Leveraging Human-Centered Design to Change How a Company Works
My Role
I was an early instructor, certified by the LUMA Institute to teach a two-day human-centered design fundamentals workshop. I also managed program communications as part of the founding program team.
Founding program member and early certified instructor
Impact
Program founded in 2015 is still running and expanding — HCD became standard practice across design, engineering, and product.
Vision
Brilliant, innovative, and cohesive experiences require cohesive cultures.
Background
Product development meetings at Autodesk were often driven by the loudest or most senior voice in the room — one or two people presenting while others watched. Introverted contributors and cross-functional perspectives were systematically underweighted.
Challenge
How might we build a culture where all voices are heard equally? How might we leverage the contributions of people who struggle to be heard in traditional meeting formats? How might we explore many solutions in a short time before committing resources to execution?
Obstacles
The primary obstacle for any change is the status quo. "We work this way — why change?" Establishing an HCD program was also met with the challenge that "this is some design thing; why does engineering need it, or finance?" Early detractors had enough organizational weight to stop the program before it gained momentum.
My Approach
I wrote and published internal stories that showcased success cases while directly countering the arguments of program detractors. When someone said "HCD is just for design," I published an article showing how it was used to rearchitect a legacy engineering product. When detractors said "we can't use this with customers," I published a story showing a team in the UK working successfully with customers. I asked senior leadership to comment and forward the stories — ensuring they gained traction across the organization.
Measures of Success
Early detractors can stop a company-wide initiative in its tracks. Our success was defined first by getting past the early credibility hurdles — and then by the program becoming self-sustaining enough to expand its own curriculum.
Results
The program grew, and over time, the toolset and way of working in divergent and convergent methods became standard practice. As this happened, the stories shifted from building credibility to celebrating milestones. The program was founded in 2015 and is still running, having expanded to advanced methods, facilitation, and role-targeted approaches.
Key Learning
Change management requires a narrative strategy. Publishing stories that counter specific objections — with real examples named by the type of objection — is more effective than presenting program metrics. Make the change visible and give leaders something easy to amplify.
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