Theme 4: Enterprise Organizational Journey
Summary
We’ll blend panel-style discussion, improvisation, business wargaming, and more to explore the dynamics of cross-functional enterprise implementation teams. Our panel of experts—each representing a different facet of the software development lifecycle, including UX, Product, Development, Operations and Sales & Marketing—will be put into situations not of their own choosing that they must resolve in a series of meetings played out before the audience. Each member has their organization’s goals in mind, and their company’s goals in mind, but they don’t always know everybody else’s goals or concerns. Just like back at the office! Participating in this session: - Nafisa Bhojawala, UX Team Lead for Compute, Google Cloud Platform - Kintan Brahmbhatt, Head of Product Management, Amazon Music - David Gatto, Strategic Account Executive, Smartsheet - Dave Sifry, CTO, MyVillage - Wendy Spies, Director of Business Development for Data and AI
Key Insights
-
•
DBNDC’s shift from B2D to B2B requires careful customer segmentation and validation before large investment.
-
•
Technical debt from integrating legacy systems Boneyard and E-Toy is causing outages that threaten customer retention.
-
•
A small, time-boxed cross-functional 'tag team' is preferred for initial exploration of the B2B pivot.
-
•
Government contracts represent a high-risk, high-reward opportunity, necessitating new compliance and legal frameworks.
-
•
Leadership turnover, including the CEO and a key architect leaving, creates instability during critical transition.
-
•
Prioritizing crisis response while maintaining exploration for future growth is essential for strategy balance.
-
•
Machine learning (Project Pavlov) offers potentially unique differentiation but raises privacy and compliance concerns.
-
•
Single sign-on and identity management for B2B customers need additional layers beyond consumer systems.
-
•
Partnership or acquisition can accelerate entry into unfamiliar markets like government or specialized B2B sectors.
-
•
Empathy, respect, and trust within executive teams facilitate civil, productive discussions even under pressure.
Notable Quotes
"We have two competitors: Canine Corp and e-pets, but e-pets is over-diversified, even pet rocks."
"Our consultant says we should pivot from business to dog to business to business—what do we do?"
"We can start small, test and validate quickly with a three-week tag team—one PM, one designer, one researcher."
"Outage caused by technical debt between Boneyard’s VT100 era system and E-Toy’s cloud infrastructure."
"We’re not in the identity business; let’s focus on e-commerce where the growth and customer value are."
"Government contracts are huge but require heavy compliance and long timelines—heads we win, tails we lose little."
"Machine learning could let dogs order just by barking—unique and hard to copy differentiation."
"We have to balance crisis management with long-term strategic exploration to not lose sight of growth."
"Being nice and empathetic at the executive level is critical to get results and maintain trust."
"Leadership is about being a transparent umbrella, shielding teams from chaos while keeping them informed."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If a dialog pops up but the keyboard focus isn’t moved into it, a screen reader user might not know it’s there."
Sam ProulxEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Screen Readers
June 11, 2021
"There is no need for you to take notes because session notes, videos, and decks will be shared as soon as possible."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
November 17, 2022
"Taking time to intentionally create a career strategy helps avoid reactive decisions based on fear."
Corey Nelson Amy SanteeLayoffs
November 15, 2022
"Enterprises are basically people pursuing outcomes, doing activities, and using objects—this simple theory underpins the language of Edgy."
Milan GuentherA Shared Language for Co-Creating Ambitious Endeavours
June 6, 2023
"Without releasing control, democratizing research won’t scale. We have to empower people even if some things won’t be perfect."
Erin May Roberta Dombrowski Laura Oxenfeld Brooke HintonDistributed, Democratized, Decentralized: Finding a Research Model to Support Your Org
March 10, 2022
"When blind users choose between Android and iPhone, they weigh trade-offs between stability and customizability."
Sam ProulxUnderstanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
June 6, 2023
"When clients join us in the field and experience research deeply, they often become advocates who come back for more."
Mujtaba HameedThe new horizon of ethnography: using AI to unlock the full potential of in-person research
March 11, 2026
"The internet as the self-regulating market is a failed experiment."
Ilana LipsettAnticipating Risk, Regulating Tech: A Playbook for Ethical Technology Governance
December 10, 2021
"It can cost up to 200 times more to remediate and retrofit a solution as opposed to designing it correctly in the first place."
Samuel ProulxFrom Standards to Innovation: Why Inclusive Design Wins
September 10, 2025
