Redesigning support operations, governance and licence management for a globally distributed creative platform—while making service performance visible and accountable.
A global service ecosystem—not simply a software licence.
I own the organisational setup and management required to support Adobe Creative Cloud globally: end-user and administrator support, communications, ticketing, licence efficiency, software updates and crisis response.
The remit connects an internal team, regional admin network, procurement, cybersecurity and Adobe Elite Support while maintaining service, third-party, lifecycle, secure-development and AI-risk controls.
User base8K+ internal users
Core contributors13 people
Direct leadership5 team members
Admin network~120 globally
Internal operational figures are intentionally rounded. Team sizes exclude me.
Context
Turning distributed support into a managed global product service.
01
The challenge
Support ownership, user records, regional administration, compliance and licence use had to operate consistently across a large, distributed organisation.
02
The response
I clarified ownership, redesigned intake and escalation paths, automated directory hygiene and established recurring reporting, office hours and knowledge exchange.
03
The outcome
Monthly demand and escalations fell while licence allocation efficiency improved—without reducing the service's global reach or compliance responsibilities.
Team and accountability
Leadership across direct reports, partners and a global admin network.
5
Direct team
Two software SMEs and three business analysts responsible for the core product operation.
3
Indirect leadership
Three contributors coordinated through the wider delivery structure.
5
Adobe Elite Support
Two customer success managers and three Elite Support engineers engaged through outsourced specialist projects.
~120
Admin network
Approximately 20 global system admins and 100 specialist sub-admins supported through shared standards and reporting.
Global Product OwnerStrategy, service performance, governance and accountability
5 direct reports2 software SMEs · 3 business analysts
3 indirect contributorsCoordinated across the delivery structure
Adobe Elite Support2 CSMs · 3 support engineers
Enterprise partnersProcurement · cybersecurity
Operating model
Clear paths from user need to specialist resolution.
I designed the support structure around defined ownership, ServiceNow visibility and escalation thresholds. Common needs are resolved close to users; complex issues move through the admin network and core team to Adobe specialists.
Procurement and cybersecurity remain embedded partners so licence decisions and product change stay aligned with commercial, security and compliance requirements.
8K+ end usersSelf-service, community and service requests~100 sub-adminsSpecialist and local support~20 global adminsRegional ownership and escalationCore product teamGovernance, reporting and resolutionAdobe Elite SupportSpecialist engineering escalation
Service operations
Support and escalation
A consistent route for end-user and administrator support.
Intake
Triage
Admin resolution
Specialist escalation
Close and learn
Product governance
Change and compliance
Controls for software updates, third parties, security and AI-related risk.
Assess change
Review risk
Agree ownership
Communicate
Release and monitor
Performance management
Measure and improve
A monthly cadence connecting service metrics to operational action.
Review demand
Analyse SLAs
Identify causes
Prioritise change
Report outcomes
Shared ownership across regions and enterprise partners
Regional admin ownership↔Core product governance↔Procurement and cybersecurity
Governed as a product service. SLAs, third-party risk management, software lifecycle, secure development and AI-risk requirements are built into the operation rather than treated as end-stage checks.
The operating model in practice.
The detailed process artefacts made ownership, governance and decision points explicit across comprehensive delivery, faster updates, BAU work, collaboration and optimisation.
Comprehensive pre-development process: discovery, definition, ideation, design, testing and handover.Comprehensive post-development process: quality assurance, documentation, release, measurement and optimisation.Fast-track route for low-complexity, low-impact interface updates.BAU route for more comprehensive component and template updates.Cross-member-firm collaboration: local needs shaped into reusable global patterns.Lightweight pre-development process for focused changes and requests.Testing and optimisation loop: hypotheses, test design, execution, analysis and shared learning.
Initiatives
Reducing avoidable demand by improving the system around the product.
The programme combined automation, service design and community enablement. Each initiative targeted a recurring source of friction: poor data hygiene, unclear ownership, weak visibility or unnecessary escalation.
The aim was not to make the support team process more tickets. It was to help users and admins resolve more needs earlier, with cleaner information and clearer responsibility.
Directory automation
User-sync tools and record optimisation improved data hygiene, allocation decisions and the reliability of the service.
Regional admin model
Named resources, monthly ServiceNow reporting and a consistent support structure improved ownership across regions.
