Robin Beers, an organizational psychologist and founder of Ubuntu Culture Company, delves into the pitfalls of organizational learning and knowledge curation. She emphasizes the need for businesses to shift from a transactional mindset to view knowledge as a dynamic social process. Discussing the importance of aligning with customer perspectives, she advocates for researchers to become knowledge curators. Robin also highlights the significance of sense-making and the evolving role of researchers in driving meaningful changes beyond just user experience.

What happens when an academic researcher trades a university lab for the fast-paced world of tech? Katie Hansen, Senior UX Research Manager at Thumbtack, shares her journey from studying unconscious bias at Princeton to leading research at companies like Etsy, Instagram, and Facebook. She breaks down the challenges of transitioning from academia—where studies take years—to industry, where research needs to drive business decisions quickly. Katie dives into the power of survey experiments, explaining how they can uncover deep psychological insights and help teams prioritize what to A/B test. She also discusses the value of meta-analysis and literature reviews, showing how researchers can tap into existing knowledge to save time and uncover patterns. With two talks lined up at Advancing Research 2025, Katie will explore experimental research techniques and the impact of meta-analysis in UX. She also shares her favorite research tools, the importance of repositories, and why Hidden Brain is a must-listen for anyone fascinated by human behavior. If you’re looking to level up your research game and future-proof your career, don’t miss this conversation!

Failure is often seen as something to avoid, but Dan Ward sees it as a gateway to innovation. Dan is a military technologist, author, USAF veteran, and innovation catalyst at MITRE Corporation, and he and Lou talk about the profound lessons failure can teach. Drawing from his book LIFT: Innovation Lessons From Flying Machines That ALMOST Worked and The People Who NEARLY Flew Them, Ward shares stories of pre-Wright brothers (more accurately pre-Wright siblings) aviation experiments that, despite ending in failure, laid the groundwork for modern flight. He explains how studying and learning from setbacks can drive innovation and problem-solving in any field. Dan shares his innovation team's unique approach to failure: celebrating it with “failure cake.” This ritual helps his team process setbacks, learn from them, and destigmatize failure in a supportive environment. He also emphasizes the importance of storytelling, arguing that even the best ideas are meaningless if they can’t be communicated clearly. The conversation highlights how embracing failure and sharing its lessons are essential for growth, whether in aviation, design, or technology. Mark your calendars! Lou announces that Dan will headline Rosenfeld Media’s first Failure Friday on February 7, 2025, where he’ll further discuss the failure cake practice.

What keeps you up at night? For Brandon Schauer, it was climate change. In a stroke of genius, the former CEO of Adaptive Path decided to look for a role that would help him address his concerns about our planet. He ultimately transitioned to his current role as Senior Vice President of Climate Culture at Rare. Brandon has a big heart, and it can be felt in his conversation with Lou. They discuss his education and career path, highlighting his leadership role at Adaptive Path where the agency thrived by sharing knowledge and empowering new talent. As CEO, Brandon navigated business challenges and focused on building lasting client relationships and expanding the agency's impact. This experience eventually led to Adaptive Path's acquisition by Capital One, which marked a significant turning point in Brandon's career. His transition to climate work was driven by a growing concern for the environment. After struggling to find a direct path connecting design and climate change, Brandon discovered a role at Rare, an organization focused on behavioral change to reduce U.S. carbon emissions. His team at Rare works to identify and promote lifestyle changes, such as how people eat, travel, and power their homes. Brandon also shares how his design background continues to influence his work at Rare, particularly in "behavior placement"—a method of subtly integrating eco-friendly choices into entertainment to normalize sustainable behaviors. He emphasizes the soft power designers hold, noting how they can integrate sustainability into their work, even if their roles aren’t explicitly focused on climate. By doing so, designers can influence corporate decisions and consumer behaviors, helping to create a shift toward more sustainable norms in everyday life.

