Visual Literacy Program

Why this mattered

Three interconnected challenges made this program critical:

• Accenture needed to upskill a global analytics team as the market rapidly evolved. New visualization tools were becoming essential to competitive advantage, but knowledge was scattered and informal.
• Teams were geographically distributed across many time zones. Reaching professionals in India, Greece, Spain, and the Philippines required a blended approach combining self-paced learning with high-touch in-person engagement.
• New employees needed onboarding while existing staff sustained momentum. Making the program required learning for new Advanced Analytics hires ensured knowledge-building at scale, while ongoing community engagement kept experienced teams advancing.

Approach

1. I translated business needs into a learning vision

I worked closely with leadership to understand business objectives and market pressures. Rather than a generic training program, the real need was organizational capability in visual communication and data storytelling, not just tool training. I researched data-viz thought leadership, design principles, and state-of-the-art techniques to inform the vision.

Leadership alignment around the program was critical as a strategic capability builder, not just training. A credible vision grounded in industry best practices resonated with advanced-analytics professionals, positioning the training as required learning enabled rapid adoption.

2. I built a multi-format curriculum to reach distributed teams

A single format couldn't serve a global workforce, so I built an integrated program with four complementary components.

• Online courses for foundational knowledge: three self-paced courses on visualization principles, tool fundamentals, and story-telling content.
• Hands-on workshops for applied learning: in-person and virtual workshops for deeper skill, confidence, mentorship, and relationship building.
• Community of practice for sustained engagement: a shared platform to ask questions, share work, collaborate, and build peer networks, the engine for ongoing knowledge sharing.
• Internal marketing communications: communication materials such as an intranet site, email campaigns, and promotional videos shared key course information, signaled management support, and created excitement.

3. I sustained engagement through in-person connection and community care

Online learning alone couldn't drive adoption, so I paired global travel with continuous community support.

• Global travel & 'Train the Trainer' workshops: traveled to India, Greece, Spain, and the Philippines, equipping local leaders to champion the program and embed visual literacy into team cultures.
• Post-trip community care & outreach: brown-bag lunches, office hours, and creative challenges that kept the community engaged, answered emerging questions, and celebrated early wins.

Results

• The Data Visualization Community of Practice grew to ~30K members and continues to expand.
• The program became required learning for all new Advanced Analytics employees, embedding visual literacy into onboarding.
• Teams in Manila and India transitioned from PPT-based reporting to Tableau-generated dashboards.
• The program was white-listed and customized for Accenture clients, extending impact with key partners.

My role

Program Lead & Curriculum Designer

• Translated leadership's business objectives into a compelling, research-grounded vision.
• Researched visualization thought leadership, design principles, and techniques.
• Designed and developed the three-course curriculum and hands-on workshop content.
• Launched and scaled the Community of Practice to ~30K members.
• Executed the global travel program, leading 'Train the Trainer' workshops across four continents.
• Designed and ran post-trip outreach (brown bags, office hours, creative challenges).
• Partnered with leadership to position the program as required learning.

---