ViaSat & UC San Diego Center for Design-Driven Transformation
Embedding Human-Centered Design Thinking Across a Global Technology Company
Client: ViaSat Inc.
Lead: Prof. Michael W. Meyer, Asst. Teaching Professor of Design @ Design Lab
Partner: UC San Diego CDDT- Center for Design-Driven Transformation
Duration: 2018–2023 (ongoing partnership)
Scope: Global, California, Colorado, Ireland
Project Goal
ViaSat sought to embed human-centered design thinking and Customer Experience (CX) strategy across its global engineering, product, and customer service operations for the first time. The goal was to move beyond isolated design teams toward a company-wide culture of design excellence, improving the customer experience Viasat delivers to its clients while building the internal frameworks, tools, and talent needed to sustain this transformation over time.
UC San Diego's Center for Design-Driven Transformation was engaged to provide bespoke education, mentorship, and organizational guidance tailored specifically to Viasat's scale, industry complexity, and existing design maturity.
Project Problem Statement
How might we transform ViaSat to move beyond isolated design teams toward a company-wide culture of design excellence, improving the customer experience and shareholder value?
Project Results
Over a five-year partnership, the CDDT-Viasat collaboration produced measurable organizational and cultural transformation:
Custom Training Programs
Two bespoke educational curricula developed a 3-day frontline workshop and a 1-day manager workshop, both tailored to Viasat's specific processes and goals.
Company-Wide Buy-In
Training materials circulated internally generated multiple requests for further training, demonstrating strong grassroots adoption across business units.
Organizational Restructuring
Dedicated CX and design leadership roles created: Carminia Panlilio promoted to Director of Customer Experience; Pascal Marsh elevated to Head of Product Design for Viasat globally.
Viasat Design Manual
A ViaSat-specific Design Thinking manual created in collaboration with the Dublin design team, along with a Wiki Process Guide and learning paths for ongoing capability building.
Sustained Multi-Year Engagement
What began as a targeted design thinking initiative expanded into a transformative application of CX and Service Design to core business operations. It grew from 2018 through 2023 with weekly cross-team collaboration calls and a portfolio of short- and long-term strategic projects.
Testimonial
“Your openness and ongoing partnership created the opportunity to build with ViaSat the education, tools, and guidance most appropriate for your organization and your goals. Your willingness to closely engage with us has resulted in critical refinement and expansion of the principles and methods we have gleaned from other leading-edge companies - a boon to this growing field and to our economy.”
