Summary
During the session, several UX and product leaders addressed complex challenges in enterprise user experience, particularly when the purchaser is different from the end user. One speaker shared how their company uses revenue-per-loan as a metric to connect UX improvements with business outcomes, emphasizing the need to understand how the business makes money and who the decision makers are. Another discussed multi-tiered design reviews and the importance of involving the entire cross-functional team, including legal and customer success, to ensure quality and compliance. The panelists gave practical tips on uplifting UX maturity between different business units, such as B2C and B2B sides, by leveraging existing strengths and fostering collaboration through shared design activities. Ethical issues were raised especially around financial inclusion and compliance with laws like the Fair Lending Act. Notably, involving legal counsel as an advocate early in the design process was seen as a key enabler. The discussion concluded with insights on promoting delight and UX quality in enterprise tools used by employees who may be compelled users, highlighting the value of understanding organizational culture and empowering internal champions for product adoption. Throughout, speakers such as Darrell, John, Bill, and others shared their experiences from companies like PayPal and Amazon, illustrating how aligning design with business goals and engaging stakeholders early fosters better user experiences and builds willingness to pay or adopt.
Key Insights
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Understanding the company's revenue model (e.g., revenue-per-loan) is crucial to align UX efforts with business goals.
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Buyer and user roles in enterprise often differ, but mobile ubiquity is narrowing user expectations and driving convergence in experience needs.
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Scaling design reviews requires multi-layered approaches including individual team critiques, design system reviews, and executive-level customer experience bar raisers.
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Cross-functional collaboration involving legal, product, design, engineering, and customer success improves design quality and compliance adherence.
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Creating product principles jointly across roles helps align teams on what defines quality and consistency, even under tight deadlines.
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Pairing designers for peer reviews and including usability engineers early reduces risks and improves design readiness before stakeholder presentations.
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To uplift UX in less mature business units, start by identifying strengths in more mature teams and experiment with transferring those practices.
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Finding senior executive allies who understand and champion design can accelerate investment and attention for UX initiatives.
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Involving legal counsel in design early turns them into advocates, especially when dealing with regulations like the Fair Lending Act.
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Championing delight in enterprise tools used by forced users requires demonstrating adoption links to recurring revenue and leveraging internal champions among end users.
Notable Quotes
"You have to understand how your company actually makes money."
"There’s been a convergence over the last years because everybody’s got a mobile device now and expects a certain kind of experience."
"I never want to walk into a review with my stakeholders and see something for the first time."
"Showing instead of telling really sparks people’s interest and often leads engineers to fix problems even on weekends."
"Product principles are minimal but help us say, oh, this is meeting that or not meeting that."
"Pair designers so they review each other's work to reduce risk before going to stakeholders."
"Investment is attention. If the business funds you, they believe in what you’re doing."
"Find your senior executive ally who understands design, tell them what you need, then inform your boss afterward."
"The person in the company most concerned about ethical stuff can often be the lawyer."
"Don’t advertise to kids. That’s a belief we stick to even when it’s uncomfortable."
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