Harnessing d.MBA to shape my (new) role as an Experience Studio Lead

As the new Experience Studio Lead at SLB (formerly Schlumberger) in Norway, I’m embracing the fusion of business savvy and creative expertise. This role is a transformative journey, merging user experience with business strategy to drive innovation.

My d.MBA program has equipped me with deep insights into business, design, and leadership, ready to be applied across our studio and the broader organization.

d.MBA key learnings and tools for UX leadership

The 6-week d.MBA course was enlightening and transformative. Here are the specific tools and matrices they introduced, which are now an integral part of my leadership toolkit:

1. Fusing Business Strategy with Design

(Business Strategy and Strategic Goals modules)

Key Learning: Understanding that effective design is not just about aesthetics or user experience but also about aligning with and driving the business’s strategic objectives. It involves integrating design decisions with business goals to create solutions that are both user-centric and profitable.

Approaches: Plan to engage in strategic sessions with business leaders to align our design initiatives with the company’s goals. It will ensure that our designs satisfy users and contribute to business growth.

2. Adopting a Competitive Lens

(Competitive Arena and Competitor Research tools)

Key Learning: The importance of thorough market analysis, including studying competitors, to inform design strategies. This approach helps create designs that are innovative and competitively positioned to capture market attention and preference.

Approaches: Suggest conducting in-depth competitor analyses with the marketing and our research design teams. This collaboration will help us identify unique design opportunities that differentiate us in the market.

3. Value Chain Optimization

(Value Chain tool)

Key Learning: Recognizing each stage in the value chain and optimizing design processes to maximize value at every step. It involves understanding how design contributes to the overall value of a product or service and enhancing those contributions for greater efficiency and impact.

Approaches: Collaborating closely with operations and production teams will be a priority to optimize our design processes within the value chain. It will improve efficiency and add more value to the customer experience.

4. Trend Forecasting and Adaptation

(Trends tool)

Key Learning: Staying ahead of market trends and incorporating them into design strategies. It involves identifying emerging trends and understanding how they can be leveraged in design to keep the business relevant and forward-thinking.

Approaches: Regular interactions with the business leader unit will be vital to keeping our designs innovative and relevant. It will ensure our studio stays ahead of market trends.

5. Dual Empathy Approach

(Business Empathy Insights module)

Key Learning: Balancing empathy for both users and business stakeholders. It means designing solutions that resonate with users’ needs and preferences while fulfilling business objectives and requirements.

Approaches: Regularly gather feedback from stakeholders and customers. This approach will help balance user needs with business requirements, leading to functional and strategically aligned designs.

6. Quantitative Analysis in Design

(Numbers as a Design Too, Quantifying Design Work modules)

Key Learning: Integrating quantitative methods into the design process to guide decision-making and demonstrate the value of design. It involves using data and metrics to evaluate design effectiveness and communicate its impact in business terms.

Approaches: In collaboration with the analytics team, establishing a data-driven culture will guide our design decisions. This approach will help us understand and demonstrate the impact of our designs more clearly.

7. Market Understanding and Tailoring

(Market Sizing module)

Key Learning: Assessing and understanding the size and characteristics of the target market to ensure design solutions are appropriately tailored. It involves using market data to inform design decisions to align with market demands and potential.

Approaches: Use market sizing data, working alongside sales and marketing teams, to ensure our designs meet our target market’s needs. It will lead to more effective and impactful design solutions.

8. Hypothesis-Driven Innovation

(Hypothesis-Driven Design module)

Key Learning: Adopting a hypothesis-driven approach to design, where design decisions are based on testable hypotheses about user behavior and preferences. This method encourages innovation and ensures that plans are grounded in user needs.

Approaches: Collaborating with product management to formulate and test design hypotheses will drive innovation. This method will lead to user-centric designs that resonate well with our audience.

9. Empathetic and Strategic Leadership

(Expanding your Influence, Working on the Right Things, Thoughtful Leadership interview):

Key Learning: Developing a leadership style that combines empathy with strategic thinking. It involves understanding and addressing team members’ needs and motivations while guiding them toward achieving business goals and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.

Approaches: Foster a collaborative environment that values both empathy and strategic thinking. It will ensure our design strategies contribute positively to the company’s goals and promote a culture of innovation and teamwork.

The d.MBA course has profoundly transformed my professional approach, instilling a harmonious balance between user-centered design and business awareness. The program taught me the importance of meeting user needs and business objectives simultaneously for sustainable success. My mentor’s (Franz Emprechtinger) guiding principle, which emphasizes balancing the user and the business startegy, now fundamentally shapes my strategic planning. This shift towards integrating user satisfaction and business viability has become the cornerstone of my approach, enabling me to lead the studio in delivering impactful and sustainable user experiences that drive business success.

As someone passionate about the intersection of design and business, I highly recommend the d.MBA programme. It’s a unique opportunity to join a network of innovative professionals and gain essential tools that will significantly enhance your career.

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