Inventing a Design Team: Alexa AI – Natural Understanding

2020-2021
Organization: Alexa AI – Natural Understanding
Role: Proposal, research, funding, set-up
Activities: Consulting, proposal-writing, program funding acquisition & creation, voice + GUI interaction design, user research & testing, KPI definition, operational planning
Product(s): Newly-funded and created UX team

In 2020/21, I proposed, got approval and funding for, and founded the first UX team for Alexa AI NU (Natural [Language] Understanding), the science org that owns the core science and tech that powers Alexa features — including Conversational AI, Teachable Alexa, Computer Vision, and Alexa Prize, etc.

How It All Began

As the only UX professional in a 1000+ person org, I was asked by the VP to consult across the entire organization. (I was officially on the Translation team, which I owned product on.)

During that time, I:

Identified need for core foundational UX ownership of its science and tech within the org. Generated case studies, built relationships and support from program owners.
Individually contributed to multiple high-profile programs, generating evidence/case studies and proofs-of-value of design.

Vision & Proposal

In December 2020, I presented the initial vision and proposal for a central UXD&R team to the VP and NLU leadership team, with a follow-up in Q1.

Business case for value of design in a science org, with case studies and evidence.
Included: Operating model, UX functional audit of current/upcoming org-level goals, team structure/allocation, core lateral design-excellence initiatives, intro to corporate UX maturity scale, etc.
Consulted with UX leadership across Amazon, incl. my mentor, on UX team operating models and planning.
Built relationships with NLU program leads to build coalition and support and strengthen business case.

(Here’s my favorite line from the proposal.)

“Science and UX disciplines are kindred and complementary spirits in research, experimentation, invention, learning and being curious. NU UXD&R Lab would accelerate and raise the bar on the customer experiences being invented and incubated in NU — driving the critical design thinking for our early-stage prototypes and experiments, and fueling future innovation through a culture of user testing and research.”

A New Design Team is Born

Alexa AI NU UX program was announced and funded in April 2021. I built the foundation for the team and put its wheels in motion.

Defined 3YP operational glidepath for team ops from seed team to full-coverage for highest-priority goals. Audited 2021/22 organizational goals for UX functional needs.
Defined job roles, write job descriptions and posted jobs, onboarded recruiters, trained interviewers, interviewed, generated hiring pipeline through social media, internal recruiting, industry contacts. Managed first team member.
Built business case for and secured 3 additional headcount over initial approval.