Summary
In her talk, Catherine Courage, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Citrix, outlines her transformative journey at Citrix as the company adapted to evolving user experience needs over the past six years. She details the growing demand for quality user experience in the enterprise, driven by consumerization and an empowered workforce that seeks productivity tools that enhance rather than hinder their work. Courage recounts her initial skepticism upon joining Citrix, a company traditionally rooted in IT infrastructure, but was convinced by CEO Mark Templeton's commitment to focus on user experience. She breaks down her journey into four phases: chaos, reaction and influence, organization and impact, and refine and differentiate. Throughout, she underscores the significance of establishing trust, cultivating relationships, making design relatable, and creating a culture that values user experience. Courage shares insights on hiring practices, the importance of storytelling in conveying user insights, engagement with middle management to facilitate buy-in, and the development of measurement tools to gauge user satisfaction. She concludes by encouraging fellow designers to embrace the challenges and rewards of leading experience-driven change within their organizations.
Key Insights
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Consumerized experiences influence employee expectations for workplace tools.
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IT departments must adapt to the changing landscape where users seek out their own productivity tools.
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Building a strong design culture requires trust and understanding within the organization.
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Simplicity and relatability in design principles are critical to successful user experience.
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The importance of developing a strong recruiting strategy centered on finding the right talent for your team.
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Engaging middle management is essential for fostering a culture that embraces design changes.
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Utilizing storytelling and customer journeys helps bridge gaps between engineering and user needs.
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Measuring success in user experience involves both customer feedback and product instrumentation.
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Creating collaborative environments and flexibility in workspaces promotes innovation and teamwork.
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Saying 'no' strategically helps maintain focus on impactful projects rather than spreading resources too thin.
Notable Quotes
"We are demanding these great experiences in the workplace."
"If we don't get them in the workplace, we're going to beat the system."
"This journey is going to require constant attention and growth."
"You must build trust and credibility to have any success."
"I thrive in chaos. Life is boring if things are going along smoothly."
"More projects do not equal greater success."
"Saying no allowed us to grow from nine people to almost 150."
"Don't wait for permission to go after problems outside of your product scope."
"Building a key team requires proactive retention and development strategies."
"Communicating our impact across the entire organization is critical for sustaining momentum."
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