A presentation on the common characteristics of productive and creative organizations based on observing a wide variety of organizations and team structures over my career as a designer.

1. Working
Better
Together
Working
Better
Together
adam connor | experience design director | @adamconnor | aconnor@madpow.com
Characteristics of Productive, Creative Organizations

3. Business
Stakeholders
Product Owners
Analysts
SMEs

4. Design
UX Designers
Information Architects
Interaction Designers
Content Strategists

5. Development
Front-End
Back-End
Platform Spec.

9. Everyone is involved in the creative process.Everyone is involved in the creative process.
The user’s experience is the responsibility and mutual goal of all team
members. Everyone participates in a process of discovery, definition,
exploration, iteration and validation.

14. ? ?
?

17. There is clear creative vision and directorship.There is clear creative vision and directorship.
The individual leading the project sees and communicates the vision to
individual contributors. Additionally, they understand when to look to
specific areas of expertise or collaboratively derive consensus when refining
and defining aspects of the vision.

24. Low Fidelity
Representative
High Fidelity
The Real Deal

25. Low Fidelity
Representative
High Fidelity
The Real Deal

26. Low Fidelity
Representative
High Fidelity
The Real Deal

27. Low Fidelity
Representative
High Fidelity
The Real Deal

28. They don’t see design and development as separate phases.They don’t see design and development as separate phases.
There is a continuum of fidelity that begins with high-level representative
elements and progresses to the final, real solution. Designers and developers
work in tandem to visualize and explore ideas as they move along it.

34. Observe
LearnCreate

37. Observe
LearnCreate

38. ∞
Observe
LearnCreate

39. They budget and staff for products, not projects.They budget and staff for products, not projects.
They understand the iterative nature of design and product evolution and so
teams are established around products and services to continuously observe,
learn and refine solutions over the long-term.

46. They build teams based on individuals, not just skills.They build teams based on individuals, not just skills.
The ability to collaborate and coordinate work resides in the relationships of
the people involved. Selecting individuals to be on a team has as much to do
with their habits, attitudes and behaviors as it does their skills and
knowledge.

47. Changing culture is HARD, but not IMPOSSIBLE!Changing culture is HARD, but not IMPOSSIBLE!
Your position in your organization has a direct impact on your ability to
influence culture change. But no matter what that position is, you can still try.

48. Changing culture is HARD, but not IMPOSSIBLE!
Look for, and build TRUST.
It is the vehicle that allows creativity to happen.
Changing culture is HARD, but not IMPOSSIBLE!
Your position in your organization has a direct impact on your ability to
influence culture change. But no matter what that position is, you can still try.

49. Thanks!Thanks!adam connor
experience design director
@adamconnor
aconnor@madpow.com
madpow.com