Doing great design is not enough; we need to *lead* our design efforts. We need to negotiate tradeoffs with business partners, design in the context of other product development processes, and work with business partners who don’t speak the language of design. In order to do this, we have to set it up for success.
This session is about what it means to be a Design Lead at the start of a project, so you can improve the way you lead, gain greater influence, and be more effective. I’ll cover ways of being, internal consulting skills, creating relationships, and how to anticipate problems before they happen.
Drawing on years of experience with clients such as Wells Fargo, HP, Ancestry.com and others, I’ll share tools and materials that other Design Leads are using: Lead guides and manuals, checklists, one-sheeters, and more. You’ll see examples of beautifully designed UCD plans, visual timelines, diagrams of how workstreams work together, and other context-setting pieces.