We recently looked at what digital transformation is and how in today’s growing competitive market, consumers demand speed and simplicity in all aspects of technology. However, technology is only one part of digital transformation, user experience is what should be at the heart of your decisions, and it is this that will be the catalyst to a successful digital transformation project.
The importance of user experience
A good user experience (UX) is critical to the success and survival of any brand, after all, if your systems don’t look great and function seamlessly, your customers and staff aren’t going to want to use them. A bad UX can lead to inconsistencies and damage your reputation if users are unable to perform tasks easily and quickly. Longer term, poor UX results in rising costs within your working practices as well as see customers look to your competitors.
A great user experience (UX) needs to focus on making it easier for staff to work and customers to do business with you. In order to achieve a good UX, you need to ensure you are meeting user expectations.
These expectations cover a multitude of channels and user touchpoints for example:
- Gathering information on your website / making a purchase
- Submitting an enquiry
- Using a business application
- Accessing a customer portal
- Updating records
These examples show that digital transformation is about so much more that just ‘digitalising’ your systems. Advances in cloud, mobile and data solutions present huge opportunities for businesses to -‘re-innovate’ systems and processes to reflect the way users engage with their business, which is where ‘or ‘design-first’ comes into the equation.
What is a ‘Design-first approach?
‘Design First’ is a shift in focus across your organisation, requiring every department to make the user experience the best it can be. This shift is not just about making everything ‘digital’, it also involves consideration of user journeys, devices they use, emotions and how users feel. It is a human centred approach to innovation, which puts people at the heart of your end-to-end business activity.
A successful adoption of a design-led strategy will lead to companies functioning in an agile, collaborative and empathetic way. This focus on the user and their objectives ultimately makes processes more efficient and reduces costs. Going through a logical approach to digital transformation based on UX will help identify areas where you can consolidate data, integrate systems, enhance websites and streamline processes.
A successful digital transformation
It is key that prior to rolling out any changes, you identify the needs of users. These needs can be defined through user workshops and rapid prototyping, which allows you to test the functionality of a system and provide an opportunity to get users engaged from the outset.
A successful digital transformation project needs to be focussed across your entire organisation, and is a universal view of all your working practices. Making sure UX is your top priority doesn’t have to be done at once. Consider taking a piecemeal approach to transformation. By taking parts of your business, one bit at a time, and addressing UX as you go, you can ensure that you are managing change within budget and on time.
For further guidance on digital transformation strategy or UX workshops talk to us today.
