Kim Goodwin
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Kim Goodwin

Kim Goodwin is the author of Designing for the Digital Age.

Kim consults with a variety of clients to build their internal design capabilities. These days, she's spending most of her time as VP of User Experience at PatientsLikeMe, where she combines patient support and decision making tools with medical research to improve healthcare.

You might also know Kim from her previous work as VP of Design and General Manager at Cooper, a renowned design and strategy agency in San Francisco. During her 12 years there, she led an integrated practice of interaction, visual, and industrial designers, as well as the development of the acclaimed Cooper U design curriculum. She’s led design and research projects in healthcare, aviation, retail, communication, financial services, consumer, enterprise, automotive, government, and IT. Kim is a regular keynote speaker and workshop leader at events aground the world, including IxDA, IA Summit, UX Week, UX Australia, UX Hong Kong, and many more.

Kim is based near San Francisco, but is seldom in her own time zone. When she’s not tackling design problems, Kim enjoys wildlife photography.

Clearleft says

We’ve been fans of Kim since her early days at Cooper, and have several well thumbed copies of her book at Clearleft towers. However it was her excellent keynote at “From Business to Buttons” in Stockholm that reminded us it was about time to have her back!

Talk: The Power of Principles

Any political election will tell you that humans don’t really vote the facts; we make choices based on our values. The same is true of organisations. Our values determine what data we use and how we use it, whose voices carry the most weight, and where we invest when resources are tight. That’s why an organisation’s values are typically the most stubborn barrier to delivering a great UX. Changing those values requires top executive support, patience, and a lot of different tools. Even when the values seem user-centred, teams often struggle with how to translate those values into daily decisions about the product or service. Kim will share how one tool you know very well—design principles—can help your team change the conversation, influence the day-to-day decisions, and start to shift the underlying values.

Workshop: Mastering Organisational Culture

UX pros everywhere say it: “The culture here makes it so hard to deliver a great experience!” The organisation’s behavioural norms and values are often part of the problem; we’ll never get very far in an organisation that fundamentally doesn’t value user experience. Sometimes, though, we simply trip over our own inability to recognise and adapt to the culture. This half-day workshop will focus on how to be more effective within the culture we’re stuck with…and when and how we can encourage change.

Discussion and hands-on exercises will cover:

  • Understanding what “culture” really means at work
  • Recognising four organisational decision styles (and designing your practice for each)
  • Understanding why real, lasting culture change is so hard
  • Getting past individual stakeholders’ objections to change
  • Understanding components of an effective change process
  • Creating a plan for systematic change, whether it's at at the team, division, or corporate level

You’ll leave the workshop with next steps to take back to your team (and maybe even implement the next week!). You’ll get the most out of the workshop if you come prepared to share your real triumphs and tragedies. Bringing a partner or small group from your team is ideal, but not necessary.

This workshop is suitable for all levels from front-line designers to senior managers

Speakers