Summary
In this session, you will learn about Verizon’s model for transforming and scaling our CX operations and design practices, and how establishing a set of Experience Principles has played a critical role in elevating and democratizing CX across the organization.
Key Insights
-
•
Verizon’s design group is positioned within marketing, influencing how design interacts with business units and leadership.
-
•
Differentiating CX from UX is crucial; CX encompasses all brand interactions, not just digital interfaces.
-
•
Design maturity spans from evangelism (raising awareness) to operations (embedding design in decision-making). Verizon sits between these stages.
-
•
A well-articulated purpose and guiding principles are foundational for elevating design impact within large organizations.
-
•
Experience principles should reflect company values, customer needs, and baseline industry best practices.
-
•
Using simple, familiar language for principles broadens adoption beyond design teams to non-design employees.
-
•
Leadership buy-in, especially from the CMO, can unexpectedly propel principles into company-wide brand strategy.
-
•
Piloting customer surveys that directly map experience principles to metrics enables tangible measurement of design impact.
-
•
Operationalizing principles requires creating practical tools like evaluation checklists and workshop activities for teams.
-
•
Cross-functional collaboration between design leadership, design ops, and other stakeholders is key to successful CX transformation.
Notable Quotes
"Customer experience refers to the collection of interactions someone has with the brand, agnostic of channel or touchpoint."
"Our design group is positioned under marketing, which informs who champions and promotes design within the company."
"Design maturity shifts focus from evangelism to operations as organizations strengthen their design impact."
"We realized we didn’t have a well-articulated purpose or guiding principles for the types of customer experiences we aspired to deliver."
"Experience principles are meant to align business goals with customer needs for everyone, not just designers."
"Using language that’s already common within the company helps principles feel natural and easy to adopt."
"Our CMO incorporated our experience principles into the brand strategy, which was a huge and unexpected boost."
"We’re piloting surveys that ask customers how honest, simple, or reliable their experience was, then turn that into a score."
"Principles at this level act like a company mission that product teams can translate into their own more specific design principles."
"Creating experience principles helped democratize design decision-making across teams inside and outside the design group."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"When the whole team is trained in design thinking, they are measurably more aligned, more efficient, and more agile."
Doug PowellClosing Keynote: Design at Scale
November 8, 2018
"Make sure children understand they can stop the session at any time, and confirm they really get that."
Mila Kuznetsova Lucy DentonHow Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
March 9, 2022
"Every parent we talked to had some variation of the question: this exists, can I use it right now? Where was this when I needed to apply?"
Sarah GallimoreInspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future
November 18, 2022
"If your users are happy, that anecdotal feedback often carries more weight early than quantitative metrics."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Think of AI as an additional team member pushing your creative thinking and expanding your idea range."
Alnie FigueroaThe Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft
September 10, 2025
"When executives start questioning your research details, that’s a good sign they’re engaged and trusting the process."
Landon BarnesAre My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?
March 10, 2022
"I felt like a journalist pretending to be a designer."
Emily EagleCan't Rewind: Radio and Retail
June 3, 2019
"There is no solid way to control the course of your re-platforming project; being flexible is essential."
Malini RaoLessons Learned from a 4-year Product Re-platforming Journey
June 9, 2021
"At General Assembly, I learned that product management is focused more on outcomes and iterative discovery."
Asia HoePartnering with Product: A Journey from Junior to Senior Design
November 29, 2023
