INVEST: Discussion
Summary
In this session, panelists tackled nuanced challenges in enterprise user experience, especially where product purchasers differ from users. The first speaker emphasized understanding how a company makes money—such as using revenue per loan (RPL) metrics—and how this drives UX priorities. He observed a convergence in buyer and user expectations due to widespread mobile device use, which eases translation between stakeholders. Regarding maintaining design quality at scale, John and Bill described multilayered design reviews, including team and cross-functional sessions called power hours. They highlighted practices like pairing designers and involving usability engineers early to reduce risks. For uplifting UX across different business units, panelists recommended identifying strengths in mature teams (e.g., B2C), sharing those practices through cross-team collaboration and design jams, and securing senior executive allies to gain investment and attention. Ethical challenges discussed included balancing profit and social missions when serving financially underserved populations, complying with regulations like the Fair Lending Act, and designing AI experiences responsibly as Amazon’s Alexa team does by refusing advertising to children. Speakers stressed embedding legal counsel into design processes to navigate these issues. Finally, the discussion covered how to pitch delight in enterprise software used internally and highlighted strategies, such as champion programs that empower users to increase feature adoption and reduce churn, linking UX improvements directly to business impact.
Key Insights
-
•
Understanding a company's revenue model, like revenue per loan, helps align UX priorities with business outcomes.
-
•
The gap between buyers and users of enterprise software is narrowing as all stakeholders expect modern, mobile-grade experiences.
-
•
Scaling design quality requires multilayered reviews including team, design system, product, and executive levels.
-
•
Pairing designers with each other and usability engineers before stakeholder reviews reduces risks and improves quality.
-
•
Transferring mature UX practices from one business unit (e.g., B2C) to another (e.g., B2B) requires identifying strengths and fostering cross-team collaboration.
-
•
Securing senior executive allies who understand design can fast-track investment and attention to UX improvements.
-
•
Ethical design challenges arise when designing products for financially underserved users and regulated industries, requiring close collaboration with legal teams.
-
•
Embedding legal counsel into the design process transforms potential compliance blockers into advocates for better design.
-
•
Amazon’s Alexa team enforces strict ethical 'tenets' like no advertising to children to guide design decisions under pressure.
-
•
Creating internal product champions among end users helps increase feature adoption and reduce churn in enterprise contexts.
Notable Quotes
"You have to understand how the business actually makes money to align UX with it."
"There’s been a huge convergence 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 at the SVP level and see something for the first time."
"Show them, don’t tell them — involving stakeholders early builds skin in the game and helps control quality."
"Investment is attention: If the business funds you, it means they believe in what you do."
"Find your senior executive ally who understands design and go talk to them first — it works."
"Making your chief legal officer your best friend as a designer makes a lot of sense."
"We use Alexa’s personification for good, fun, and delight, but we don’t advertise, especially because there may be kids listening."
"The culture between buyer and user impacts feature adoption and overall satisfaction."
"Creating internal champions in client organizations helps improve adoption and reduces churn."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We started to see children and teenagers as users, not just audiences."
Sofía Delsordo Kassim VeraPublic Policy for Jalisco's Designers to Make Design Matter
December 8, 2021
"Good UX is good business."
Product and Design at Bloomberg: A 15-year Evolution
December 6, 2022
"People were doing incentives in different ways, using their own cards, which was confusing, so I centralized it."
Liza Pemstein Jane DavisScaling Research Via an Ops First Model at Clever
March 27, 2023
"I’ve worked with international counterparts through 30 calls with designers around the world."
Kara KaneTheme One Intro
November 16, 2022
"Think of AI not as a magic eight ball, but as a highly educated intern that can help with routine tasks."
Mark Interrante Harry MaxAI for Prioritization (3rd of 3 seminars)
July 11, 2024
"People with disabilities often pay more to buy from stores they trust are accessible and where they feel confident."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
October 3, 2023
"Roadmap amnesia is real — every new thing wipes out weeks of priorities from stakeholders’ minds."
Rich MironovHow Can Product Managers and UXers Help Each Other (and Why are Product Folks so Annoying Sometimes)?
December 6, 2022
"Nobody asked for this damn thing, nobody funded it, but we just made it."
Juhan SoninDesign Now! The Agenda for Action
September 4, 2025
"The trust gap stems from being repeatedly failed by a system, not innate risk aversion or imposter syndrome."
Mansi GuptaDrawing from Feminist Practice to Make Inclusive Design Operational
September 9, 2022
