By Seetha Talluru Published in IterateUX
We’re pumped to kick off our IterateUX Event Blogging series! In our IterateUX Medium, we’ll give you a rundown of the weekly events and share some critical insights into many topics across UX Design. Today’s event was all about understanding how designing works at big companies. We’ve got some excellent info on how products and features get launched in large companies and Enterprise UX. So, without waiting longer, let’s dive into this exciting recap!
Robin Staley, our speaker for this event, has been designing products and services for big companies and enterprises in the legal, healthcare, and banking industries. Outside of work, she loves having and swapping Macha recipes. Robin is also a keen learner in anything about AI. She shared her experiences working in a large company and Enterprise UX in her talk. Here are the four important takeaways that Robin mentions for Enterprise UX.
Key 1: What is Enterprise UX?
Enterprise UX is about designing and including user experiences for the software and systems employees use. Enterprise UX is becoming popular in the startup world but is even more common in big companies. Here are a few essential things that Robin mentioned to remember in Enterprise UX:
- You’re not creating things for regular consumers
- You’re designing for the employees in an organization
- The purpose of Enterprise UX is to create products and services to help employees finish their tasks
- In Enterprise UX, you want to ensure the workflow is stress-free and comfortable for employees
Key 2: Challenges in Designing for Enterprise
Creating designs for a big company can be tricky, especially when dealing with Enterprise UX. Here are some challenges that Robin mentions on what designers generally face in Enterprise UX:
- The technology setting while designing products or services for a big company might be slow and have glitches because of old code
- It’s crucial to understand your users
- Generally, the product users do not get to choose the software. The company managers are the ones who choose the product for a myriad of reasons
- Not all users will have the same access to different parts of the product or service due to high-security levels
- Users might need permission to access specific actions or pages– design with this in mind
Key 3: Don’ts to do in Enterprise UX
Robin shared how designing for Enterprise UX at a big company works. It’s essential not to try to be a hero by quickly making big changes because things might not happen as fast as expected. Instead, you need to adjust to the large company’s way of designing a product or service for an enterprise. According to Robin, your designs should be:
- Scalable
- Agile
- Adaptable
She also emphasized avoiding oversimplification of the designs for the following reasons:
- Users might need help with how to use the product
- Oversimplification can cause users to worry about the security of the product
You want to balance the simplicity and security of the product or service, which is critical to becoming a successful designer of Enterprise UX.
Key 4: Collaboration in Enterprise UX and at Product/Feature Launches
Building strong connections with your and other teams is essential when working together. Here are the three common items that Robin mentions for successful team collaboration in Enterprise UX:
- Getting along well
- Communicating effectively
- Understanding each other
In a large organization, you can work with various teams like developers, marketing stakeholders, UX researchers, and business stakeholders. Here are some soft skills that will take you far when it comes to team collaboration in Enterprise UX:
- You must be adaptable to the working environment
- It’s crucial to be empathetic toward your teammates
- You should learn to work successfully with many different types of personalities
When it comes to dealing with developers:
- Make sure everyone is on the same page
- Be open to their criticism and use their feedback to ask questions for additional clarification
For launching a product or feature, you should work closely with your product manager and developers. Being in sync with your development sales and marketing teams is vital. Robin mentioned the key things to remember for your development team:
- Knowing the release date
- Making the necessary design changes in the early stages of the product and development cycle
- Ensure that the sales and marketing stakeholders understand the feature or product about to be released, as they’ll be responsible for selling and promoting it
Wrap-Up
Robin Staley’s event was fun and provided an in-depth view of what it’s like working as a UX Designer in a big company focusing on Enterprise UX. It’s important to understand that making significant changes takes time at a large company, especially when designing a product or service for Enterprise UX. Therefore, you should be flexible in your work environment, be part of agile teams, and ensure your designs can grow and adapt quickly.
I hope you liked the IterateUX event's “Designing for a Large Company” summary! Feel free to give it a clap or leave a comment below.
For more information on this event, please watch the event recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2PGsJvVCwc&t=2490s
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Feel free to reach out to Robin on questions regarding this event: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinserena
