Project Overview
I led the visioning and development of a GenAI-driven customer service solution aimed at positioning Accenture as a leader in the evolving landscape of customer service innovation. My role spanned from concept creation to cross-functional collaboration, enabling the initiative to gain traction globally and garner investment from key stakeholders.
*** More details and visuals coming soon ***
Key Responsibilities & Approach
1
Visioning & Strategic Leadership
- Defined a clear, compelling vision rooted in market research to validate with industry Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and drive internal collaboration across global teams.
- Developed thought leadership propositions that circulated for feedback, refining the direction of how Accenture could best contribute to the future of GenAI in customer service.
- Created a robust researched plan, including but not limited to, interviews with C-suite industry leaders to understand appetite and barriers for GenAI Service solutions, Cross-industry market scan to understand competitors and inform strategic direction/partners/state of the art technology, testing with SMEs to shape the overall strategic framework and user testing to validate and refine initial concepts and create personas and journeys to anchor off.
2
Collaboration & Execution
- Refined the vision by identifying target customers, developing detailed personas, and creating tangible use cases to prioritize. This ensured alignment with user needs, client objectives, and Accenture’s value propositions (including new IP opportunities).
- Managed a team of three designers, guiding the creation of an initial backlog of ideas and iterating on these with input from the wider technical and commercial teams.
- Facilitated individual research and collaborative brainstorming sessions, ensuring continuous feedback loops to refine and evolve our approach.
- Led concept testing with end-users to validate assumptions and iterate on potential solutions.
3
Guiding Technical Exploration
- Worked closely with designers and data analysts to align user flows, user stories, and technical exploration with the overarching vision.
- Ensured that the user experience remained at the forefront of technical development, supporting the creation of intuitive and scalable GenAI solutions.
4
Storytelling & Communication
- Drove the creation of strategic narrative and socialization materials (Including brand identity) to communicate the value proposition of the new product offering to executive stakeholders and clients.
- Crafted a compelling story that highlighted the differentiation of our solution, aligning it with business objectives and industry trends to ensure broad buy-in and investment.
Challenges & How They Were Overcome:
Ambiguous Project Scope
The project began with a highly ambiguous brief, and stakeholders were reluctant to narrow the scope without direct client input. However, engaging the client on such a high-level, strategic proposition was difficult. To address this, I shifted our engagement strategy, placing “bets” within the team and narrowing the focus to create a more defined scope. This allowed us to make tangible progress while still maintaining flexibility for client engagement.
Inexperienced Team
The innovation and commercial leads were new to the company and their respective roles. With my experience in similar project structures, I took on the responsibility of mentoring and guiding them through the process. I helped them understand the key activities required from their roles at each stage of the project. Although this was time-consuming, I was fortunate to have an outstanding design team that stepped up to support and helped balance the workload.
New Joiner with Performance Issues
One of our design team members, a new joiner, faced performance challenges that affected the team's overall progress. To address this, I instituted weekly check-ins to set clear goals, provide actionable feedback, and align expectations. This approach helped the team member improve their performance and contribute more effectively to the project.
Outcomes & Impact
The project’s success led to the creation of The Dock as a thought leadership hub for GenAI in customer service. Our strategic materials and propositions laid the foundation for over six subsequent client engagements, positioning Accenture as a leading innovator in this space.