Experience Strategy Toolkit
AT&T
Customer-centered product visions.
Product strategies are a balance of business objects and targeted customer problems or desired outcomes. This suite of tools help product teams think through their PX (product experience) visions and collaborate with impacted partners. Working to define a customer-centric strategy that binds teams together and empower impacted partners.
Impact
190 trained | 75 to executive leaders
10 priority product initiatives have applied the toolkit| each $5M+ Dev Cash, each $50M+ 3YR EBTDA
2025 requirement for priority initiatives
both B2C and B2B product management organizations have adopted
easier for PMs to incorporate design work and insights
faster cross-functional alignment and collaboration
Balancing viability and desirability
AT&T aimed to modernize product planning to be more customer-focused and grapple issues around delivery speed, delivery costs, and conflicting priorities. I pinpointed alignment and efficiency opportunities around cross-functional collaboration, design and research integration, and omnichannel planning.
Opportunity
“Start with the customer, period.”
— SVP PM’s mantra
I creating a design thinking toolkit for product teams to create a unifying PX vision cross organizations by leveraging research, design experience standards, mapping out JTBD on customer journeys with impacted channels and capabilities, and refining delivery plans with impacted partners.
Approach
We created self-service templates, informational websites, and training sessions. I collaborated with business and technical leaders to integrate them into the capital and product planning processes. We successfully piloted the tool with five complex initiatives and scaled from there.
Based on feedback we learned the toolkit helped teams…
integrate more research insights and design concepts
identify gaps earlier
work iteratively
gain faster cross-functional alignment
A large benefit we learned from the pilot projects was how much faster impacted teams could understand the product team’s vision with our approach and we could reduce the number of redundant meetings with collaborative review sessions.
Benefits
“This made me identify a lot of gaps early on and think of a lot things that I wouldn’t have.”
Customer centered | Design, research, & CX
The toolkit starts with customer and user needs through JTBD and then defines the product vision and strategy from the customer’s perspective. It pulls needs from CX, UX, and marketing insights.
Additionally, I worked with Design Operations to ensure that the Design Strategy team restructured deliverables to make it easier for PM’s to integrate their work.
Scaleble | Process and training
Our small team provided self-service resources and integrated into the product operation processes. The resources provided answers to common questions, guidance, and tools to help users apply the toolkit in their day-to-day projects.
Self-Service Resources | We created educational websites for PMs and designers that included downloadable content. We also provided excel and Figjam journey map templates for product teams to collaboratively define a holistic product experience.
Product Operations Process | I partnered with the Capital Planning and the Agile Center of Excellence teams to integrate the toolkit into the Product Planning processes and tools (Quickbase, Sharepoint, Jira, and tracking dashboards). Example of high-level view of new processes .
Training & Coaching | We provided hands-on training for over 160 product managers, agile coaches, designers, CX, and executive leadership. Additionally, I provided 1:1 weekly coaching for PMs working on priority initiatives.
AT&T All-Fi Pro
Pilot project
Impact
MVP Launched May 2024
$30M | Investment
$159.7M | 3-Year EBITDA
60% | Lower planning time
“This built a better relationship with the development organization... a partnership that I haven’t seen before.”
The Product Manager struggled for 6 months with constant new information, partner misalignment, and ensuring a complete customer experience. Partners lacked understanding of the business vision and each other's needs, leading to communication issues. We used the toolkit to successfully scope 3 major phases with input and agreement from all partners in just 2 months. The toolkit offered a clear strategy and common language that facilitated collaboration and alignment with all impacted partners.
Summary
Translate the product plan into easy-to understand user enablements
Plotted on cx journey maps with all impacted channels and primary capabilities for both customers and employees
Invited expert partners to help refine
Summarized the planned customer value into a 3 phased experience roadmap
Approach
“The program was incredibly complex. The team was struggling to define the right set of business features and architectural solution.
Winter designed an experienced-based roadmap that literally depicted every step of the desired customer, field technician, and center agent experience… Winter hosted numerous sessions with a broad range of stakeholders to ensure alignment and final buy-in.
AT&T is now positioned to deliver a premium fiber and Wi-Fi experience to residential customers in 2025. This would not have been possible without Winter's firm, steady leadership.”
- Principal Technology Program Manager at AT&T