Lego Lessons

Janne Jul Jensen shares 10 tips for how to create a UX department from scratch

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In 2015, I was asked to help establish and mature a new department at Lego focusing on the UX of its enterprise software. Around one and a half years into the process, I’ve learned the following:

1 GET LEADERS TO COMMIT

A UX department will only be successful if it has commitment from leadership. And not only a ‘yeah sure, let’s do that’ – the commitment should include economy, a willingness to hire, and be long-term. And most importantly: it cannot dwindle when things become hard and painful.

2 CHOOSE ROLES CAREFULLY

A new department is like a blank piece of paper. You can organise it any way you like, and with any roles you prefer. But once it’s done it is difficult to change, so choose how you organise it to be sure that it scales. And carefully choose your roles, so you’re sure they also cover future needs.

3 ASSESS UX MATURITY

Assess the UX maturity of the organisation, to ensure you run the right activities at the right time. You have to meet the organisation where they are, with regards to level of knowledge, current approach and attitude.

4 CREATE A UNIFIED TEAM