#156 - Change Management with Graham Gardner of U.S. Bank

Change is an important and inevitable part of developing as a user experience professional. But what does change look like when it happens at the organizational level? That is the focus of this episode, featuring Graham Gardner, VP of UX Design Research Operations at U.S. Bank. He joins Erin and Carol to talk about change management, which is the practice and process of evolving and adapting a company's approach to something.

Graham takes us inside his strategy for this, including how team structures can affect change (and their impact on research tooling). He also unpacks just how important Research Operations (ReOps) is to planning, executing, and managing change at an organizational level. Finally, Graham looks ahead to the impacts of AI and how he believes it might help teams like CX, analytics, and marketing work together better.

If you've ever wondered about how companies grow and develop, and how these developments can impact user insights, check it out.

Highlights

• 08:16 Enhancing Collaboration through Transparent Tool Mapping
• 14:37 Harmonizing AI and Human Roles for Success
• 20:44 From Projects to Service Design: A Strategic Shift
• 23:46 Research Insights: Steering Through Complexity for Success
• 28:40 Integrating Research into Client Relationship Strategies
• 31:37 Insights from Backgrounds: Decoding Environmental Cues

About Graham
Graham Gardner, VP of UX Design Research Operations at U.S. Bank, is a researcher, designer, strategist, and maker. He brings a human-centered design lens to research ops (thanks to a long stint at IDEO and a background in inclusive education research). He works to collaboratively and iteratively understand and design research and design ecosystems that grow and evolve with the changing contexts of our beautifully messy world and the people that live in it. Conversations with Graham usually involve dad jokes, dog cameos, and snack breaks.

More Resources

• Guide to UX Research Strategy
• AI in UX Research Report
• The Importance of Research Operations