DTs have largely been helpful for many organizations and the primary approach in DTs is often “technology first”. In other words, the focus lies in developing or implementing growth-boosting high-tech processes. Still, 70%3 of DT projects fail to meet their KPIs.
On the other hand, it has been observed that in the context of a team, the success rate goes up by 8x4 if senior executives diligently communicate the transformation process to their teams. Similarly, for pan-organizational DTs, the success rate goes even higher, up to 12.4x5, if there is an enterprise-wide communication set up.
Often when ineffective DTs are compared to the successful ones an interesting observation comes to the fore: one of the factors behind the failure of DTs can be attributed to the lack of customer-centricity in the project. The success rate of the projects is higher in the cases where open communication was established. This suggests:
So, where the problem surrounding DTs lies is that often there is poor synergy between front and back offices, leaving the end-user’s convenience out of the picture. However, in the ideal scenarios, in any DT project, technology is just an enabler of change. The hero of the project is reimagining the upgraded customer journeys which are as productive as they are easy to use. With that being said, let’s see how centering the DT process as per the user’s need improves the impact of the DT.
Among the UX efforts in the market that concretely shows the need for an “experience-led” process, the case of General Electric’s UX upgradation is a noteworthy mention. GE observed that there was little consistency in the user experience of the set of software they used and wanted to change that. Right form the initial UX projects that the company undertook, it started observing better productivity in the processes, leading to the development of their UI toolkit: Industrial Internet Design System (IIDS). Within a year after IIDS was launched, GE saw a jaw-dropping 100% increase in productivity6, saving expenses worth $30 million. Similarly, a study7 involving 408 companies showed that the companies that invested in UX designs witnessed a 30% faster product cycle compared to their peers.
As we saw the merits of focusing on UX design, let’s now look at the nitty-gritty of implementing an experience-led transformation.
Many a times users struggle to remember where features are located, leading to decreased productivity. Considering that the primary goal of the UX upgrade is to improve usability, the DT should focus on discoverability and navigation efficiency within the interface. This means that the information architecture and site navigation should enable users to intuitively understand the gamut of actions that are possible. As a result, users can prioritize their actions quickly and efficiently while reducing errors. Additionally, in terms of the design of dashboards and interfaces of applications, uniformity is of paramount importance.
Essentially to craft an experience-led transformation, the DT process should come from an empathetic understanding of user needs. To realize this transformation on a scale, the UX project should entail building fully integrated solutions that seamlessly bring people, processes, and data together.
Given that with UX upgradation, companies aim to boost its productivity, which in turn impacts its revenue, it is important to establish the ROI9 of the UX project:
(time saved in employee effort) x (employee cost/hour) x (no of employees) = cost savings
To understand concretely how UX upgrades impact users, let us consider the following scenarios:
This blog shows how effective UX plays a pivotal role in successful Digital Transformations. To achieve an impactful DT, companies need to slowly transition from being technology-first to offering an experience-led workflow interface. After all, by prioritizing user needs and enabling seamless integration of people, processes, and data, companies are achieving more than quick operations. An experience-led DT directly impacts revenue, helping the company advance towards fulfilling its long-term ambitions. Finally, what makes experience–led UX the future of application design is that it ensures that while advanced technologies continue to be integrated into workflows, the usability of the system remains easy– the user comes first!
