Don't ignore Mr Right

Shalini Malhotra

A LEADING chain of garment stores engages a team of developers to create a Web storefront for its products. In the initial stages of the project, the developers ask questions about the client's mission, goals and expectations from the site. The team assimilates all the data and works hard for months building a site that meets all the client's goals and expectations.

The client is elated with the result. The site goes live. Soon the customer service department starts receiving e-mails/calls from unhappy users:

- They are having problems with site security;

- They are not able to find the products they are looking for.

- The finance department indicates that sales are very low. In due time, the client shuts down the site, convinced that the Web is not the right medium for them. What really happened here?

Elsewhere, a company is planning on implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) package. After various discussions and debates, it decides on the package. The company seeks the help of a consulting company to implement the package. One problem remains. The end-users do not feel comfortable with the new system. Despite training programs, wide discrepancies surface in the way users work versus the way the program expects them to. As a result the program is all but rejected by the employees and they go back to their old way of doing things. What was the real problem here?

Some home truths

The above two scenarios, though fictional, hit close to home for a lot of companies. Is there a common thread in the two scenarios we looked at? In both cases, the ``end-user'' was ignored. If a solution is meant to make life easier for the user, isn't it logical that the user's concerns, needs be taken into account before we start the development process? How can an effective solution be designed if the existing problems are not fully understood? Develop a solution for users and they will use it!! How do we do that? Truly user-friendly organisations should make it a priority to provide end-users a good experience; which means that their target users should be able to achieve their tasks/goals on the site easily and efficiently.

User Experience (UX) primarily deals with the interaction of the end-user with the product. There are many essentials that come together to craft this interaction or ``experience.'' It is a combination of strategy, user research and analysis, information architecture design, graphical design, branding, everything. It is the alignment of user and business goals. This merger defines the ``experience.'' UX is not related to any one particular technology. It can be applied as effectively to traditional software development as it can to Web site development. For example, in the e-business realm, the experience of ``buying easily'' includes not only an easy checkout process, but also making searching and finding products easy, addressing the security concerns of users, detailing shipping processes and costs -- in essence presenting the user with choices and allowing them to be in control.

UX consultants use their expertise to work with users and the development team to ensure that all concerns are addressed. They help design the interface, navigation, and the solution to best meet user needs.

In the CRM arena, UX assumes a pivotal role. In any CRM implementation, user acceptance and change management is a vital issue. And, as CRM installations run into hundreds of users, even minor improvements in efficiency can have significant effects on productivity.

User Experience plays an important role in user study and requirement analysis. UX specialists act as the representatives of users. They make sure that the users are involved from the outset, which facilitates change management and reduces training costs, thus providing the return on investment (ROI) the company aimed for.

Looking forward

The importance of a good user experience is beginning to gain ground in India. There are specialised firms offering Usability and User Experience services. Larger companies have UX groups that form an integral part of solution design. To provide effective solutions, it is critical to have the right mix of skills in the team.

While it is a trying time for the industry with the economy still experiencing and trying to recover from one of its worst slowdowns, it is also a time of reckoning. Companies need to take a hard long look at their strategy, revise their business plans to meet market needs. Today, ``doing it right the first time'' is the mantra. No company can afford to spend additional funds trying to ``fix'' an inefficient solution. Analysts and research studies have predicted the Indian IT market and IT savvy user base will increase substantially in the near future. There is a tremendous opportunity here, which should be harnessed to the fullest by providing the right solutions at the right time. Make sure that only the best foot is put forward!

The author is with Cambridge Technology Partners, India.

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