Knowledge and community
Office hours, FAQs, knowledge records, community updates, news and alerts expanded self-service and knowledge exchange.
CommunicationsRelease and crisis readiness
Structured maintenance, software-update and incident communications for users and administrators.
CommercialLicence optimisation
Reduced unused and duplicate application allocation while preserving access for genuine need.
GovernanceControls by design
Aligned product operations with SLA, third-party, lifecycle, secure-development and AI-risk requirements.
Quantitative evidence: page performance, component interaction and user-flow patterns.Behavioural evidence: click, engagement, scroll and movement patterns.
Evidence synthesis translated separate signals into a clearer view of user intent and content priority.
Content hierarchy and relevance recommendations based on observed engagement.Reducing scroll effort so users could reach useful content and actions sooner.
Measurement
A service dashboard designed to drive action.
I established visibility across speed, resolution quality, demand and escalation. The purpose of measurement is operational: expose bottlenecks, identify repeat causes and decide where automation, knowledge or specialist intervention will have the greatest effect.
Monthly reporting creates a shared fact base for the core team, regional admins and partners.
FRTFirst response
How quickly a user receives an initial response.
ART / AHTResolution speed
Average resolution and handling time across service requests.
FCRFirst-contact resolution
How often needs are resolved without follow-up or escalation.
DemandVolume and escalation
Monthly requests and cases requiring specialist support.
Management cadence: ServiceNow reporting, office hours, admin updates and knowledge records connect the measures to specific operational improvements.
01 / HierarchyLead with relevance
Priority content, client impact and service propositions were structured to help visitors understand value faster.
02 / StorytellingBuild editorial momentum
Flexible long-form patterns balanced narrative, evidence, data and calls to action without flattening the story.
03 / ConversionCreate purposeful pathways
Cards, filters and calls to action connected discovery with deeper content, expertise and lead-generation journeys.
04 / ScaleDesign beyond one screen
Responsive states and reusable behaviours made the visual direction practical across devices and delivery teams.
Homepage: a stronger narrative from brand promise to priority topics, client impact, services and insight content.Insight discovery: featured editorial stories, topic filtering and a modular system for scanning a growing content library.Long-form storytelling: reusable patterns combine executive takeaways, evidence, data, imagery and conversion prompts within one coherent narrative.
Mobile craft across homepage, insight discovery and long-form research.
System delivery: navigation, search and scroll states specified across desktop, tablet and mobile breakpoints.
Craft made buildable.
The visual direction was translated into component states, breakpoint behaviour and implementation guidance—helping engineering preserve intent while enabling teams to reuse the patterns efficiently.
Deloitte.com
Managing design quality across 8M+ monthly visits.
I manage and streamline the design process and global design system for Deloitte.com, connecting a ten-person core team with QA, backend, marketing, analytics, business partners and local design pods.
The remit combines live optimisation with the next platform iteration: new information architecture, templates, components, interactions and a brand-led system that member firms can apply consistently.
Lead generation+17%
Growth across contact forms, event participation, subscriptions and registered downloads.
Engagement+24%
More interaction with relevant content and conversion journeys.
Bounce rate−14%
More visitors moving into deeper journeys.
Page-load time−14%
Faster performance on a large global publishing platform.
Core team: two lead product designers, three senior UX designers, two BAs, a senior researcher, PM and front-end developer—ten people excluding me. The team works closely with QA, backend, marketing, analytics, business and member-firm design pods.
Impact
Lower demand, fewer escalations and better licence efficiency.
Over the last two years, the programme reduced avoidable service demand and specialist escalation while improving how licences were allocated. Rounded figures protect internal operational detail while showing the scale of change.
Monthly service requests reduced from approximately 400 to 300: about 25% lower demand.
Monthly escalations reduced from approximately 50 to 30: about 40% fewer specialist escalations.
Licence allocation efficiency improved by 20% through removal of unused and duplicate allocations.
Regional accountability and monthly reporting established across the global admin structure.
Self-service expanded through office hours, FAQs, knowledge records and a global community portal.
Monthly requests~400 → ~300
Approximately 25% lower demand.
Monthly escalations~50 → ~30
Approximately 40% fewer escalations.
Licence allocation+20%
Greater efficiency from cleaner, more deliberate allocation.
