The UX Level-Up 076 - Streamline Change Management using OOUX with Karen Hewell
Aug 11, 2025
Karen Hewell, an advanced OOUXer and content strategist at Anthrotech, shares her expertise in transforming government agency websites. She discusses the shift from chaotic page-based systems to intuitive object-based designs. Hewell emphasizes breaking down silos, fostering shared ownership, and managing content ecosystems more effectively. The conversation also touches on the importance of permissions management and co-creation, along with personal experiences of overcoming burnout through OOUX training—making content governance not just manageable, but user-friendly.
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Co-create Objects Early To Teach The System
- Use OOUX to shift conversations from pages to nouns so teams see concepts instead of finished pages.
- Model objects live with stakeholders during design so they learn the system while co-creating it.
Use Card Sorts To Resolve Jargon Mismatch
- Run noun-foraging and card sorts to surface inconsistent internal terms and user mental models.
- Rename or reorganize content based on how users group instances, not internal jargon.
Cookie Cutters Made OOUX Click
- Karen used a cookie-cutter metaphor with the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner to explain content types.
- The team understood content types as cookie cutters and pages as cookies, which helped adoption.