Led Cross-Functional Ideation Sessions

Overview

I planned and facilitated several Art-of-the-Possible sessions with a cross-functional internal team at Cisco, including Cisco Sellers.

The goal of these sessions was to ideate on various ways Cisco Sellers could leverage AI to enhance their workflows and increase efficiency, productivity, and sales revenue.

MY ROLE

As the Product Design Lead in the sales space at Cisco, I recognized the need for the broader product team to step outside their daily project work and spend a few hours collaborating as a team. The goal was to leverage our collective expertise and explore blue-sky ideas to improve the way our users work.

I independently took the initiative to bring together a diverse group of participants from across Cisco—including Engineering, Product Management, and even Cisco Sellers. We held multiple sessions to collaboratively ideate on how AI could enhance the seller experience in the near future.

I created a Miro board, planned and facilitated the sessions, and also actively participated by taking on the role of an AI participant. I prompted our internal AI tool with the same 'How Might We' statements used in the exercises, alongside the other team members.

Ice Breaker

In sessions with participants who may not have worked together before, I start with an icebreaker to engage everyone early and set the tone for open, active participation.

Ground Rules

I set ground rules early, encouraging participants to write before discussing and fostering a safe, fun space where all ideas are welcome.

Getting Inspiration from Your Neighbor

I encouraged a "yes, and" approach after the first round of focused writing. After the group discussed and voted on the top ideas, I urged participants to build on their neighbors' ideas, pushing their thoughts even further or drawing inspiration to develop completely new ideas to share with the group.

Project Outcomes

  • Fostered stakeholder trust and established a new understanding of the value design contributes to the organization.

  • Documented over 80 new ideas, organized into 7 themes, which were incorporated into the product backlog and, in some cases, the product roadmap.