Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/marty-cagan Are you on a product team or a feature team? After you listen to our interview with Marty Cagan, legendary product management guru, author, and partner at Silicon Valley Product Group, you’ll know just where you stand, and how to become a product team leader if you aren’t already one. We also discuss why product management is misunderstood, the dual track agile process, discovery sprints, and the four types of prototypes that Marty has cl...
Jun 02, 2020•49 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/podcast We’ve spoken to a lot of design leaders over the course of the Design Better Podcast, but this episode is the first chance we’ve had to speak with someone who has made the move from being an engineering leader to a design leader. Naveen Gavini, Head of Design and User Experience at Pinterest, spent time as an engineering manager and then as head of product engineering before taking on his current role, and he brings a unique perspective on le...
May 19, 2020•52 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/stephen-deasy “Designers are about possibilities. Engineers are about probabilities.” This quote, from Stephen Deasy, Head of Cloud Engineering at Atlassian, is just one example of how concisely he can describe the relationship between designers and engineers. Our interview with him was our first chance to learn from a leader on the engineering side, and he shared a wealth of knowledge that will help designers work more effectively with their enginee...
May 12, 2020•39 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/joshua-seiden Love it or hate it, the agile approach to software development seems to be here to stay. Often, it’s hard to get good design practice to fit within an Agile framework, so our next guest, Joshua Seiden—co-author of Lean UX and Outcomes Over Output —may be particularly helpful to those of you who are struggling. We chat with Joshua about how to fit user research into a sprint, and how he advocates for setting outcomes to guide the work of...
May 05, 2020•40 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/steve-rader There’s a lot of talk in the tech world about moonshots, and what it takes to build a team capable of achieving them. We thought it might be helpful to speak with someone at an organization that has achieved actual moonshots, and so we were thrilled to get a chance to speak with Steve Rader, who is Deputy Director for the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation at NASA. We chat with Steve about how he communicates across teams w...
Apr 28, 2020•51 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/business-thinking We’ve just published a new book on DesignBetter.com called Business Thinking for Designers by Ryan Rumsey, formerly of Apple, USAA, EA, and Nestlé. It’s a challenging time out there, and we know many of you are facing uncertainty in your work, whether you’re in an industry that’s been heavily hit by the current crisis, or even if you’re lucky enough to be with a company that is navigating the current storm more or less intact. Now m...
Apr 21, 2020•33 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/remoteworkbook We’ve just published a new book on DesignBetter.com called Remote Work for Design Teams , to help you make a graceful transition from the office to a remote work environment. In this bonus episode, we speak with the authors of the book (all from InVision): Abby Sinnott, Managing Editor, Greg Storey, Senior Director of Executive Programs, and Ben Goldman, Director of InVision Films. We chat with Abby, Greg and Ben about their own remote...
Apr 07, 2020•30 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/richard-banfield-alison-rand In this bonus episode, we’re once more focused on remote teams, and more specifically on best practices for facilitating remote design sprints, building trust between teams in a remote environment, and running effective critiques and design reviews remotely. In the first half of the episode, we chat with Richard Banfield, VP of Design Transformation at InVision, and author of the book Enterprise Design Sprints , who gives...
Mar 31, 2020•52 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/stephen-gates-jennifer-aldrich In this bonus episode, we chat about balancing personal and professional demands in a remote environment, especially during these challenging times. Join special guests Jennifer Aldrich, Senior Manager of Design Community Partnerships, and Stephen Gates, Head Design Evangelist, at InVision, as we discuss best practices for remote communication and how to build trust within your remote teams. We hope this episode helps y...
Mar 23, 2020•30 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/jehad-affoneh In this episode, we speak with VMWare’s Head of Design Jehad Affoneh about how he measures the business impact of design, and aligns design goals with engineering goals. We learn why he thinks it’s important to lead with context, and how he goes about ensuring that the diverse voices on his team are heard. You’ll hear: How OKRs can align goals across design and engineering Lessons from running an internal conference for designers and ex...
