Building a UX Practice from Scratch — and a Culture to Support It

CASE STUDY

Introduction

ZenKey was already live — a secure identity platform jointly launched by U.S. mobile carriers — but behind the scenes, UX was nonexistent. I was brought in as the Director of User Experience to change that.

This case study outlines how I built a full-stack UX practice from the ground up. It covers not only how I hired, structured, and onboarded the team, but also how I cultivated a healthy, resilient design culture from day one — one that supported autonomy, collaboration, and strategic impact across a deeply technical product landscape.

Quick Snapshot

Role: Director of User Experience & Product Design
Timeline: Team built and fully onboarded within 90 days
UX Team: 11 team members across design, research, content, and engineering
Practices Introduced: Agile UX, Miro-based rituals, structured onboarding, expectation mapping
KPI’s: Introduced team performance KPIs (e.g., design cycle time, internal satisfaction scores, research velocity)
UX maturity: Increased from Ad Hoc to Defined in 6 months (based on internal audit)
Key Wins: Scaled internal UX from zero, drove cultural adoption of user-centered thinking, and positioned design as a strategic partner to product and engineering

From Zero to UX Practice

The Challenge

ZenKey was already live — a secure identity platform jointly launched by U.S. mobile carriers — but behind the scenes, UX was nonexistent. I was brought in as the Director of User Experience to change that.

In addition, ZenKey had no internal UX capability, no team structure, and no defined design process. Stakeholder confidence in design was low, and feedback loops were inconsistent—a clear signal of low UX maturity and collaboration friction.

This case study outlines how I built a full-stack UX practice from the ground up. It covers not only how I hired, structured, and onboarded the team, but also how I cultivated a healthy, resilient design culture from day one — one that supported autonomy, collaboration, and strategic impact across a deeply technical product landscape.

My Role

Director of User Experience & Product Design

As Director of UX & Product Design, I led the creation of ZenKey’s first in-house UX practice. I hired 11 UX team members, spanning design, research, writing, and front-end prototyping. I developed a scientific, equitable hiring process, built an onboarding and expectations model rooted in transparency and mutual respect, and implemented Agile UX rituals to align the team, drive collaboration, and create a thriving design culture.

The Approach

Building the Team, Designing the Practice

To build a UX practice from the ground up, I approached the challenge like a product problem — identifying gaps, defining requirements, assembling the right team, and implementing systems to support them. What follows is the five-part framework I used to establish both the structure and spirit of ZenKey’s UX team.

STEP ONE

Understand the Product

Immersed myself in the platform's multi-layered security architecture - drawing from resources like ZenKey's technical overview - to identify pain points, stakeholder needs and critical knowledge gaps.

STEP TWO

Design the team

Mapped out skill requirements and created a team structure including:
3 UX Designers (1 technical, 2 visual hybrid)
2 UX Researchers (including 1 team lead)
1 UX Copywriter
1 UX Front-End Engineer (for advanced prototyping and site support)
2 Technical Writers

STEP THREE

Architect the Hiring Process

Wrote job descriptions in partnership with HR
Designed a scored interview rubric (points assigned per question)
Required three interview rounds (me → HR → CPO)
Asked permission to record interviews for equitable review
Included existing team members in late-stage interviews for peer scoring

STEP FOUR

Culture-First Onboarding

Day one began with a 1:1 conversation to set expectations
Shared a clear, exhaustive expectations document — same for everyone
Invited new hires to share their expectations
Final expectation: “You are always expected to professionally disagree with me if you see something wrong.”

STEP FIVE

Agile Rituals & Team Cohesion

Daily standup: 1-minute per person + a follow-up “parking lot”
Weekly 1:1s between team members (they chose the topic — social bonding, not performance)
“Phrase of the Day”: Daily thought-provoking quote or insight shared and logged on a Miro board calendar, passed from team member to team member

This wasn’t just a hiring initiative — it was the foundation of a healthy, high-performing design organization. By combining intentional role design, equitable hiring practices, and culture-forward leadership, I built a UX team equipped to thrive in a fast-paced, high-security environment — and positioned UX as a strategic force within the company.