Imagine transforming a forgotten, dark space beneath one of New York’s most iconic landmarks into a vibrant community hub—this is the ambitious vision behind Gotham Park. Facilitating the vision and creation of the space beneath the Brooklyn Bridge is Lou’s guest, Rosa Chang. She shares her dream of transforming the neglected nine-acre area into a community-driven park. Initially underutilized and uninviting, the space is now being reimagined as a vibrant public hub for diverse groups to gather and connect. Rosa discusses the process of bringing her idea to the public, emphasizing the importance of listening to the community and allowing the vision to evolve through conversations. Rather than adhering to a rigid design from the start, she facilitates discussions with local stakeholders to ensure the park meets the needs of the people it serves. She highlights the significance of respecting the space's history while meeting contemporary needs. Their conversation also touches on Gotham Park's early successes, including the opening of the first acre and the push to revive iconic spaces like the Brooklyn Banks skate park. Rosa's approach has been one of connection and collaboration, bridging gaps between individuals and organizations to create a public space that fosters unity. Listen and be inspired!

Just as a rock climber meticulously checks their gear and follows strict safety protocols to navigate treacherous heights, security UX professionals must also anticipate risks and design safeguards to ensure a smooth and safe journey for users in a digital landscape. In Lou’s interview with Heidi Trost, author of Human-Centered Security: How to Design Systems that are Both Safe and Usable, Heidi highlights the critical safety protocols climbers and belayers follow, which mirror the precautions needed in system design to mitigate human error and anxiety. This analogy sets the stage for a broader discussion on security user experience challenges. Heidi stresses the necessity of cross-disciplinary collaboration, especially when dealing with sensitive data like personally identifiable information (PII) and electronic protected health information (EPHI). She points out how involving legal and security teams early can streamline projects and improve outcomes. Designers, as facilitators, must bridge the gap between complex security concepts and user comprehension. Heidi’s book helps them do this by using personas to understand how the dynamic between users, security UX, and threat actors shapes. Lou and Heidi’s conversation explores the evolution of multi-factor authentication (MFA) and its unintended consequences. What started as a simple 6-digit code morphed into a troublesome fatigue for users. Heidi underscores the importance of iterative design to adapt to these evolving challenges, likening the chaos of security interactions to a relentless ping-pong match. As they look ahead, Louis and Heidi discuss the rapid evolution of AI in security contexts, emphasizing the balance between technological advancement and user protection. With AI assistants poised to know more about individuals than ever, designers must remain vigilant to prevent potential misuse. Their conversation is an invitation for professionals to rethink how they approach security UX and design, encouraging a proactive stance in this ever-changing landscape.

Imagine being the service design lead of a healthcare network of 88,000 patients. Your team consists of five people. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? This is the work that Carol Massa does every day at Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare network. She brings her wisdom and experience not only to this episode of the Rosenfeld Review, but to the inaugural Advancing Service Design Conference on December 3-4, 2024. Starting as a design student at SCAD, Carol’s career path has taken her to management consulting and now to her pivotal position at Northwell’s Enterprise Digital Service division. Carol discusses her team's unique approach to service design, acting as translators of human insights for digital services. Her team’s work involves transforming research and data into actionable insights, creating playbooks, and facilitating collaboration across various departments. The focus is on enhancing patient and clinician experiences by streamlining administrative tasks through innovative digital tools. Throughout the conversation, Carol highlights the importance of building relationships and humanizing interactions. She shares insights on using familiar frameworks to engage clinicians and bridge gaps in communication, ensuring that all stakeholders understand the shared goals of improving patient care. What You'll Learn from this Episode: - The Role of Service Design in Healthcare: Understanding how service design can improve patient and clinician experiences within large healthcare systems like Northwell Health - Collaboration Across Disciplines: How a small service design team collaborates with various departments and stakeholders, including clinicians, engineers, and business strategists, to enhance service delivery - Translating Insights into Action: Techniques for translating complex data and human insights into actionable strategies and digital tools that address specific needs - Humanizing Interactions: The importance of building personal relationships and fostering open communication to bridge gaps - Prototyping and Testing Ideas: How rapid prototyping and testing can be used to validate ideas and improve processes, ensuring that new tools and services effectively meet user needs. - Adapting Existing Frameworks: Creative approaches to leveraging existing frameworks (like problems, goals, and tasks) in a way that resonates with different audiences, particularly in translating technical language for clinicians. Quick Reference Guide: 0:00 - Meet Carol 2:02 - Service design at Northwell 7:25 - The makeup of the service design team 9:49 - The operational tools and documentation the team uses 13:46 - An example of incorporating and automating a new operational process 17:36 - Why you need the Rosenverse 20:04 - Action-driven problems, goals, and tasks 24:35 - Breaking into established systems 29:02 - Carol’s gift for listeners Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Advancing Service Design (inaugural conference) https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-service-design/ Everyday Astronaut https://www.youtube.com/everydayastronaut