Mar 17, 2020•53 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/joanna-pena-bickley Joanna Peña-Bickley has had an amazing arc to her design leadership career: from Chief Creative Officer at Matter Worldwide and IBM, to her current role as Head of Research and Design for Alexa Devices at Amazon, Joanna has always sought to design things that are “useful, usable, and magical.” In this interview, we talk with Joanna about working cross functionally with both software and hardware teams, and what she’s learned about...
Mar 09, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/natalya-shelburne Natalya Shelburne, Tech Lead for Design Engineering at The New York Times, sits at a fascinating crossroad of design and development . She leads a team of front-end developers and brings her own experience as a designer and art director to her current role. We chat with Natalya about her move from design to front-end dev, and some of the fears she faced along the way. We also talk about her approach to bridging design and dev, and w...
Mar 02, 2020•38 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/kristin-wisnewski In the tech world, it's rare these days to spend more than a few years at one company. So we were curious to learn more about Kristin Wisnewski after hearing she’d been at IBM for 18 years. In her words, she “basically grew up at IBM,” and made a rapid transition from an individual contributor role to a leadership position in 2016, where she now leads an award-winning design team. We got to know the story of that career transformati...
Feb 24, 2020•50 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/nancy-douyon Nancy Douyon has a remarkable story that lead her into a career in technology. From her childhood in Haiti, to moving to Boston and taking part in an MIT program as a kid, to running away from home and then teaching as a teenager, and on to design roles at Google and Uber, Nancy’s unconventional path gives her a unique perspective on how to approach product design for an audience that includes everyone. We chat with Nancy about her initi...
Feb 17, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 4Ep. 1
https://www.designbetterpodcast.com Next week we'll be launching our fourth season of the Design Better Podcast by InVision. Listen now for a special preview of the new season and get ready for new episodes coming to you weekly starting February 18th. In this new season we’re taking a closer look at how teams can work better together for greater impact across design, engineering, business, and product. We speak with Joanna Peña-Bickley about bringing more diversity into leadership, the head of c...
Feb 12, 2020•4 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/david-kelley-creative-confidence To celebrate 1 million listens to the Design Better Podcast, we're rewinding to our episode with David Kelley, Founder of IDEO and the Stanford d.school, in honor of David just receiving the Edison Award for Innovation. And we're sending a special thanks to YOU for listening and helping us reach this 1 million milestone. We're tremendously grateful to you, your friends, and colleagues for tuning in and joining the jou...
Feb 04, 2020•48 min•Ep. 39
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/stephen-gates InVision is starting a new series of quarterly reports on design trends. The first in the series, a Design Trends Report on Talent , was created to help you learn proactive new ways to recruit, develop, and retain creative talent. In this bonus episode, we chat with Stephen Gates, Head Design Evangelist at InVision, about some of the things he learned while researching and producing the report as its co-author, and how the report can be...
Dec 19, 2019•54 min•Ep. 38
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/season3recap The third season of the Design Better Podcast recently wrapped up, where we explored the connected workflow : how designers can work more effectively and efficiently with their engineering and product counterparts to create incredible customer experiences. We interviewed guests ranging from Julie Zhuo, VP of Product Design at Facebook and author of The Making of a Manager, to Diego Rodriguez, Chief Product and Design Officer at Intuit. I...
Nov 08, 2019•28 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/jina-anne If you’re engaged in any sort of community surrounding Design Systems, whether it’s the Design Systems Slack, or the Clarity Conference, then you have likely benefited from Jina Anne’s work. A self-styled Design Systems Advocate, Jina has been passionate about creating events, content and resources that bring together communities of people who care about design systems and how they impact product design. In this bonus episode of the Design ...
Sep 27, 2019•39 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/diego-rodriguez Diego Rodriguez has had a remarkable career at the intersection of design, business, and education. He has served as Global Managing Director of design firm IDEO, founding faculty member of Stanford’s d.school, and is currently Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Design Officer at Intuit. In this episode, we discuss how design can influence broader business goals. Diego shares Intuit’s unique approach to product design, and th...
