Podcast Episode Overview
Alicia sits down with Kirsten Thulborn, Group Design Manager at Intuit, for a rare look at how QuickBooks’ user interface actually gets built — from the research behind terminology changes like “post” replacing “add,” to why some friction in the UI is intentional. Kirsten pulls back the curtain on how her team balances the needs of power users (accountants and bookkeepers) with small business owners who just want to send an invoice, and what she’d redesign from scratch if she could. Plus: why UI changes feel so disruptive, the technology adoption curve, and the story behind the QuickBooks feature you’ve probably never noticed.
Creators & Guests
- Host – Alicia Katz Pollock, MAT
- Guest – Kirsten Thulborn
Sponsors
Podcast Highlights
(00:00) – Meet Kirsten From Intuit
(02:41) – Her Role And Products
(03:38) – Career Path At QuickBooks
(10:18) – Designing For Power Users
(11:52) – Sharing New Features Better
(16:22) – Where Feedback Goes
(19:23) – Writing Great Feedback
(22:25) – Balancing Beginners And Pros
(24:51) – Business View War Story
(27:08) – Designing Shared Interfaces
(27:42) – Why We Say Post
(29:56) – Testing UI Changes
(34:12) – Why Updates Feel Emotional
(37:25) – AI and Future Workflows
(41:21) – AI Adoption Curve Explained
(46:43) – Redesigning Setup Onboarding
(50:00) – A Customer Delight Moment
(51:42) – Closing Thanks and Signoff
Links
- 4/28/26: Converting from QBDT to QBO: http://royl.ws/QBDT2QBO?affiliate=5393907
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This podcast is independently operated and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Intuit Inc. or QuickBooks®. Any references to Intuit and QuickBooks products are made solely for the purpose of discussing the topics related to the company and its software.
