Many engineering-focused enterprises have become solution driven—it's in the very nature of their work. Oftentimes it can be tricky to convince your stakeholders to use valuable time and resources on user experience. Over the past two years, the innovation and design teams at GE Transportation have been refining their processes to enable engineering-heavy teams to capitalize on long-term strategy and short-term design-led execution through four key principles: Simplify the complex Work in bite-size chunks to make things manageable Built-in exit ramps to ensure relevancy and quality Work in full transparency In this presentation, Richard will walk through how user-centric design was scaled in an engineer-led enterprise of thousands mechanical, electrical, and computer engineers.

1. Engineering
Focused UX
Engineering
Richard W. Baker • UX Strat USA • Aug 2019
@rwbaker #uxstrat

2. Richard Baker, Head of UX
GE Transportation

3. 27,000 employees
Richard Baker, Head of UX
GE Transportation

4. 27,000 employees
5,000 engineers
Richard Baker, Head of UX
GE Transportation

5. 27,000 employees
5,000 engineers
1,500 software engineers
Richard Baker, Head of UX
GE Transportation

6. 27,000 employees
5,000 engineers
1,500 software engineers
100+ software products
Richard Baker, Head of UX
GE Transportation

7. 27,000 employees
5,000 engineers
1,500 software engineers
100+ software products
25 UXers (1:60)
Richard Baker, Head of UX
GE Transportation

8. What is
engineering-focused?

9. Photo: Kharisma Cendhika Putra, GE Transportation

10. Photo: GE Healthcare

11. Photo: Norfolk SouthernNorfolk Southern has centralized its dispatching at its new Network Operations Center in Atlanta.

12. Photo: Raymond D. Woods, Jr.Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNSF) centralized dispatch center in Fort Worth, Texas

13. Photo: Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash
Software Developer
Data Scientist
Dev Ops
Analyst
Researcher
Designer

14. So,
what do all these
have in common?

15. Engineers love data
...keeps users safe
...prevents mistakes
...informs strategy

16. Engineers have a process
...Six Sigma
...ISO standards
...change management

17. Engineering
orgs are huge
...big companies
...big products
...big tools

18. Engineers
prioritize safety
Complexity is dangerous...
Scale is dangerous...

19. an iterative design process
that reduces complexity &
ensures company & user
success
Engineer-focused UX is...

20. an iterative design process
that reduces complexity &
ensures company & user
success
Engineer-focused UX is...
Simplify the complex.
Bite-size chunks.
Built-in exit ramps.
Transparent.

21. Strategic innovation.
Tactical design.
Agile execution.

22. 1. Get buy-in. plan plan plan plan
research
& design
strategy
sprint
res
& d
strategy
research
& design
s

23. Get everyone on
the same page
emptyemptyemptyemptybuy-in
Clarify all assumptions,
especially the ones
you think are obvious

24. Answer questions
before they're
asked
emptyemptyemptyemptybuy-in
Why should we do this?
What am I getting?
How much will it cost?
How long will it take?
Do we really need all these
steps/people/deliverables?

25. Ensuring everyone
understands what is to come
makes things run smoother
emptyemptyemptyemptybuy-in

26. 1. Get buy-in.
2. Strategic innovation.
plan plan plan plan
research
& design
strategy
sprint
res
& d
strategy
research
& design
s

28. 1. Understand current state
Who are the players?
How does work get done?
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in

29. 2. Imagine the worst
Paint a picture of where
you'll be if you do nothing
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in

30. 3. Set a vision
Who are the future users?
What are the core benefits?
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in

31. Typical site visit agenda...
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in
1. Tour
2. Workshop—vision & roadmap
3. Observe—validate what we heard
4. Lite synthesis—look for gaps before we leave
5. Recap—quick insight report & followup
6. Go home

32. Workshop!
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in
1. Current. Worst. Vision.
2. Plot opportunities. Vote.
3. Document contributions.
4. What are we missing?

