Business Case Studies & Business Publications

The Jobs of Design

Cowan, Alex

Technical Note

The Jobs of Design

Cowan, Alex

OM-1818 | Published October 8, 2024 | 10 pages Technical Note

Collection: Darden School of Business

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Generalists need to understand enough about the key disciplines in their companies to effectively engage with their collaborators. That doesn’t mean being an expert; it does, however, mean knowing enough to be curious, to ask relevant questions, and, most importantly, to align the work of specialists with the business’s top-line objectives. Design continues to be a core discipline at the world’s most valuable and dynamic companies. The business world has been periodically enthralled by design as a lodestone for innovation and organic growth, which it is. But for the most part, actual practice is still not generally well taught from a general management (e.g., MBA) perspective. As with accounting or finance, there is no single easy, universal answer to the question of exactly how much a generalist should know. That said, there’s not a lot of mystery, either: Plenty of companies are running productive design programs and there are plenty of talented designers on the ground doing the work. This note focuses on design for digital user experiences (UXs).

After reading this tech note, students will be able to: 1. analyze a product in terms of three conventional design “layers”; 2. identify the type of input they should be supplying as a general manager (GM) and the type of talent and work they need to improve a product; and 3. align the various jobs of design relative with their product’s core economic focus.