Perspectives: Read, watch, learn, and grow with our insights

Part 1: The Challenge and Our North Star The Challenge Every now and then, we see designers wasting their time creating UI flow diagrams inside slide decks and whiteboard tools to show UX/UI design to executives or senior management. Designers are also at times found giving walkthroughs of their design files to every member on their team, then to all product managers, then to all developers, then to all the people who missed those calls, and it goes on and on until the end of time. When we have designers working repeatedly on these things, it impacts not just the designers but the whole organization. We want the designers to work on more important things: solving user and product problems. When this starts to happen, the designer’s valuable time and energy are reduced to doing these repetitive tasks. Design Ops to the Rescue One of the key areas of Design Ops is to alleviate problems exactly like this. Our North Star here is to completely eliminate the handover process of design with stakeholders. In an effort to achieve this, we need to bring everyone to the same table and have the same language that everyone speaks and understands, which is what DesignOps achieves. This will have two immediate benefits: Eliminate (reduce) time wasted by designers doing side tasks. Build confidence with stakeholders. Stakeholders feel more comfortable trusting their designers when they can understand their work and process as well. The design department will no longer be seen as a black magic box that no one really knows how it operates. The shared language will help the stakeholders understand how design files are organized and documented, so they can go and find anything whenever they need it without bugging designers. The documentation on design decisions in best cases eliminates the requirement for tedious walkthroughs, one of the biggest benefits of DesignOps. Laying the Foundations As a first step, we set up two keys or legends to identify the state of the design and document the design files. State of Design Very similar to project management statuses, we introduce the states of UX/UI design. The key allows anyone coming into the design file to understand their status. This can be used not only to identify design files as a whole but also the pages, user flows, and individual screens. Our first set of statuses look like this (these can be modified and adapted to any team’s needs, but we have found this to be most productive in our case): ✍️ Working on it Anything that designers are currently working on can be denoted by this status. 🚧 In-progress Things that are not yet finished but also not being actively worked on can be denoted by in-progress status. ✅ Pretty much done This status is important to indicate your progress on work. Statuses like these will build confidence with your stakeholders. 🔸 Please review for approval With this time you are inviting the product manager or other stakeholders to review your UX/UI designs and decisions. 👍 Ready for presentation UX Designs that have been approved by product managers and the internal team will be ready for executive presentation. 🔹 Approved Designs approved by all the stakeholders can be marked with this status. 🔒 No further changes Use this state when a design has been officially locked and you want to hand it off to developers. This will mean that no more changes will be catered to on the design and it is locked until delivery of the project. 🔻 On hold Designs that get deprioritized due to any reason can be marked as on hold. 📦 Archived or legacy Any old or deprecated design can go under the archived or legacy label. 🎆 Magic Lab All the amazing ideas and designs can find their place in the magic lab. These are proposed pieces of design that designers want to showcase or show off but are not part of the main user flow. Documenting Design Taking this a step further, we also set up comment keys. These can be used to document design decisions, clarifications, ideas, concerns, and more as raised by designers and stakeholders during the design process. The comment key we generally suggest to use looks something like this: The status and comment key is part of the Figma File System, a subset of the Figma Design System by mobileLIVE. This can be downloaded free from the Figma community. This is available as ready-to-use components that you can plug in any of your design files and start using them.

