2023
Designing how we work
How I redesigned and scaled process across the entire EPD (Engineering, Product, and Design) Group.
Overview
I led a cross-functional process improvement initiative within the EPD organization, starting with the leadership team and scaling it across engineers, product managers, and designers. I identified systemic inefficiencies, aligned stakeholders around a shared vision for change, and facilitated adoption through clear frameworks, workshops, and ongoing feedback loops. Acting as both strategist and change agent, I built trust at the leadership level, translated abstract goals into actionable practices for individual contributors, and ensured the process supported speed, quality, and collaboration at scale. The initiative ultimately became a standardized way of working across the organization, improving decision-making, clarity of ownership, and cross-discipline alignment.
The challenge
The EPD organization lacked a shared, scalable way of working. Teams operated with inconsistent processes, unclear ownership, and misaligned decision-making, which slowed execution and created friction across Product, Design, and Engineering. While leadership recognized the need for change, there was no clear framework to align priorities or drive adoption across disciplines. The core challenge was not designing a new process, but aligning leaders, influencing without formal authority, and driving lasting behavior change across a growing organization.
The solutions
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Research existing processes and structures.
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Create new processes to allow for easier collaboration.
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Create a new framework that can be referenced by teams
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Develop a healthier culture through workshops and collaborative cross functional exercises.
Initial findings
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Teams lacked a shared understanding of roles and decision-making authority, leading to duplicated work and slow alignment.
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Processes varied widely across Product, Design, and Engineering, causing inconsistent execution and handoff friction.
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Leadership had a vision for change but no clear mechanism to roll out practices to teams.
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Communication and feedback loops were irregular, creating misalignment on priorities and dependencies.
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Opportunities existed to standardize ways of working without stifling team autonomy.
Designing solutions
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Partnered with EPD leadership to define shared principles, goals, and success criteria for improved ways of working.
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Designed a clear, scalable process framework addressing planning, ownership, and decision-making across Product, Design, and Engineering.
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Piloted the framework with leadership before rolling it out org-wide to ensure alignment and credibility.
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Drove adoption through workshops, documentation, and ongoing reviews.
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Established ownership and iteration mechanisms to ensure long-term sustainability and continuous improvement.
Working on SWOT analysis of current process with leadership team.
The framework clearly defines ownership across teams while aligning everyone around delivering the best possible experience for ThreeFlow’s customers.
- Engineering Team Leader
Initial versions of the framework
Building the framework
I built the framework through a series of structured workshops and targeted one-on-one collaboration sessions with product, design, and engineering leaders. The workshops created shared understanding, surfaced pain points, and aligned stakeholders on goals and principles, while one-on-one sessions allowed for deeper exploration of team-specific needs and constraints.
By synthesizing insights from both formats, I iteratively shaped a framework that balanced organizational consistency with team autonomy and earned buy-in at both the leadership and individual contributor levels.
Results
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Established a shared, scalable way of working across Product, Design, and Engineering, referenced consistently in planning and delivery conversations.
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Improved clarity around ownership and decision-making, with teams reporting fewer handoff issues and clearer accountability.
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Increased alignment between leadership vision and day-to-day execution, reflected in more productive planning sessions and faster alignment on priorities.
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Reduced collaboration friction, with stakeholders noting smoother cross-functional workflows and fewer process-related blockers.
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Created a sustainable framework that teams continue to adapt and evolve through shared ownership and ongoing feedback.
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