 2019
"White supremacy is the belief system of the superiority of whiteness that can embed itself in algorithms."
Sandra CamachoCreating More Bias-Proof Designs
January 22, 2025
"Appealing to stakeholders’ best interests helps build trust and rapport."
Darian DavisLessons from a Toxic Work Relationship
January 8, 2024
"Stakeholder communication is crucial to professional strategy because without it, we run the risk of activity without impact."
Fisayo Osilaja[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist
June 4, 2024
"Nobody wants to buy or use a sloppy product, especially when enterprise users engage daily for hours."
Uday GajendarThe Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX
May 13, 2015
"What’s so difficult about designing a login? On the surface, it’s simple, but the real challenge was cultural alignment across business units."
Davis Neable Guy SegalHow to Drive a Design Project When you Don’t Have a Design Team
June 10, 2021
"People felt designs were self-evident and too much explanation was a barrier to using the patterns."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"Design leaders want predictable roadmaps and healthy teams, measurable against timelines and goals."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022
