Pros
SISA (and Samsung more generally) is known more for industrial design than great software and user experiences. But Samsung has realized they need to offer more compelling user interfaces and user experiences, and they're working hard to grow their capabilities in those areas. While SISA is not yet a top-notch research and innovation lab, the derivative is in the right direction. They're hiring good people, and they're challenging them to do great work. Because Samsung sells a wide variety of products there are lots of opportunities for real impact.
Cons
Because SISA is still growing and trying to improve, it does suffer from some growing pains. The biggest is that while upper management in Korea generally realizes that Samsung as a whole needs to improve its processes and practices and looks to SISA to help lead those changes (since it's in Silicon Valley), those lower down in Korea often don't see as much urgency in transforming their practices. As a result, sometimes driving change requires a bit of patience and understanding.
