Rosenverse

Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.

Log in Create free account

100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.

Power of Insights: Why sharing is better than silos with Uber’s Insights Platform

Monday, December 16, 2019 • Advancing Research Community
Share the love for this talk
Power of Insights: Why sharing is better than silos with Uber’s Insights Platform
Speakers: Etienne Fang
Link:

Summary

Uber is powered by insights. Chances are good that your company is, too. We’ve all had firsthand experiences of an inconvenient truth: insights are only as good as our ability to make use of them, and centralizing insights in a tool is only one piece of the puzzle. In this session we’ll not only share how we created our insights database, Kaleidoscope, but also what we’ve learned about changing behavior through partnerships and processes at an organizational level.

Key Insights

  • A unified insights taxonomy with 'who, what, why' improves clarity and usability of insights.

  • Insights are defined as actionable learnings that inform decisions, not just raw data or facts.

  • Triangulating insights across functions and geographies reveals broader opportunities and regional nuances.

  • Insight creators want their learnings applied responsibly and without being taken out of context.

  • Insight consumers seek deep understanding to inform strategic decision-making.

  • Adoption of insight platforms is boosted by social incentives like awards and collaborative events.

  • Connecting existing siloed systems rather than replacing them encourages buy-in and richer networks.

  • Real-world connections and knowing who to contact are vital alongside digital insights tools.

  • Maintaining quality control and vetting content is key to building trust in the platform.

  • Ongoing challenges include incentivizing consistent submissions and automating insight imports to ease user effort.

Notable Quotes

"An insight is an important learning about people, our applications, or the world that helps us make an informed decision about a project, roadmap, or program."

"Who, what, and why help ensure an insight is complete enough to stand alone."

"Uber bus drivers in Cairo end up working longer than their scheduled shift because they still receive requests 20 to 30 minutes before their shift ends."

"Sharing is actually the end—it’s basically the last step that means you’ve completed your study or analysis."

"A kaleidoscope helps us see changing patterns to perceive new images and pursue new possibilities."

"People want to get credit and recognition for the work that they’re doing."

"The person sitting next to you probably solved that problem already—just talk to one another."

"Connecting strings of Christmas lights is a mental model for connecting teams’ insights without superseding their systems."

"Validation helps drive action, so feedback and social engagement keep people motivated to share insights."

"Sharing enables lots of great things to happen—it’s better than being locked in silos."

Ask the Rosenbot
Sarah Barrett
AI in Real Life: Using LLMs to Turbocharge Microsoft Learn
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Eric Shumake
Diagnosis UX: Building Influence in Healthcare Design
2026 • Rosenfeld Community
Ebru Namaldi
Designing the Designer’s Journey: Scaling Teams, Culture, and Growth Through DesignOps
2025 • DesignOps Summit 2025
Gold
Cheryl Platz
Collaborative Creativity through Improv
2018 • DesignOps Summit 2018
Gold
Amy Paris
Delivering Equity: Government Services for All Ages, Languages, Sexual Orientations, and Gender Identities
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Fisayo Osilaja
[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Peter Van Dijck
Building impactful AI products for design and product leaders, Part 2: Evals are your moat
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Sarah Flamion
Complex Problem? Add Clarity by Combining Research and Systems Thinking
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold
Amy Brana Stuart
Rest in Peace Fly-in-fly-out Design
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Alana Washington
(Remote) Service Design: A Transformation Case Study
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Victor Udoewa
Radical Participatory Research: Decolonizing Participatory Processes
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Rich Mironov
How Can Product Managers and UXers Help Each Other (and Why are Product Folks so Annoying Sometimes)?
2022 • Design in Product 2022
Gold
Christian Rohrer
Insight Types That Influence Enterprise Decision Makers
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Tristin Oldani
Turning awareness into action with Climate UX
2025 • Climate UX Interest Group
Cornelius Rachieru
Handling Complexity: Framing a Scale of Design
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold

More Videos

Jim Kalbach

"Miles Davis gave the musicians the music as they entered the studio, and most first takes were the final ones."

Jim Kalbach

Jazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration

November 6, 2017

Louis Rosenfeld

"People saying you should write a book is nice, but it’s not the real reason you should write one."

Louis Rosenfeld

Coffee with Lou: Should You Write a (UX) Book?

March 7, 2024

Catt Small

"Keeping your craft sharp, learning new tools like auto layout in Figma, and challenging yourself help maintain relevance."

Catt Small Micah Bennett Brian Carr Jessica Harllee

What's Next for ICs: Exploring Staff and Principal Designer Roles

February 22, 2024

Marieke McCloskey

"I think we as UX researchers are uniquely positioned to forge bonds with data teams because of our storytelling and cross-functional work."

Marieke McCloskey

User Science: Product Analytics & User Research

March 11, 2021

Llewyn Paine

"Blurring user faces loses context and doesn’t address voice privacy, making it an inadequate solution."

Llewyn Paine

[Demo] Deploying AI doppelgangers to de-identify user research recordings

June 5, 2024

Joshua Noble

"Qualitative reasoning about causal mechanisms usually comes from lived experience, either the researcher or participants."

Joshua Noble

Casual Inference

October 6, 2023

Sara Logel

"We’re biologically wired to respond to intellectual challenges the same way as physical threats."

Sara Logel

Your Colleagues are Your Users Too

March 29, 2023

Bria Alexander

"Sponsor sessions may require registration by email to prevent Zoom bombings and protect session integrity."

Bria Alexander Louis Rosenfeld

Welcome

January 8, 2024

Sam Proulx

"When you design for the edges, you make things better, more fluid, more customizable for everyone."

Sam Proulx

Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience

June 7, 2023