Customer expectations are always changing; however, digital has not only accelerated the rate of that change but elevated those expectations. Needless to say, this has caused challenges for business, with BFSIs being particularly hard hit. The Googles, Facebooks, and Amazons of the world have spoiled customers, providing them with seamless experiences, on-demand, wherever and however they want. And now, it’s time Financial Institutions and other BFSIs do the same, and I’ll show you how below. But before you can solve the problem, you need to understand it. The Problem For Banking Customers For banks, credit unions, and insurance brands, and BFSIs in general, the shift of consumer preferences towards digital solutions poses one of the biggest threats to their core modus operandi: in-person customer appointments. And while physical bank visits were not an issue felt by banking customers previously, their perspectives have changed on two significant fronts: Experience over products More customers now prefer that their experience should be better, more efficient, and faster, prioritizing it over the products that they receive, which are pretty vanilla in their construct. Convenience over privacy Customers are also willing to let go of a little bit of privacy in exchange for more convenience, better integration of financial or banking softwares, and faster action for the services they’re choosing. Changes in Customer Behaviour With customers getting so used to getting all of their tasks done instantly and in a few clicks, BFSIs are lagging in adopting such efficiencies in their customer engagement models. As a result of such fundamental changes in customer expectations from the industry, we’re now witnessing alarming statistics in customer acquisition rates as experienced by banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, and BFSIs that are trying to shift their processes to a digital framework: 51% of customers drop off from their onboarding journey with a bank due to the length of the process. 46% of customers leave their applications midway because the user interface is not friendly enough to proceed. 41% of those who start the process digitally never return if they log out or if the sign-up process is too long and requires too much information. In addition to changing customers’ tolerance levels towards their banks, such variables contribute largely in showing BFSIs that they have a lot of catching up to deliver the differentiated experiences that their customers have already become so used to receiving from interacting with other non-financial services. The Industry Perspective on Digital Experiences When we look at financial institutions and BFSIs as a whole, it’s no news that it’s a heavily regulated industry. While that in itself is not a challenge, their use of decades-old practices, processes, and financial softwares is still being followed. Such institutions have never viewed it as a customer journey but rather a journey that happens internally within the bank and involves the customer’s file to move physically from one department to another. In simply trying to make such a process seamless and convert it into a frictionless onboarding journey for the customer, many issues come to the fore. Organizational Challenges Before looking at how financial institutions could begin to address these bottlenecks, we need to consider some of the grave organizational challenges that exist as well: Disconnect at the first touchpoint Whether the customer’s first touchpoint is a website or app, in the case of a digital channel, or to visit the bank and talk to a teller for non-digital channels, this is where most of the disconnect happens. Systems failing to cope up with expectations On a system level, the challenge remains to cope with increasing customer expectations, be it an internal system or a legacy system with the customer. Old and outdated processes The fact also remains that the processes and financial softwares adopted by these institutions are simply too old to convert and involve too many layers in pushing the customer’s application from one place to another. The true picture that this paints for financial institutions is that of struggle: breaking the numerous silos, being unable to implement automation, and using non-modular technology, rather than using modern technologies like banking softwares that offer convenience in accordance with the current needs in the digital world. That being said, one sliver of hope we’ve seen in the last three to four years is that the right technologies have become available to remove nearly all such hurdles. With such technologies at hand, processes like identity verification and document scanning and organization can all be reduced to a matter of a few seconds and done purely digitally rather than taking days and manual interaction with people. This is where successful institutions are now setting themselves apart, and the reason why achieving the optimal customer onboarding experience has become more critical than ever before. How Banks Can Address the Challenges Most banks resorted to addressing the digital shift by taking the same system and flow of process and creating an online facsimile of it. With research showing us that 85% of customers drop off between clicking on an ad to starting their application online, it’s evident that these ways aren’t working. We see such high drop-off rates because the customer onboarding process isn’t being adapted to digital, rather just shifted to it. Even if financial institutions didn’t – or didn’t need to – think about these earlier, certain factors are unique to a digital journey and need to be taken into consideration: Capturing the customer as soon as they come in How can the institution position the journey and capture customer information so that even if the customer drops off, they can be contacted again to help move their application forward? A lot of organizations are rewarding customers to return and complete their journey, an incentive that is doing wonders in the way of new customer acquisitions. Upgrading to new systems Most core banking softwares are quite archaic and need upgrading, and to run a digital workflow, institutions will need new systems rather than relying on the same old financial softwares. Speeding up the process With digital experiences, the pace of action is one of the most critical factors, and the question becomes of how fast banks can get the customer in and through the system and convert them into revenue-generating customers. The 5 Stages of the Customer Journey Digital Onboarding - The 5 Stages of the Customer Journey Understanding that the customer journey cannot remain in the background anymore needs to be prioritized above all else. From an organizational point of view, it can be broken down into five stages: Acquisition of Data Whether customers fill-up the form themselves or their information comes from third-party portals, capturing their documents and organizing them in as little time and clicks as possible is the first stage. Verification Is the customer who they say they are? Depending on the product offered, there are different Know Your Customer (KYC) regulatory requirements. Risk Assessment Once customer information is verified, an automated risk adjudication process is conducted. Payments Are customers paying directly, or are payments integrated with third-party payment providers? Provision of the Service The customers are issued a digital card to add to their Apple or Google wallets to get started with using the service as soon as they sign up. Interestingly, from the first to the last stage, this entire journey can be 100% automated, without human intervention, and in most cases done almost instantaneously. The experience needs to be easy, fast, and frictionless. In 5-minutes, a customer can and should be able to activate their account, with a digital card added to their device, all without ever having to set foot into a branch. Takeaway Every organization hoping to enter the digital era needs to break from or evolve their traditional processes, and this, although harder, is especially important for financial institutions. The question is, how to create a solution that balances customer expectations and business objections; and it will be those who can most effectively achieve that, who will be the most successful in the future.

