EUX18 Recap

This post is a brief recap of all the presentations at the 2018 Enterprise UX Conference, and includes links to the full length blog posts.  In case you are not sure where to begin, at the end of this post I share a few thoughts about the presentations that I most enjoyed, and why.

Opening Keynote

Cleaning up our Mess: Digital Governance for Designers
Lisa Welchman (@lwelchman) reminds us that governance is ultimately about decision-making. It is not workflow processes, or who gets to approve what before it gets published. It’s a subset of corporate governance. We need to move from an informed strategy to clear policy, to sensible standards. That in turn requires targeted and intentional collaboration.  As UX professionals, we can – and should – play a part in these transformations.  Read the full blog post here, and view the final sketchnote here.

Theme 1: Build

Bias Towards Action: Building Teams that Work
Husani Oakley (@husanioakley) reminds is that what is happening in technology – and more broadly in the world – right now is in large measure because our hands make the things that can be used for good or bad. It is our duty as makers and as human beings to remember that responsibility, and build our teams accordingly.  Read the full blog post here.

Ethics in Tech Education: Designing to Provide Opportunity for All
Mariah Hay (@mariahhay) reminds us that we have to understand ethics in the context of technology we are helping to produce. What can we learn from other professional groups that have crafted ethical codes, and how does that change the way we lead our teams?  Read the full blog post here.

Lives on the Line: The Stakes of UX at the Scale of Government
Former Veteran Affairs CTO Marina Martin (@marinamartin) explains the practical steps she took to achieve radical changes in the way the US government provides healthcare services to our veterans.  Read the full blog post here.

The Build theme was curated by Eduardo Ortiz (@eduardoortiz).  View the theme sketchnote by MJ Broadbent (@mjbroadbent) here.

Theme 2: Communicate

Communicating the ROI of UX with a Large Enterprise and Out on the Streets
JD Buckley (@uxgirl) shares that as part of their investment in innovation, ADP has committed to a user-centered design. But how to measure the value and impact of that investment as a flagship product is redesigned? This presentation describes the process and outcomes of thinking systematically about design at an institutional level, both at ADP and in a non-profit anti-gun education initiative.  Read the full blog post here.

Peace is Waged with Sticky Notes: Mapping Real-World Experiences
Jim Kalbach (@jimkalbach) describes organizations that counter violent extremism (CVEs) today by engaging ‘formers’ – former radicalists – to change the narrative about hate. In this presentation, we learn about how UX methods an be used to address some of the most pressing real-world challenges of our time.  Read the full blog post here.

Innovate with Purpose
Janaki Kumar (@janakikumar) reminds us that the goal of business has always been to achieve maximum profits.  However, that is starting to change as consumers increasingly demand a positive contribution to society as well. With these changes as a backdrop, AI and ML will change the nature of work. In this context, Enterprise UX will bring four super powers that will contribute to changing the nature of work.  Read the full blog post here.

The Communication theme was curated by Margot Dear (@madgeodear).  View the theme sketchnote by MJ Broadbent (@mjbroadbent) here.

Storytelling

In this series of five-minute stories curated by Dan Willis (@uxcrank), we hear from Enterprise UXers about their challenges, rants, and big ideas.  Read the full blog post here and the sketchnote here.

Theme 3: Invest

A Roadmap for Maturing Design in the Enterprise
Using the UX Maturity Model from Berndtsson (2014) as a framework, JJ Kercher (@jjkercher) describes the specific, practical steps that the AppFolio team took to step up – and ultimately through – the UX Maturity Model and into the CX space.  Read the full blog post here.

The Magic Word is Trust
In this presentation, Dorelle Rabinowitz (@dorelvis) shares what she has learned about creating a foundation and the right behaviors to establish trust – both within our teams and across them.  Read the full blog post here.

How to Identify and Increase your “Experience Quotient”
Patanjali Chary reminds us that clients will pay a premium for a better experience – but we have historically not told the UX ROI story in that way. Using the Service Profit Chain Model, we can articulate our value in ways that our business stakeholders and sponsors understand, and ultimately deliver on delight.  Read the full blog post here.

The Invest theme was curated by Amy Marquez (@amymarquez).  View the theme sketchnote by MJ Broadbent (@mjbroadbent) here.

Theme 4: Scale

Making People the X-Factor in the Enterprise
John Taschek shows us how the pressures of scale and growth result in systematic dehumanization of people and the environment they work in. In this presentation, we learn a bit about why that happens, and what might we do to mediate it.  Read the full blog post here.

We’ll Figure That Out in the Next Launch: Enterprise Tech’s Nobility Complex (was: Making Uber More Efficient through Informed International Insights)
Nancy Douyon (@nancydouyon) shows us how the Nobility Complex makes us blind to our privilege, and ultimately results in designs that are not locally relevant. We learn some ways to change the practices in our teams and organizations to address the gap between our perceptions and what local communities really need.  Read the full blog post here.

Standardizing Product Metrics for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
In this presentation by Jennifer Cardello (@jencardello), we hear from another design leader about how her team demonstrated the impact of design, drove organizational change, and established an Experience Measurement Framework to guide future decision-making.  Read the full blog post here.

The Scale theme was curated by Tricia Wang (@triciawang).  View the theme sketchnote by MJ Broadbent (@mjbroadbent) here.

Closing Keynote

Creativity and Principles in the Flourishing Enterprise
In the closing keynote by Dick Buchanan, we learned about new kind of design practice (including the four orders of design), the nature of principles, and a little bit about creativity – and what those things might tell us about the future of Enterprise UX.  Read the full blog post here, and view the final sketchnote here.

Reflections

When I’m live-blogging I don’t have much time to reflect on what I like or don’t like – I’m really just trying to capture the presenters’ point-of-view.  But inevitably – like any other conference participant – I reflect on the presentations that were the most compelling to me, and why.  This year, my favorites touched on two themes that I’m very interested in – measuring the ROI of User Experience, and using our UX skills in the service of social justice.

There were three presentations that addressed measuring the value and impact of what we do:

• Pantanjali Chary on what he calls the “Experience Quotient”
• JD Buckley on Communicating the ROI of UX both in the enterprise and in community outreach / education programs
• Jen Cardello on Standardizing Product Metrics

There were five presentations that touched on social justice topics:

• Marina Martin on getting our veterans healthcare services
• JD Buckley on measuring the impact of a service design initiative to end gun violence
• Jim Kalbach on engaging with former hate group members to help counter violent extremism
• Janaki Kumar on bringing design thinking to NGOs
• Nancy Douyon on being cognizant of our ‘nobility complex’ as we seek to provide aid or research in less privileged communities

I hope you will take the time to read those, as well as any others you find as you peruse my summaries of Enterprise UX 2018.  Enjoy!