Cisco DNAC
From Tactical to Transformational: Elevating Design in Cisco’s Networking Powerhouse
When I stepped into the most senior design leadership role in Cisco’s Enterprise Networking Business Unit, I encountered a culture where product decisions were driven by engineering instincts and anecdotal customer stories—often used to reinforce existing assumptions rather than challenge them. Design had little influence, research was nonexistent, and problem framing rarely entered the conversation. What followed was a strategic push to elevate design from execution to innovation. This is the story of how we reshaped the culture, established design thinking as a business driver, and made co-creation a hallmark of the product development process.
Some Basics
Team Size: 78
Geographies: 3 (India, US, Ukraine)
Disciplines led: 4 - Design, Research, Design Thinking & Design Ops
Budget Managed: $7M+
Key Metrics
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Saved the company $4M in 1 year by cutting redundant design & development work.
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Delivered a workflow framework within 1 year that aligned key user tasks improving usability of the product by 75%.
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Built a Design Thinking Practice with zero incremental headcount.
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Increased design efficiency by 35% in 1 year.
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Managed Design for 5 major product lines spanning SD WAN, Intent Based Networking, Security/Identity Services, Small Business Networking, Location Based Wireless Services).
Also while at Cisco, I participated in the writing of a book called "Getting Started with Cisco Design Thinking."
Leadership Challenge
Context
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Joined Cisco’s Enterprise Networking BU, a multi-billion-dollar business unit, where internal product culture lagged despite market leadership.
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Observed that Product Managers—often former engineers—relied on customer interactions to validate assumptions rather than uncover new insights.
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Identified a siloed and undervalued design function, with no formal research practice or exposure to design thinking methodologies.
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Highlighted the absence of infrastructure and mindset needed to support user-centered product development across the organization.
Approach
To shift this mindset, I focused on creating visible, scalable impact through strategic interventions:
• Embedded Design Thinking: I introduced human-centered design practices and problem-framing methods into product planning sessions, shifting conversations from feature-first to needs-first.
• Establishing Research as a Discipline: We bootstrapped a research function to bring real customer insight into the product lifecycle—not just after launch, but at the ideation stage.
• Executive and PM Education: I partnered with leaders to reframe how customer input was gathered and used, spotlighting the difference between validation and exploration.
• Cisco Live Activation: We launched a Design Thinking Lab at Cisco Live, creating a high-touch, high-impact environment where customers and Cisco teams co-designed solutions in real time.
• Internal Culture Shift: Through workshops, executive briefings, and design-led product experiments, we created buy-in across engineering and product teams by showing—not telling—the power of design.
Results
• Cisco Live Design Lab Success: What began as a pilot quickly became one of the most in-demand executive experiences at the event—booked solid from morning until night, with customers lining up to co-create with our team.
• Cultural Transformation: Product teams began adopting problem-framing workshops as part of early roadmap planning, moving away from solution-first thinking.
• Design Recognition: Design gained a seat at the strategy table, with senior executives championing its role in creating differentiated, user-centric experiences.
• Increased Customer Trust: By engaging customers in co-creation rather than post-launch feedback, we deepened trust and unlocked new insights that directly shaped product strategy.
Public Speaking & Inside Looks
The Team in Action
One of my most transformative contributions at Cisco was championing Design Thinking as a strategic lever for innovation and culture change. I founded the Design Thinking practice within the team, co-authored Getting Started with Cisco Design Thinking, and spearheaded its adoption across key customer touchpoints—including Cisco Live, executive briefings, customer sites, and internal campuses. What started as a grassroots effort grew into a powerful differentiator, reshaping how we collaborated, defined problems, and built more meaningful solutions at scale.
