Executive Q&A: How To Build A Design Program

Design has been a hot topic in business for well over a decade, ever since Ideo appeared on Nightline and BusinessWeek started dedicating ink to design thinking. But now the business world's interest in design is intensifying — particularly among B2B firms. Citrix, GE, and IBM have recently made large-scale investments in experience design and design thinking. And this isn't strictly a Western phenomenon. Headquartered in India, Infosys has announced plans to train 170,000 employees in design thinking. What has caused certain firms to accelerate their design investments so quickly, and what can customer experience (CX) professionals learn from them? This report examines how five executives have recently built strong design programs in large enterprises, and offers recommendations for CX pros who want to do the same.