What does it take to transform a new design team into a well-oiled machine that’s creative, passionate, and productive? Whether you’re a new team in a large corporation or a seed-funded startup, there are all kinds of added challenges that aren’t necessarily part of the design process. How do you demonstrate the value of design to an organization who has never worked directly with an interaction designer? How do you find the right cadence for your work and the right balance in responsibilities? How do you share the process without losing control of design as a specialty? I’ll share a few stories from my experience building a team of designers at American Express Serve, including our approach to making great work and how we’re tackling the wide open possibilities that come after achieving stability.

1. From Startup to Stable
From Startup to Stable
Katie Koch, Design Director
American Express, Enterprise Growth

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My team is special.

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Fix a Problem
It isn’t good enough to just bolt a bunch of features onto a product
and say “voila!” Building it does not mean they will come. Every
product should be viewed through the lens of “what problem does
this solve?” If it doesn’t solve a problem, don’t do it. If it won’t
improve the lives of a user base, don’t do it.
Best in Class.
Or Go Home.
Why do it if it isn’t great? “Meh” isn’t a strategy. “Me too” is a waste
of time. Things are moving too fast to settle for middle of the road.
Resist the impulse for death by slicing – a little fee here, a
loophole there – the incremental surrenders that stack up to a bad
experience. Not everything will be perfect out of the gate, but the
goal is to create something that is better for consumers than
anything else in market. Be excellent.

13. From Startup to Stable
Fix a Problem
It isn’t good enough to just bolt a bunch of features onto a product
and say “voila!” Building it does not mean they will come. Every
product should be viewed through the lens of “what problem does
this solve?” If it doesn’t solve a problem, don’t do it. If it won’t
improve the lives of a user base, don’t do it.
Best in Class.
Or Go Home.
Why do it if it isn’t great? “Meh” isn’t a strategy. “Me too” is a waste
of time. Things are moving too fast to settle for middle of the road.
Resist the impulse for death by slicing – a little fee here, a
loophole there – the incremental surrenders that stack up to a bad
experience. Not everything will be perfect out of the gate, but the
goal is to create something that is better for consumers than
anything else in market. Be excellent.
“You’re the ones who use the
plotter… and post-its!”

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“Design is really cool!”

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Design intrapreneurs
Business owners
of design

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What are the choices we’ve made
that helped us get from a startup
design team to a stable in-house
team?

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Our Guiding Principles
We Collaborate! We’re User Centered! We are Process Driven!

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Our Roles

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Our Design Process

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Doesn’t have to be proprietary or unique. If it’s clear,
people will remember it.
There’s no right or wrong, only what works for your
team and how you want to work.
Process

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Activity Cards

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Design Principles

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Design Templates

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We make time to build the
foundation and share it with
others so everyone knows the
rules of the game.

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Get in the zone

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We work differently.

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Adapt to changing needs

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Hire the best, most awesome
people you can find.

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MAVERICKS!!

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Everyone shares, teaches and learns.
Weekly XD meeting devoted to the practice of design.
Always be learning

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Code share!

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Year end awards

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Bring on awesome people
who get excited about change.
Reward them for acting like
mavericks.

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Our charter is to make live
products, not design deliverables.

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Keep stakeholders close

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“Blow it up!”

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Take small bets to enroll others
in the process along the way.

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We say no if we don’t think the
project will be good for users, or
if we feel the design team can’t
add meaningful value.

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It’s awesome to
be an in-house
designer!

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Be smart about the business.
Work on our partners’ schedules and cadence.
Know our customer data.
Consume

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Go to fewer meetings.
Be an advocate for the user.
Be in person for design reviews.
Influence

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Design Toolkit

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Consume vs. influence
is a choice.

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Today:
A stable team

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This didn’t happen overnight.
It is the result of years of making
active choices.

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Email
katie.koch@aexp.com
Around the internet
@pixelkated
Thank you!