While my career choices might make me appear biased, I truly believe that few practices will carry as much importance in the future as Service Design. In truth, service design isn’t new. However, as our world moves towards all things digital and finds that transition accelerated by historic and uncontrollable forces – like the pandemic – there has been a keener interest in what exactly service design has to offer. Much like the world had to evolve and transition to digital quite rapidly, so too did the practice of service design adapt and evolve to help architect and orchestrate that transition, or at least, many of the success stories. And seeing how at the heart of service design is incorporating a variety of perspectives, I’ve included a few of my peers’, taken from a virtual talk we shared, to show how service design can improve ever-evolving digital experiences by evolving alongside them. Changes in Service Design An Internal Perspective Service design is all about going out into the world and observing how people interact with services, gathering data and plotting the best course forward. And to address “the elephant in the room,” as Patrick Bach, Director of Service Design at CIBC, put it, research and the way it is conducted has been forced to change significantly. Ethnographic interviews are a great example, notes Patrick, something he and his team would historically conduct in-person, and in some cases even fly across the country for, have all had to shift to virtual. He admits that while many elements do translate well to a Zoom call, getting to the heart of research questions isn’t without its challenges. Virtual poses many obstacles, especially to participatory and activity-based research, while the lack of a traditional conference room setting has forced teams to reimagine how they collaborate and co-create. “One of the ways we’ve adapted is around how we communicate. So it used to be these very physical walkthroughs; we would print things over large sheets of paper and get everyone to walk around, annotate, and reflect. In the virtual world, we’ve been embracing the format of video, so instead of creating a journey map or service blueprint, we’ve been converting those things into something more portable, repeatable, and reusable.” I couldn’t agree more with Patrick, and will come back to this point later. An External Perspective Video does allow for many opportunities for collaboration and connection; however, not everyone is so quick to embrace it. “Let’s take observational research, for example,” says Judy Mellet, Director of Service Design & Strategy at Telus Digital. “We are on a project where we try to observe what happens in an installation process in the home where a customer might be comfortable in some ways letting you into the house and observe them and they see you as perhaps somebody that may be able to support them through that process. They are less wanting to be observed over video, and it’s just a dynamic; they feel like they’re being watched.” Service design beckons professionals to dig deeper for ways to improve, revamp, and evolve how specific processes or activities are carried out. It proposes new and reimagined ways of achieving the same, if not better, results – and it appears organizations and enterprises are ready to embrace. Judy goes on to remark that evidence of this can be seen in how the nature of requests from businesses of service design are evolving. Rather than asking to fix one specific problem, the demands are more transformational, reimagining entire concepts or approaches. And to me, this is the real proof of its value – when applied to transformational initiatives. Growing Appeal of Human-Centred Design An interesting observation is that the pandemic pushed customers and stakeholders into becoming the end-users of a complex and broken system. Suddenly, everyone knew what it was like to be on the wrong end of a bad digital experience. So how do we fix it? The answer is human-centred design, and by putting it at the centre of all transformation projects, we’ll best be able to craft an experience that justifies the systemic journeys and buy-in processes that are becoming the norm of digital life. This has seen the demand for service design increase and, to echo Judy, so too have the project sizes, as organizations realize, in some cases the hard way, that their digital experiences simply weren’t good enough. Communication & Collaboration Adding to Patrick’s point earlier, professionals are now more driven to develop new digital tools to overcome their biggest problems, which couldn’t be more evident than in collaboration and communication. Virtual tools now complement physical walkthroughs otherwise conducted in more tangible ways. For instance, where experience mapping was previously being done on physical walls with location and size limitations, virtual walls are now being used that are more conducive to collaborative research and come with fewer physical restrictions. This is not to say that such virtual activities weren’t in play before the pandemic hit; rather, it’s their prevalence and adoption that have increased. Not only does everyone have to have access to them now, but being a part of such an environment has led to better and more efficient ways for everyone to play their part within an