Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
IBM User Experience Program—The What, Why and How
Summary
How does IBM co-create with our end-users to design products they love? Learn how the IBM Cloud and AI research team created a User Experience Program that formalizes and scales the relationship between our product teams and the end-users. User Experience “Partners,” as we lovingly call them, co-create with our product team to help refine IBM products by providing feedback, ideas, and domain expertise.
Key Insights
-
•
IBM’s User Experience Program involves long-term partnerships (often 1-2 years) with customers for ongoing, strategic feedback rather than one-off sessions.
-
•
Customers in the program are called User Experience Partners and do not receive incentives, unlike traditional research participants.
-
•
Effective recruitment relies heavily on internal stakeholders like sales and account managers to identify and connect with the right customers.
-
•
Diversity and inclusion remain key priorities; IBM has launched initiatives specifically to recruit partners with diverse abilities and backgrounds.
-
•
A slender core team led by Tracy manages over 700 active user partners globally, requiring scalable processes and collaboration from multiple program managers.
-
•
IBM uses a robust, self-service research repository built on Airtable to track participants, research activities, and avoid over-engagement.
-
•
Communication with partners is highly personalized including quarterly playback meetings where customers discuss roadmaps and past feedback impacts directly with product teams.
-
•
Legal and data privacy challenges are complex, especially with multinational customers, requiring evergreen feedback agreements and GDPR-compliant consent forms.
-
•
Measuring program impact ties into IBM’s overall business objectives and benefits from customers advocating for the program internally.
-
•
The User Experience Program acts like an advisory board, helping IBM anticipate future needs beyond immediate usability issues, fueling innovation.
Notable Quotes
"Yesterday was a prototype – we are continually redesigning around our users’ needs."
"Our user experience partners co-create with product teams to help refine IBM products."
"We don’t promise that every piece of feedback will show up in the product, but we keep partners informed about how their input influences development."
"Recruiting diverse partners takes time and effort, and we are actively building programs to include people with diverse abilities."
"It’s like sending around the Rolls Royce with the champagne bottle – a white glove, concierge service for recruiting partners."
"We have a feedback program agreement that once signed, is evergreen and covers everyone in the customer’s company."
"We’re very careful about PII and only the lead researcher and research ops managers have access to sensitive data."
"Customers in the program become our greatest source of learning and help shape the future of our products."
"Getting internal teams on board is often the biggest challenge, but once they see the value, it lights a fire."
"We don’t need to convince executives of the program’s value – our customers do that for us."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If you ask our partners what we do, they might say I’m not totally sure, but I know that we need it."
Rebecca GimenezWork in Progress: Service Design at Airbnb
December 3, 2024
"Those three retailers pivoted literally overnight under intense change management pressure."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 2 Intro
June 9, 2022
"Researchers are often nervous about their research being used in the wrong way, so trust and communication matter."
Brigette Metzler Dana ChrisfieldResearch Repositories: A global project by the ResearchOps Community
August 27, 2020
"Journey mapping was created with Intersection, founded by Chuck Pelley and Joan Greger, to help us look in the mirror."
Discussion
June 9, 2017
"The policy was about walking distance as the crow flies, but that wasn’t walkable—so the policy needed to change."
Sarah Brooks Jennifer PahlkaFireside chat with Sarah Brooks and Jen Pahlka
October 21, 2021
"Since March 2020, we’ve actually conducted all of our interviews remotely, which generally makes scheduling with diverse groups easier."
Lisa Spitz Nikki BrandBuilding Trust Through Equitable Research Practices
November 18, 2022
"Experts develop insights by isolating patterns and data; as designers, we already do this daily."
Theresa NeilDesigning for Wellness: Specializing in Healthcare
May 22, 2024
"Using tools like 11 Labs, we instantly generated voices with emotion and appropriate cadence for characters."
Maverick Chan Claire LinFrom Doodle to Demo: AI as Our Storytelling Partner
October 23, 2025
"When we’re mobilized or immobilized, our IQ literally drops by half and our peripheral vision narrows."
Alla WeinbergDesign Teams Need Psychological Safety: Here’s How to Create It
September 8, 2022