Building out a user experience (UX) team requires collaboration, establishing best practices, recruiting talent, finding advocates, and creating an infrastructure to support UX. Our panelists share their experience of creating and managing small and large UX teams. How do you make UX relevant, and an integral part of your organization? - Amy Cueva, Founder and Chief Experience Officer, Mad*Pow - Bob Thomas, Manager of User Experience, Liberty Mutual - Jennifer Fabrizi, Lead of User Experience and Design, MassMutual - Amy Kidd, Usability Manager, MathWorks - Chauncey Wilson, Senior Manager of AEC User Research, Autodesk

1. June 5, 2012
Building Out a User Experience Team:
Making UX Relevant Companywide
 Christopher LaRoche (Moderator)
 Amy Cueva
 Bob Thomas
 Jennifer Fabrizi
 Amy Kidd
 Chauncey Wilson

2. June 5, 2012
Panelists
Building out a user experience (UX) team requires collaboration, establishing
best practices, recruiting talent, finding advocates, and creating an
infrastructure to support UX. Our panelists share their experience of creating
and managing small and large UX teams. How do you make UX relevant, and
an integral part of your organization?
 Amy Cueva, Founder and Chief Experience Officer, Mad*Pow
 Bob Thomas, Manager of User Experience, Liberty Mutual
 Jennifer Fabrizi, Lead of User Experience and Design, MassMutual
 Amy Kidd, Usability Manager, MathWorks
 Chauncey Wilson, Senior Manager of AEC User Research, Autodesk

3. June 5, 2012
Amy Cueva
Founder and Chief Experience Officer, Mad*Pow
Political & Organizational Roadblocks
 Work with the business, not against it. Speak their
language. What does your company value? Align.
Measure. Evangelize success.
 Identify shared objectives with other teams. Unite.
Coordinate, collaborate, communicate across silos.
Every day.
 Make the current state clear. Make the vision clear and
the steps that can be taken to get there.

4. June 5, 2012
Bob Thomas
Manager of User Experience, Liberty Mutual
Building out a user experience team and making UX
relevant companywide require buy-in from management
and understanding the key business objectives of the
organization. I’ve found these key points helpful:
 Evangelizing UX to company executives is overrated. If
they don’t get it, you’re in the wrong company.
 Get UX into the product development lifecycle as soon
as possible.
 Hire qualified UX practitioners who can collaborate and
are passionate about our profession.

5. June 5, 2012
Jennifer Fabrizi
Lead of User Experience and Design, MassMutual
Building out a user experience team and making UX
relevant companywide require:
 Excellent talent/skillsets
 Executive sponsorship
• $$$
• Advocacy at senior levels
• Understanding and the ability to articulate business value
 Open, collaborative teamwork

6. June 5, 2012
Amy Kidd
Usability Manager, MathWorks
We all agree that having a champion or executive-level
buy-in is important. Once you have that, what else do you
need for a successful UX team? Two things are essential:
 Hiring
• Without the right people, a UX team cannot be successful. You
need people with the right blend of UX skills, experience, and
passion who also fit your company culture.
 Support Structures
• UX teams need a framework that helps individuals support each
other through knowledge sharing, design reviews, and
coaching. This is critical to helping your team perform well and
stay satisfied.

7. June 5, 2012
Chauncey Wilson
Senior Manager of AEC User Research, Autodesk
After three decades of building and participating in the
development of UX teams, I think that social psychological
factors are more critical than technological expertise.
 Social psychology is often more important for teams
than technological prowess.
 Public relations is critical for UX team success.
 “Continuous improvement” should not be an idle slogan.