Air Canada engaged IBM iX to elevate their design practice maturity while delivering critical product improvements across their customer booking experience. Joining the project as a design lead and coach, I established the foundational DesignOps infrastructure needed to scale their team's capabilities, which included research repositories, design request workflows, and structured mentorship programs. Simultaneously, I led the implementation of their Compass Design System across Book, Shop, and Manage experiences, redesigning core user journeys and launching self-service features like rebooking and reaccommodation. The engagement strengthened both the design team's operational effectiveness and the product's user experience.

Business Objectives

• Elevate Product Design Leadership: Lead end-to-end experience design for critical Air Canada web platform features while establishing design standards that balance user needs with business goals and technical constraints.

• Advance Design Practice Maturity: Developed and implemented a structured coaching framework to accelerate designer capability, foster professional growth, and embed strategic design thinking across Air Canada's product teams.

Result

Led professional development for 12 designers through structured bi-weekly coaching and goal-setting, elevating team capability across UX fundamentals. Established comprehensive DesignOps infrastructure, including: design request systems, research repositories, practice maturity assessments, and monthly knowledge-sharing forums, reducing knowledge silos and accelerating delivery. Drove product outcomes through Compass Design System implementation, redesigning Book, Shop, and Manage experiences while launching self-service features including rebooking and reaccommodation.