Project Gallery

Hiring & Process Artifacts

Infographic showing a usability study of the ZenKey app with user types, session details, testing platform, and a 12-step onboarding flow annotated with findings

Collection of mobile UI screens from the original ZenKey onboarding flow with annotated usability issues

Detailed flowchart mapping screens and decision points to analyze gaps in ZenKey’s mobile onboarding and account recovery processes

Results & Insights

A team of eleven diverse professionals posing in a modern office environment, representing a newly formed UX team

11 UX Team Members Hired

I rapidly scaled a cross-functional UX team from the ground up, hiring 11 team members across seven roles in under 90 days — while maintaining a high bar for talent, cultural fit, and process alignment.

Flat vector illustration showing tools for UX research, content writing, design, technical documentation, and prototyping

Fully staffed with research, content, design, technical writing, and prototyping capability

Every hire served a specific need: from prototyping complex identity flows, to crafting content that built trust, to documenting deep carrier-level integrations. The result was a UX team ready to support product, marketing, and engineering.

Circular diagram showing stages of the Agile development lifecycle: Design, Code, Build, Test, Release, Maintain, and Operate

Agile UX workflows introduced and adopted org-wide

I led the implementation of Agile UX ceremonies — daily standups, parking lot sessions, and weekly UX pairings — which increased transparency, reduced silos, and accelerated delivery across product streams.

Stylized network of blue human figures connected by lines, representing collaboration and inclusivity in design

Created a safe, inclusive design culture that supported autonomy and accountability

From day one, I centered the team around psychological safety and mutual respect. Every new hire received clear expectations and was encouraged to disagree with leadership — professionally and openly. This culture became the backbone of our success.

Hand writing the word “PARTNERSHIP” in blue marker with an underline, symbolizing collaboration

UX team became a strategic partner to product and engineering, not just a service layer

By pairing UX leadership with technical fluency and collaborative rituals, our team earned trust quickly. PMs and engineers began seeking UX involvement early, and stakeholders consistently cited UX as a catalyst for clarity and momentum.

Diverse group of people giving a high-five in an office setting, symbolizing team unity and celebration

Standardized onboarding and expectation-setting for every team member

I developed a structured onboarding experience that began with a 1:1 session focused on expectations, mutual respect, and role clarity. This created alignment from day one and empowered each team member to grow with confidence and purpose.

Bonus Insight

One new hire told me after our onboarding session, That was the first time I’ve had a manager open by telling me how to disagree with them.” That feedback stuck with me. A healthy team doesn’t need hierarchy — it needs honesty, safety, and clarity.

Stakeholder Testimonials

Doug transformed our UX function from the ground up, building a high-performing team in record time. He brought clarity, structure, and strategic direction to every product conversation. His leadership helped bridge gaps between engineering, product, and design. The Agile UX processes he introduced improved our delivery speed and alignment. Doug is a thoughtful mentor, a creative problem solver, and a trusted partner. He raised the bar for what UX means in a product-led organization.

-Venkat Korvi, Chief Product Officer

Doug and his team were very important partners in our product development process. We were able to move quickly because of Doug’s deep focus on process, detail, and execution. He brought structure to our collaboration, helping engineering and design stay in sync—even under tight deadlines. Doug understood how to balance user needs with technical feasibility and made complex workflows feel simple and actionable.

His calm leadership and strong cross-functional instincts helped us avoid roadblocks and ship with confidence.

Working with Doug elevated the quality of our product—and how we worked together to build it.

– Gilbert Nordelus, Director of Engineering

Doug was the UX leader every product team hopes for.
He turned ambiguity into clarity and user needs into elegant solutions.
His partnership made our roadmaps sharper and our outcomes stronger.
He worked seamlessly across teams and always championed the user.
Doug made our product vision tangible—and better.
I trusted him completely.

-Juan Illidge, Director of Product Management