- CASE NO.
- 03 / 05
- BASED
- DEN · REMOTE
- ROLE
- SERVICE DESIGN · REVENUE
- REV.
- v2026.04
01 · BRIEF · CASE 03 OF 05
Autodesk's 106% NRR design.
The customer value journey behind Autodesk's 106% NRR path. I led the design that tied post-purchase outcomes to revenue.
↓ design · five-phase service assembly
- DRAWING NO.
- 02 / 06
- CLAIM
- 5 PHASES · 2 TIERS · 1 JOURNEY
- BASELINE
- FRONTSTAGE / BACKSTAGE SPLIT
- LAST REV.
- 04/26
02 · DESIGN · THE FIVE-PHASE SERVICE ASSEMBLY
Five phases. Two tiers. One journey.
Five phases of customer planning: identify outcomes, evaluate solutions, create a plan, execute, assess value. Each exploded into frontstage and backstage. Customers see workshops, check-ins, QBRs. The design lived in the backstage system that made those run: enabled people, standard processes, shared platform.
Five figures & the running machine.
↓ diagnosis · what the NRR target asked for
- DRAWING NO.
- 03 / 06
- CLAIM
- SALES-SUCCESS FULCRUM
- BASELINE
- PRE-FY22 FUNNEL SPLIT
- LAST REV.
- 04/26
03 · DIAGNOSIS · WHAT THE NRR TARGET ACTUALLY ASKED FOR
Growing legacy VIPs means breaking down the sales-success fulcrum.
Sales owned acquisition. Success owned adoption. Each segment optimized; none optimized for the journey. The diagnosis: a customer planning experience designed end-to-end across the lifecycle — naming customer business outcomes, aligning solutions, planning delivery, tracking value over time.
“The higher the investment and/or change, the higher the required trust. But trust is something personal. That is the reason people buy from people they understand.”
↓ approach · design as directional clarity
- DRAWING NO.
- 04 / 06
- CLAIM
- DIRECTIONAL DOCUMENT
- BASELINE
- 4-PHASE SPRINT · 2 TIERS
- LAST REV.
- 04/26
04 · APPROACH · DESIGN AS OP MODEL EVOLUTION
We didn't design a desire. We designed the future.
A CSXD (Customer Strategy & Experience Design) design sprint produced the journey above. The research surfaced five opportunity areas, prioritized by CX/EX value to Autodesk's customers, that the journey design had to deliver against.
Inform, inspire, align
Workshops and check-ins that uncover, build, validate, and update customer business intents (CBIs).
Compare workflow changes
Methods that help customers compare specific workflow changes with risks and benefits.
Create, customize, track rollout
Hybrid-guided experience that helps customers prepare for rollout and support adoption.
Estimate ROI, track value, celebrate
Hybrid-guided experience that helps customers estimate ROI, plan value tracking, and share success stories.
Build trust · technical health
High-touch check-ins providing roadmap insights, feature request status, and escalation management.
- Explore industry trends & goals
- Configure CBI-based relevant outcomes & capabilities
- Gather/review user goals
- Gather/review workflow insights
- Explore personalized use-cases with existing solutions
- Customize goals & metrics
- Find & assign learning paths
- Find service-provider offerings & request coaching/training
- Monitor adoption, activities, progress against goals
- Estimate quantitative & qualitative value of use-cases
- Customize & track value metrics
- Gather/review user feedback
- Create & share report/case-study with leaders & community
- Monitor technical health
- Escalate support tickets
- Provide feedback on products
- Create & track feature requests
- View relevant product updates
- Faster pipeline velocity
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
- Faster pipeline velocity
- Faster implementation time
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
- Faster implementation time
- Increase consumption & usage
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
- Increased value delivered
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
Inform, inspire, align
Workshops and check-ins that uncover, build, validate, and update customer business intents (CBIs).
- Explore industry trends & goals
- Configure CBI-based relevant outcomes & capabilities
- Gather/review user goals
- Faster pipeline velocity
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
Compare workflow changes
Methods that help customers compare specific workflow changes with risks and benefits.
- Gather/review workflow insights
- Explore personalized use-cases with existing solutions
- Faster pipeline velocity
- Faster implementation time
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
Create, customize, track rollout
Hybrid-guided experience that helps customers prepare for rollout and support adoption.
- Customize goals & metrics
- Find & assign learning paths
- Find service-provider offerings & request coaching/training
- Monitor adoption, activities, progress against goals
- Faster implementation time
- Increase consumption & usage
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
Estimate ROI, track value, celebrate
Hybrid-guided experience that helps customers estimate ROI, plan value tracking, and share success stories.
- Estimate quantitative & qualitative value of use-cases
- Customize & track value metrics
- Gather/review user feedback
- Create & share report/case-study with leaders & community
- Increased value delivered
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
Build trust · technical health
High-touch check-ins providing roadmap insights, feature request status, and escalation management.
- Monitor technical health
- Escalate support tickets
- Provide feedback on products
- Create & track feature requests
- View relevant product updates
- Improved EX effort & satisfaction
EVIDENCE BASE4-phase CSXD sprint · 37 GTM interviews · 34 customer prototypes · 288 employee surveys · 25 manager validations
↓ delta · what the design set in motion
- DRAWING NO.
- 05 / 06
- CLAIM
- DESIGN PULLED MODERNIZATION
- BASELINE
- 106% NRR · 8-FIG TECH
- LAST REV.
- 04/26
05 · DELTA · WHAT THE DESIGN SET IN MOTION
The design's downstream consequences were larger than the design itself.
The 106% NRR projection required a journey the existing tech couldn't deliver. The design made the gap visible. Once visible, it had to be closed. 100+ CX & EX outcomes surfaced. 8-figure tech modernization initiated. 5 program areas mobilized.
↓ lesson · notes from the design rationale
- DRAWING NO.
- 06 / 06
- CLAIM
- THREE DESIGN-RATIONALE NOTES
- BASELINE
- TRADEOFF · SYSTEM · OUTCOME
- LAST REV.
- 04/26
06 · LESSON · WHAT THE DESIGN TAUGHT THE ORG
Three notes from the design rationale.
- Note 01 · TRADEOFF
Differentiated experience vs. scalable delivery.
Two tiers share one journey. Growth Plus runs 1:few, high-touch. Nurture Plus runs 1:many, digital-guided. Same phases — different delivery assembly.
- NOTE NO.
- 01 / 03
- CLAIM
- ONE JOURNEY · TWO TIERS
- RATIO
- GROWTH+ : NURTURE+700–1000 : 400–600
- DELIVERY
- 1:FEW / 1:MANY
- Note 02 · SYSTEM
Backstage did the work.
Customers saw five phases. The design lived in the backstage — enabled people, shared process, platform telemetry across Gainsight and SFDC.
- NOTE NO.
- 02 / 03
- CLAIM
- DESIGN LIVED IN BACKSTAGE
- LAYERS
- PEOPLE · PROCESS · PLATFORM
- SURFACES
- GAINSIGHT · SFDC
- Note 03 · OUTCOME
The investment was the validation.
The org's response was the proof the design worked: 100+ outcomes prioritized, 8-figure tech modernization initiated, 5 program areas mobilized. The 106% NRR path now has the infrastructure to be delivered against.
- NOTE NO.
- 03 / 03
- CLAIM
- ORG MOBILIZATION AS PROOF
- PRIORITIZED
- 100+ CX/EX OUTCOMES
- INITIATED
- 8-FIGURE MODERNIZATION
- MOBILIZED
- 5 PROGRAM AREAS
↘ Next case
Handoff · the larger story