Role
Facilitation + practice building
Workshop facilitation, stakeholder alignment, client-panel design, and reusable activity-template development.
Design Thinking workshop facilitation · stakeholder alignment · client collaboration
Cultivating a Design Thinking Culture at FIS
Project overview
I pioneered and introduced Design Thinking workshop practices that gave teams a shared starting point, made client feedback more actionable, and helped turn Design Thinking into a practical part of how FIS Digital Banking worked.
“We need to make these stakeholder workshops a fixture of the process. If there's an item to be investigated, there should always be a stakeholder workshop, and that's how we wrap our heads around it and make sure that we're all on the same page.”
Organization
FIS Digital Banking
Introducing the practice within a fast-moving digital banking environment.
Scope
Internal teams + clients
Cross-functional alignment workshops and structured client-panel workshops.
Purpose
Make conversations actionable
Help teams turn fragmented context, pain points, and priorities into a shared path forward.
Outputs
Repeatable practice
Workshop activities, reusable templates, aligned priorities, and actionable client input.
Approach
Practical by design
Simple, structured exercises that supported real product conversations and decisions.
The challenge
A recurring context and alignment problem.
When I joined the Digital Banking team at FIS, the practice of design thinking workshops was... well, non-existent. It appeared to me that various teams had siloed priorities and misaligned goals, and that conversations with clients could benefit from a dose of structure and actionability. Additionally, the UX team was frequently being assigned to projects with little to no context beyond a bullet point on a roadmap document as to what the work was actually about.
I saw an opportunity to introduce the practice of design thinking workshops which I felt could address these issues, not just for product development, but also to align internal teams and strengthen client relationships.
My role
Research, facilitation, and reusable workshop practice.
Through targeted workshops, I helped internal stakeholders align on goals, clarify project objectives and priorities, identify product pain points, and generally communicate and collaborate more effectively.
I also introduced structured client panel workshops to engage better with clients and elevate their voices, creating a process where their feedback could directly inform product decisions.
Getting started is more important than being right. Rather than having endless circular discussions about what the one perfect solution could be, we embrace an action-oriented and experimental mindset and aim to make progress fast, even if it's based on assumptions.
And responsibilities
Internal alignmentBring cross-functional teams together around shared goals,
priorities, and project context.
Client panelsGive clients a meaningful, structured way to surface
priorities and pain points.
Reusable templatesBuild practical resources that could adapt across a diverse
set of needs.
AdvocacySocialize what worked through presentations and internal
online forums.
Gaining buy-in
I successfully pioneered the practice and adoption of Design Thinking workshops within the Digital Banking team by:
01 · Facilitate
Running them!
I started facilitating workshops across multiple projects with both internal teams and with clients.
02 · Demonstrate
Making the value visible
Improving client satisfaction and internal alignment and collaboration, thereby demonstrating the practical value of Design Thinking workshops.
03 · Advocate
Socializing what worked
Advocating for Design Thinking through subject matter presentations, and by socializing our successes through internal online forums.
Key activities
Three ways the practice took shape.
01 · Internal alignment
Establishing credibility with internal stakeholders
As alluded to above, I started by running internal workshops to align cross-functional teams. These workshops showcased Design Thinking’s ability to streamline communication, align teams, and prioritize effectively, making it clear that the practice wasn’t just theoretical but highly practical.
02 · Client panels
Elevating client voices through structured workshops
To engage clients more meaningfully, I facilitated structured client panel workshops. These sessions were designed to:
- Provide clients with a platform to share their pain points, priorities, and goals in a structured, actionable format.
- Use simple, approachable exercises to ensure their insights could inform product strategies and decisions.
- Strengthen relationships by making clients feel heard and valued.
03 · Reusable templates
Building and maintaining a reusable library
As I facilitated more workshops, I created a library of reusable workshop activity templates tailored to different needs so it could be scalable across a diverse set of use cases.
- Alignment workshops for internal teams.
- Priority-setting activities to kick off projects.
- Problem-solving and ideation activities.
- Icebreakers to familiarize participants with digital whiteboarding tools like Miro, Mural, or Figjam, etc.
What people said
Momentum came from direct experience.
Feedback from leaders and clients confirmed the value of a more deliberate and structured way to align, discuss, and act.
“This is the best usage of Miro I've ever seen at this company. I really like this process, I think this is really great!”
“I really appreciate this meeting. I think this kind of discussion is something I have not seen before with FIS, and I very much appreciate it.”
“I wish we could have more of these. It's definitely very informative.”
Results and impact
From an emerging practice to a more practical, shared way of working.
Internal Alignment
Teams praised faster decision-making and clearer priorities after workshops, with several stakeholders expressing a desire to make Design Thinking workshops a regular practice.
Client Engagement
Clients consistently praised the workshops for giving them a voice and ensuring their feedback was actionable. This strengthened trust and collaboration between FIS and its clients.
Cultural Shift
Design Thinking workshops gained traction within Digital Banking as a practical, fast, results-driven approach, paving the way for broader adoption both within the team and across the organization.
Reflection
The point was never to introduce workshops for their own sake. It was to give teams and clients a practical way to find shared context, have a more useful conversation, and move forward together.