In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to the CEO of BRAV017 and formerly the Chief Customer Officer at the US Department of the Air Force and Space Force, Colt Whittall.

After experience in the private sector, Colt wanted to work in the government in the area of technology and management. He was able to secure a position after seeking advice from the CIO of the Air Force. They created a Chief Experience Officer in the Air Force to raise the bar on user experience for their systems. His efforts in the AF are being replicated in the Department of Defense.

The Air Force’s focus on customer and user experience bubbled up from internal computer issues such as long reboot times. There was an open letter on LinkedIn from an airman referred to as the “Fix my computer” memo that elevated the importance of fixing their systems and computers and led to the hiring of Colt. These issues make airmen question when you can’t fix the small things, you begin to question whether the important things can be accomplished.

Colt describes his roles and responsibilities, how data and feedback provide a good framework for measurement and mechanisms for tracking experience and feedback. Colt’s journey into the government resulted in a very rewarding experience and an offer to help others get into the government. Please contact him via LinkedIn if you want to chat.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris talked with Nilufer Erdebil, the Founder and CEO of Spring2Innovation Design Thinking. Nilufer is a leading consultant of innovation and design thinking with expertise in telecommunications, defence, application development, project management, and information technology management in the public sector.

Nilufer shares her expertise and experience at working in design in Ottawa, Canada. We discuss the importance of bringing users into the design process and many examples of how design creates more effective and efficient systems. As a systems engineer, Nilufer designed a system without bringing users into the process. Later, when she became a user of the system, she understood the value of design thinking. She has a unique perspective as a designer coming from a technology background.

Learn from her years of experience in government and industry. Nilufer has shared her experience as a Tedx speaker as well.

Check out her book on design thinking at: Future Proofing by Design

Follow Nilufer on X (formerly Twitter): @digitalNil

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke with the Acting Chief Customer Officer at the US General Services Administration. Camille Tucker has worked in the Chief Customer Office since 2018 and currently is dual hatted as the Lead for their Voice of the Customer Program and the Acting Chief Customer Officer. For anyone planning to create a Chief Customer Office, Camille shared how the office was originally funded and created, its current funding strategy, how the organization is structured, their primary goals, interesting staffing strategies and lessons learned over the past eight years.

GSA’s Chief Customer Office was one of the first customer offices created to focus on customers. Over time, they have trained many GSA employees on design thinking and have focused on their digital properties and addressing issues addressed in 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA). Now, five years after IDEA was enacted, OMB has released guidance on “Delivery Digital First Public Experiences.” Learn how the guidance has impacted GSA.

Learn more about the future goals and strategies in GSA’s Chief Customer Office.