As a keynote speaker at Refresh Conference 2023, I had the opportunity to share SEB’s transformative journey in UX strategy. This presentation was not just about our successes, but also the challenges and learning experiences that shaped our approach. Refresh Conference, known for bringing together leading voices in UX and design, provided the perfect platform to discuss the practical application of strategic frameworks in organizational transformation.
I inherited the UX team 18 months ago and have been on a journey to revamp our strategies and practices.
The key was implementing various strategic frameworks and tools.
Nielsen Norman Group’s UX Maturity Evaluation was crucial in measuring the UX team’s and organization’s maturity, setting the stage for further development.
McKinsey’s 7-S Framework is a reflective tool that helped me identify gaps in leadership and team coordination. This was an immediate feedback and guide for me.
Game Theory gave insights into decision-making and strategic interactions within the organization.
VRIO Analysis helped me to assess the unique value and competitive advantage the UX team brings to the organization. It was driving focus and prioritization.
The UX Maturity Evaluation was our starting point, providing a clear picture of where we stood and where we needed to go. This assessment revealed gaps in our processes and highlighted areas ripe for improvement, such as cross-team collaboration and standardization of UX practices. For instance, we discovered that teams who had worked closely with a UX team member for at least six months showed a more structured level of collaboration, while others were still at limited or emerging stages.
Overcoming imposter syndrome was a personal challenge. Another challenge was resisting the temptation to continuously seek new frameworks instead of fully implementing the ones we had chosen. We learned that depth of implementation was more valuable than breadth of tools.
But these tools not only streamlined our processes but also enabled a shared language and understanding within the team.
Our strategy circles around clear objectives, measurable results, and actionable plans, all rooted in a vision to nurture a customer-centric culture in the organization. This means educating other teams in service design, ensuring transparency of the UX team’s work, developing competencies, and establishing metrics.
Looking back, I once again realize the importance of process. Returning to foundational principles and rethinking our strategies through frameworks allowed us to align our actions.