In a thought-provoking discussion, Luke Roberts, COO and co-founder of HighFive, shares his insights as a systems provocateur. He dives into the resilience yet dehumanizing nature of systems and the challenges faced in initiating transformational change, particularly in education. Luke emphasizes the necessity of a long-term commitment to enacting meaningful change, often taking three years or more to see real results. He also explores the intersection of systemic issues with individual experiences, pushing the agenda for collaborative efforts in navigating complexities.

“I’ve been asking myself the question, ‘Why are you doing that?’ since I was about four,” says Amanda Woolley. As an organizational development (OD) consultant and facilitator, she seems to have found the right profession. Amanda began her career with NHS England, eventually becoming the System Leadership Development Senior Manager before working as a consultant. Ironically, she initially rejected the notion that she was an “OD person,” not being entirely sure what the requirements were. In Lou and Amanda’s discussion, she reflects on her journey into OD. She explains that OD focuses on helping teams step back and evaluate how they work together, addressing the complexities and “weirdness” that can emerge in workplace dynamics. They discuss the ideal environment for creating effective change in an organization, emphasizing the importance of neutrality, creativity, and ownership. Amanda shares a personal story about being a caregiver at a young age for her ill mother. She reflects, “My best experiences in healthcare are when people have broken the rules.” Today, she brings stakeholders together so that procedures can be rewritten to make protocols efficient and effective for all involved—and she’ll bring her experience and OD perspective to her panel at Advancing Service Design 2024 (virtual, December 3-4). What You'll Learn from this Episode: - The purpose of Organizational Development and who typically does it Common “weird” challenges organizations face - When and why organizations should bring in consultants, like OD specialists, to provide a neutral perspective and facilitate better communication and problem-solving - Amanda’s career path and the rich experiences that inform her work today Quick Reference Guide: 0:14 - Meet Amanda 1:50 - Systems and organizational development share a focus on frameworks and language 5:08 - What is organizational development, and who does it? 6:24 - Being aware of what’s weird and doing something about it 9:43 - The triggers that expose the need for an organizational development specialist 14:21 - Creating space that invites change and creativity 17:15 - 5 things about the Rosenverse 19:53 - How Amanda’s experience with the National Health Services in the UK has influenced her work today 27:27 - Amanda’s gift for listeners Resources and Links from Today's Episode: Advancing Service Design Conference - December 3-4, 2024 https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-service-design/ Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection―Now and in an Uncertain Future by Martin Seligman and Gabriella Rosen Kellerman https://www.amazon.com/Tomorrowmind-Resilience-Creativity-Connection_Now-Uncertain/dp/1982159766

Rachel Posman and John Calhoun, seasoned DesignOps professionals from Salesforce, share their insights on harmonizing design and operations. They creatively parallel music orchestration to team coordination, emphasizing the artistry involved in DesignOps. They also discuss the evolution of the discipline and their new book, the first of its kind, which guides both newcomers and veterans. With a focus on advocating for the value of design operations, they stress the need for visibility and recognition of the critical contributions made by DesignOps teams.