organization. Industry Impact & Opportunities Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals The role that service design can play in healthcare is just now being paid its due attention because workers are faced with challenges and questions unlike ever before. A new scale of awareness is now observed, with individuals partaking in conversations like which vaccines they can get, where they can get them from, and where they currently stand in the process. Such a level of individual engagement has opened up a large window of appreciation for service design principles and how they can be applied to solve all such concerns. Telecommunications & Banking Where driving sales and engagement with customers has always been a priority, sectors like banking and telecommunications were severely impacted as a result of the pandemic. Powerful, yes, but these industries driven by sales and customer engagement saw a massive disruption in their processes. Now, as offices and retail are reopening, we are seeing these industries finding some resistance in going back to the old ways and much value in staying on the course forced upon them. It appears much of the “quick patchwork” intended to tie us over is being revisited, refined, and will likely make an appearance (or at least some facsimile) in whatever the “new normal” turns out to be. Real Estate Another industry is real estate, where historically, physically visiting a property site was vital. Beyond virtual tools and walkthrough technologies, service design thinkers created completely new ways to translate physical interactions into immersive virtual journeys that took the customers from point A to point B via a seamless digital process. Why Service Design? It’s Adaptable & Malleable What makes service design so relevant and effective in today’s global landscape is its multifaceted nature. There are numerous service design methods, principles, and applications that can adapt to any given situation to the degree with which it is required. Rather than offering a single solution to a specific problem, service design takes up a problem-fit approach to really tackle challenges as they come along. It Breeds Innovation & Human-Connection Being applicable to a range of different projects makes service design a huge facilitator for innovation. It drives out-of-the-box thinking because it urges users to think along bigger lines for better solutions. And the value of service design is not going to fade away when and if we “go back to normal.” The new norm will be a different one, and service design has the potential to assist organizations with rethinking the best ways to design this new reality, keeping the people who will be living it at the forefront. Practically speaking, our own service design team comes in at the start of engagements, rethinking how the business is currently serving customers and the quality of the experiences being offered. It’s imperative to translate the context of the customer in such situations, but transferring the same level of empathy across all user testing channels is challenging. In my opinion, the onus is on service designers to augment themselves throughout the end-to-end process so that they can reimagine these experiences and prioritize human-centrism every step of the way. Take Away While I know I am not alone in this opinion, I’m doubtful we’ll ever go back to the way things used to be. Already, hybrid work models are being implemented, businesses are shifting and transforming to digital at an accelerated speed, and the demand for better digital experiences is increasing at an exponential rate. And it’s those reasons why service design is so largely at play now across the globe. It’s also why service design will continue to support the efforts of future-focused businesses in not only improving their digital experiences, but crafting them (and their organizations) in such a way that the interest and journey of all parties involved are best served.

Pursuit of optimal customer experience is driving digital transformation initiatives; with technology allowing customers to be in direct control of their interactions with businesses. From the ease of multi-channel digital connectivity to immediacy in service, the customers are demanding seamless and hyper-personalized experiences that embody simplicity, Do-it-Yourself, and social. Hyperconnectivity is growing at an unprecedented pace and there is a global urgency in embracing “digital-first” strategies. Benefits already being witnessed from digital transformation efforts include: increased market share by 41%, increased customer engagement in digital channels by 37%, more positive employee morale by 37%, greater web and mobile engagement by 32%, and increased customer revenue by 30%. However, growth in this highly competitive digital economy must be lead with a clear vision, in a collaborative culture of highly motivated departments, fueled with disruptive innovations in both business models and offerings. Ultimately, all efforts narrowing down into two strategic streams: Customer Value and Operational Agility In this paper, my colleagues and I share how customer experience is driving digital transformation initiatives. What are the key challenges and how they can be addressed to attract, win, and retain customers in this ever-increasing digital economy.