33. Workshop!
NOW SHORT LONG
New opportunity:
What do we need to get
there? (tech, money, etc.)
$$$$$
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in
1. Current. Worst. Vision.
2. Plot opportunities. Vote.
3. Document contributions.
4. What are we missing?

34. Workshop!
NOW SHORT LONG
New opportunity:
What do we need to get
there? (tech, money, etc.)
$$$$$
What work is
already being
done for the
vision?
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in
1. Current. Worst. Vision.
2. Plot opportunities. Vote.
3. Document contributions.
4. What are we missing?

35. Workshop!
NOW SHORT LONG
New opportunity:
What do we need to get
there? (tech, money, etc.)
$$$$$
What work is
already being
done for the
vision?
What is not
being done?
Why should
we do it?
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in
1. Current. Worst. Vision.
2. Plot opportunities. Vote.
3. Document contributions.
4. What are we missing?

36. 4. Visualize the plan
Visual plan enables
conversation & alignment
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in

37. Bare minimum to keep the lights on
Progress, not time
New opportunities & growth

38. Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5
new
opportunities
bare
minimum
to exist
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in

40. BARE
MINIMUM
TO EXIST
FORGING
NEW
OPPORTUNITIES

41. 5. Choose path forward
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in
This roadmap facilitates the
conversation to choose which
opportunities matter most,
and which can be reprioritized

42. 6. Validate
emptyemptyemptystrategic innovationbuy-in
Research landscape to
validate strategic plan

43. 1. Get buy-in.
2. Strategic innovation.
3. Tactical design.
plan plan plan plan
research
& design
strategy
sprint
res
& d
strategy
research
& design
s

44. Get everyone on
the same page
How will we turn
strategy into reality?
emptyemptytactical designstrategic innovationbuy-in

46. Tasks, Features, Milestones, etc.
Time
Blockers

47. 1. Quarterly planning
The effectiveness of your
strategy is proportional to
how many people believe it
emptyemptytactical designstrategic innovationbuy-in

48. 2. Focused discovery
Focus on process,
relationships, & data
emptyemptytactical designstrategic innovationbuy-in

49. 3. Iterative design
User involvement leads to
increased FOMO
emptyemptytactical designstrategic innovationbuy-in

50. 1. Get buy-in.
2. Strategic innovation.
3. Tactical design.
4. Agile execution.
plan plan plan plan
research
& design
strategy
sprint
res
& d
strategy
research
& design
s

51. Get everyone on
the same page
Quarterly planning
sessions keeps
everyone aligned
emptyagile executiontactical designstrategic innovationbuy-in

52. Celebrate success
Sprint demos aren't
just for engineers
emptyagile executiontactical designstrategic innovationbuy-in

53. 1. Get buy-in.
2. Strategic innovation.
3. Tactical design.
4. Agile execution.
5. Repeat.
@rwbaker #uxstrat
plan plan plan plan
research
& design
strategy
sprint
res
& d
strategy
research
& design
s

54. plan plan plan plan
strategic
innovation
tactical
design
agile
execution
research
& design
strategy
sprint
research
& design
strategy
research
& design
sprint
Strategy
Tactical
Celebrate
success
6mo
3mo
2wk
Repeat...
repeattactical designtactical designstrategic innovationbuy-in

55. Simplify the complex.
Bite-size chunks.
Built-in exit ramps.
Transparent.

56. Clarify all assumptions,
especially the ones you
think are obvious
Simplify the complex.

57. Quarterly planning allows for
team alignment & sanity checks
Bite-size chunks.

58. Collectively validate & optimize
strategy every 6 months
Built-in exit ramps.

59. The effectiveness of your strategy
is proportional to how many
people believe it
Transparent.

60. 1. Get buy-in.
2. Strategic innovation.
3. Tactical design.
4. Agile execution.
5. Repeat.
plan plan plan plan
research
& design
strategy
sprint
res
& d
strategy
research
& design
s

61. @rwbaker #uxstrat
Thanks!
Presentation download:
http://rwbaker.com/engineering-focused-ux
2-4pm Mini-workshop