Sep 09, 2019•43 min•Season 3Ep. 30
As we prepare for the last episode of Season 3, take a look back at some of the stories that have inspired us. In this short update episode, hear from hosts Aarron Walter and Eli Woolery about what they've enjoyed about this season of the Design Better Podcast so far and preview our upcoming episode with Diego Rodriguez, Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Design Officer at Intuit. There's lots more to come, so be sure to subscribe for updates at www.designbetterpodc ast.com ....
Sep 03, 2019•4 min
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/che-douglas Che Douglas led the transformation of the design team at The Wall Street Journal , from a service-based organization to a strategic component of an embedded Engineering, Product and Design (EPD) structure. We chat with Che, who is now VP of Design at Booking.com, about how he got the right people involved to transform their design organization and spread design throughout the company. Che discusses the use of design sprints and how he sho...
Aug 19, 2019•43 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/lori-kaplan Lori Kaplan is a veteran design leader, whose pioneering work includes authorship of the original Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines in the 1980s. In this episode we speak with Lori about how the Atlassian playbook helps both internal and external teams address design challenges, the deep roots of cross-functional collaboration at the company, as well as Lori’s perspective on how attitudes towards design have shifted in recent years acr...
Aug 01, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/quinton-larson Quinton Larson is a design leader who has consistently brought thoughtful leadership into the companies where he works. In this episode we speak with Quinton about his prior work at IDEO and eBay, his involvement with Indeed’s Job Seeker Journey team, how he makes sure the right people are involved in project kickoffs, and how design systems help create a more connected workflow between designers and developers. Takeaways: Getting the ...
Jul 22, 2019•41 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/bob-baxley What do Yahoo, Apple, and Pinterest have in common? Silicon Valley design vet Bob Baxley. With extensive design leadership experience under his belt, Bob knows a thing or two about bridging the gaps between teams to help champion a connected workflow. In this episode, Aarron and Eli tap Bob’s insights on productive design reviews, getting in sync with engineers, and what it takes to build key relationships with executives—all in the name o...
Jul 08, 2019•51 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/josh-ulm Josh Ulm has quite the CV—Adobe Design Lead, Vodafone Head of UX, Oracle VP of Design, and now Wells Fargo SVP of Strategic Design and Insights. One thing he’s learned along the way is that “the most valuable role for design to play is influencing the business—not just the product." In this episode of the Design Better Podcast, Aarron and Eli covered subjects ranging from where the connected workflow is most broken, to the one critical quest...
Jun 25, 2019•52 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/brad-frost-dan-mall Enter design system pros Brad Frost and Dan Mall, long-time collaborators known for their expertise in bridging the gap between designers and developers. In this episode of the Design Better Podcast, Aarron and Eli talk with Dan and Brad about reducing friction between these two very different disciplines. They explore a few misconceptions around agile methodology, the risks of the creative technologist role, and breaking the desi...
Jun 07, 2019•50 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/benjamin-evans Benjamin Evans, Inclusive Design Lead for Airbnb, is part of a new kind of problem solvers tackling issues like racism, sexism, and bias in digital product design. In this episode of the Design Better Podcast, Eli and Aarron chat with Benjamin about using techniques like design thinking, research, and storytelling to ensure a more inclusive experience for all your users.
May 28, 2019•48 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/abigail-gray Abigail Hart Gray, Director of UX at Google, is one of the most inspiring design leaders we know. A self-proclaimed analytics nerd, Abigail uses numbers to deftly communicate the value of design to her colleagues, giving her team the runway to do great work. In this episode of the Design Better Podcast, Eli and Aarron get Abigail’s take on measuring design’s impact on business, how parenthood has changed her approach to problem solving, ...
May 13, 2019•44 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/julie-zhuo Listen as Julie Zhuo, VP of Product Design at Facebook and author of The Making of a Manager , recalls some of her earliest professional experiences at one of the fastest growing companies on the planet. She reveals how she got her start and grew to be a highly influential design leader renowned for building top-notch teams. Julie talks about the difference between leading and managing, and shares personal examples that can help you advanc...
Apr 29, 2019•52 min•Season 3Ep. 21
