All posts about
Enterprise UX

Levelling up the Design Org

Added on 23 July 2021 Peter Bogaards

Growth of design maturity in orgs. Goes very slowly, from progression to regression (even).

“At Redgate we place a significant emphasis on the growth and development of our employees. This investment in folks’ progression is, I believe, one of the main reasons why we continue to attract and retain some amazing people. Alongside a compelling mission, strong culture and ethics, individual’s are highly motivated where there is a genuine sense that the company cares about and is committed to their growth.”

Matthew Godfrey a.k.a. /msgodfrey | @MatthewGodfrey ~ Redgate ★

A day in the life of a UX manager

Added on 3 December 2019 Peter Bogaards

Sounds like an old Beatles song.

“​Informed by interviews with ten UX managers, this article presents a hypothetical day-in-the-life of a first-level, non-executive UX manager. This article is meant for senior ICs who wish to learn more about UX management. (…) The UX manager’s role is to enable their team and the people on it to be successful. This purpose drives many diverse activities, from the tactical to the strategic and from the empowering to the directed. Senior ICs who wish to try UX management can start by looking beyond their deliverables and begin to help their peers, team, and products grow.”

Jerrod Larson a.k.a. /jerrod-larson ~ UXPA Magazine ★

The CX Tower of Babel: What CX descriptions tell us about corporate CX initiatives

Added on 8 June 2018 Peter Bogaards

These towers seem to appear in every fast growing community, like UX, AI and content makreting.

“Despite the wave of CX initiatives launched by companies in recent years, my investigation indicates that the CX roles supporting these initiatives do not seem well matched to the activities required to design successful customer experiences. There are several ways to address this. First, companies building out a CX function must put more rigor into understanding the implications of designing CXs. A VOC program without qualitative research is incomplete. Analysis and synthesis are not learned on the job. Design is not simply generating a new idea as a response to a research insight. Second, companies must recruit candidates that fulfill those requirements or implement significant training programs to improve their CX profiles. Third, CX needs more formal education programs modeled after UX curriculums and emphasizing the basics of research, analysis, and design.”

Michael Thompson a.k.a. /michaelemmett3 ~ ACM Interactions Magazine XXV.3 ★ courtesy of @riander

On becoming a UX manager: New skills, requirements, and rewards

Added on 18 September 2017 Peter Bogaards

UX settles in the tactical (managerial) area.

“One of the most exciting career transitions one can go through, regardless of the discipline, is from individual contributor to manager. Becoming manager of a user experience team adds to that already-momentous transition its own unique set of issues, considerations, and requirements. While the learning curve can be steep, the rewards of UX management are many. Watching teammates grow professionally is immensely gratifying, as is seeing a high-functioning team address complex business challenges with ease. Furthermore, it is an exciting time to be a leader in the UX discipline as strategically minded managers have the opportunity to make design and research a vital part of their organization’s strategy.”

Jerrod Larson a.k.a. /jerrod-larson ~ The Magazine of the User Experience Professionals Association 17.4 ★

To be a design-led company

Added on 11 August 2017 Peter Bogaards

Design as the primary organizational competence. I see John Maeda’s hand in this.

“What got us here won’t get us there. I want to have design leading the way. A lot more user research. A lot more mockups.(…) Design as tactical driver: where design alters a discrete product, service, or communication effort. Design for system innovation: where design alters an existing system or creates a new one to deliver a better solution. Design as a catalyst for transformation: where design changes attitudes and behaviors of a community or organization.”

Ashleigh Axios a.k.a. /ashleighaxios | @AshleighAxios ~ A8C DESIGN ★

The future of UX: What’s coming next?

Added on 1 June 2017 Peter Bogaards

The future is changing all the time.

“First of all we have to say, that UX design is still a growing area, and in fact, it needs much more years that UX will be seen as a common social skill. UX Designer can work in there job for the next years. Easy use cases will be done by innovation manager or product manager on their own. For complex solutions, UX designer are a must have, also for the next 10 to 15 years. But there will be a focus on different areas which will increase! This are the six new focus areas for UX designers.”

World Usability Congress ★

How IBM is embracing the future through design

Added on 6 February 2017 Peter Bogaards

Great posterchild of design in the enterprise.

“Shifting trends are forcing technology companies to reimagine their value proposition. IBM has chosen to create disruption through design. In embracing the future, the company is essentially invoking its past. Back in 1956, IBM was the first large company to establish a corporate-wide design program. But this time, the company’s goals are more ambitious.”

Atul Handa a.k.a. @at_hand /atulhanda and Kanupriya Vashisht a.k.a. @Kanu_Conceptell /kanuhanda ~ UXmatters ★

Strategic UX: The value of making the problem bigger

Added on 4 January 2017 Peter Bogaards

Now UX has to deliver on tactics and strategy.

“As usability and user research have matured, the emphasis has shifted from championing the concept of user-centeredness to making it happen on a daily basis. For many UX researchers, this can mean functioning tactically, like QA technicians. Even researchers who do foundational user research, which we tend to consider strategic, can face routinization, functioning as gatherers and packagers of descriptive information about users and leaving it to others to identify any decision-making implications. This is not a style of practice that earns the seat at the strategic decision-making table that so many practitioners seek.”

David Siegel ~ ACM Interactions ★

Design leadership: What’s next?

Added on 18 November 2015 Peter Bogaards

The big boys from the 20th century have many ideas about Design.

“It’s the greatest time to be a designer. Learn to talk the language of business and the language of technology, but lets not forget where we come from. Convergence is happening faster than we can imagine right now, and there is no better time to be a designer.”

Thomas Lockwood a.k.a. /thomaslockwood | @ThomsLockwood ~ FastCo.design ★

Who needs UX strategy?

Added on 11 August 2015 Peter Bogaards

Something about eating and breakfast of UX in businesses.

“UX strategy has come into prominence in the past few years as a specialty area within the field of User Experience, as shown by the rapid increase in UX Strategist job titles and events such as the conference UX STRAT. For many of us who have been in the field for a long time, UX strategy is a counterbalance to efficiency-driven, product-centric methodologies like Agile, Lean Startup, and Lean UX. For others, it is a natural progression from basic UX design activities like wireframing to more rigorous, analytical activities such as formulating data-driven personas.”

(Paul Bryan a.k.a. @paulbryan ~ UXmatters) ★

The wicked craft of enterprise UX

Added on 26 May 2015 Peter Bogaards

“While everyone seems to have different definitions of craft, there are some common threads that suggest a special quality of diligence, pride, and beauty, borne out of shaping some raw material with the utmost personal care - whether it’s your hands covered with flour and sugar while making a pie, or some industrial-machined aluminum grafted with a high-resolution pixel display powered by smart algorithms… to keep your family comfortable while enjoying that delicious pie.”

(Uday Gajendar a.k.a. @udanium ~ Medium) ★