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Bonus Episode: Shani Sandy, VP, Experience Design at IBM, live in NYC for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour

·28 min·2 clips

Shani Sandy reveals why asking 'what's the human problem to be solved?' is essential before applying AI.

The first question is human. Shani Sandy grounds the episode in a design habit that still holds up when the technology changes: name the human problem before reaching for AI. IBM sits behind the conversation, with Sandy introduced as vice president of experience design during another stretch of reinvention for the company. AI is taken seriously here, but not worshipped. The better question is smaller and more useful: once the problem is clear, where can AI actually help? Trust carries the middle of the episode. Sandy says designers have to design for trust, especially when AI is part of the work. The hosts keep that from floating away into theory by comparing it with their own use of tools for searching long transcripts, where hallucinations still mean someone has to check the answer. Scale changes the stakes. At IBM, staying close to users means shadowing, behavioral analytics, and direct research with the people doing the work. Sandy describes an in-person gathering where her team worked with development and product partners on working principles, while also meeting users face to face. The range is wide: internal agents handling heavy support-case volume, and clients coming to IBM with problems that need resolution. The design goal is not just a better response after something goes wrong. It is also preventing those issues from reaching users at all. The co-creation material gives the episode its strongest texture. Sandy talks about teams and users working through needs, empathy maps, and day-in-the-life details together, so user connection feels less like ceremony and more like actual work. Near the end, she turns to team ownership: the satisfying part is seeing others feel real stake in where the group goes. A part two is teased lightly, and the live-event warmth stays intact. The lesson lands cleanly: trust comes from user contact, careful checking, and shared ownership.

As heard by us

A grounded AI-era design conversation on trust, user contact, and how IBM keeps product work tied to real needs.

Design Better uses IBM's AI moment to ask a management question that will sound familiar inside any large company: when the tools change, how do teams keep sight of the human problem they are supposed to solve?

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Press play for a practical conversation about design, trust, and AI at IBM.

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