Let’s play a game. How many brands do you think I experience in a typical day? Shall we find out? It’s 6:55 AM and I’m awoken by the sounds of Lovely Day, by Bill Withers. A smile inevitably crosses my face as the tempo rises, that is, until I hear my girlfriend yell, “OK Google, STOP!” She obviously is not a morning person. Still half asleep, I wander into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and pour myself a bowl of cereal. As the aroma of the coffee diffuses throughout the house, it peaks the interest of my other half, who joins me for a cup. She mentions that the hardware store is having a sale on the bathroom tiles we liked and maybe “we” should pick some up after work. I tell her I’d be happy to as long as she promises to be ready by 7 PM for the show tonight. She agrees; I’m skeptical. After a long day of reviewing and editing content, making travel arrangements for a conference, and too much time with the accountant, I eventually make my way home. That is, only after a series of text messages caused my trip to the hardware store to also include the pharmacy, grocers, and courier. No matter, for when I pull in I get a little excited to see my girlfriends car in the drive and think she may, in fact, be ready. So you can imagine my disappointment when I saw her on the couch looking particularly comfy in a pair of sweats, a glass of wine in hand. I ask her about the tickets, putting a box of new bathroom tiles in front of her. She responds by handing me a beer and a book on bathroom renovations. Confused, and likely looking it, she then said, “The show is next week, but I picked up some grout, and we can get started on the bathroom tiles tonight ” Oh, a day in the life… So, how many did you count? There’s at least 15, but it probably wasn’t easy. However, if I were to put the words ”Kellogg’s,” “Samsung,” “Toyota,” “Home Depot,” and “Visa” in that story, it may become a bit more evident how often we experience brands, at least, the successful ones. That is because the successful ones lend themselves to our lives, adding value while not drawing attention to itself. This, in essence, is what the customer experience (CX) is all about, and is something that the most reputable brands in the country have perfected. And why shouldn’t they? After all, according to Gartner, CX is the new marketing battlefront, and in two years’ time, 81% of companies expect to be competing mostly or completely on the basis of the digital experience their customers get. This made me curious, so I decided to dive deep and compiled a list of 22 inspiring customer experience quotes and statements from 28 of the top brands in Canada by “sector” as reported by Leger. Enjoy! “It’s a world of multiple screens, smart displays, with tons of low-cost computing, with big sensors built into devices. At Google, we ask how to bring together something seamless and beautiful and intuitive across all these screens.” —Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google “The customer changes every day, so we need to remain keenly interested in the customer and evolve to remain relevant.” —Mike Motz, President, Shoppers Drug Mart “Our customers are at the heart of our company and our growth strategy. Understanding our customer better means we can create a more consistent experience and offer products, services and promotions that meet the specific and every day needs of our customers and create an incredible competitive advantage.” —Stephen Wetmore, President and CEO, Canadian Tire Corporation “If you see the name Sony on any product, content, or service, it symbolizes our promise to move you emotionally. Our products are designed to have a personal and individualized place in all of your lives.” —Kaz Hirai, President and CEO, Sony “This project (Bear Naked) was born out of a consumer need like most good innovation should be. The consumer need that we identified was what we call a ‘desire for taste exploration.” —Chris Tutor, VP of Strategy, Kellogg “Most people try to solve for what their internal problems are, or a pre-determined view of what they think the experience should be. We want to listen to our customers first, they tell us how they’d like to shop with us, and how they’d like to see us presented to them, and make those changes appropriately.” —Matt Carey, EVP CIO, The Home Depot “The way our customers operate their businesses and live their lives in today’s interactive digital world requires a shift to a hyper-personalized experience. Customers expect us to know them as individuals and provide them with access to more information and visibility. In turn, we have to empower them to take control. This focus has translated into a shift for FedEx in terms of how we approach our business and communicate to our customers. ” —Laurie Tucker, SVP of Corporate Marketing, FedEx “Our Vision at Visa, to be the best way to pay and be paid for everyone, everywhere, prioritizes consumer behaviour and drives every product innovation.” —Derek Colfer, Head of Technology & Digital Innovation, Visa Canada “We knew it was time to reimagine the core bookstore experience. As people and consumers, we are evolving. There are some people who will long for the old-fashioned dusty bookstore, but most people don’t. In the 21st century, people are “phygital”—that is, they do some things digital and some things physical.” —Heather Reisman, CEO & Chief Book Lover, Indigo Books “It is our strategic plan to improve every consumer touchpoint, beginning with the look and feel of the restaurant. Our new Fresh Forward design brings to life what we have always had—healthy, fresh vegetables. We are integrating new technology to make us more accessible to the consumer and leveraging all of this into a new image.” —Suzanne Greco, CEO, Subway “Through these channels, we can provide more details about the characters, unveil behind-the-scenes footage, create interactive discussions with our fans and, ultimately, engage with them to drive our collective imagination further down the road on its never-ending journey. Customer loyalty can only be achieved through sustained, entertaining, and engaging interactions with our fans.” —Patrick Corneau, VP of Sales and Marketing, Cirque du Soleil “I have learned, based on my experience, that everything is dominated by the market. So whenever we are struck by any obstacles or difficulties, I always say to myself: ‘Listen to the market, listen to the voice of the customer.’ That’s the fundamental essence of marketing. Always, we have to come back to the market, back to the customer. That is the Toyota way. So, whenever we’re stuck, we always go back to the basics. Because branding, image, or Lovemarks are determined by the customers, not us. We really cannot determine anything. The customer does that. That is the essence.” —Yoshio Ishizaka, Former President and Current Advisor, Toyota Motor Corporation “I often remind my team to keep our consumer purpose at the center of everything that we do. To me, our purpose centers on caring for people around the world by anticipating their needs, creating solutions and experiences that help them and those they care for live healthy, vibrant lives.” —Josh Ghaim, Ph.D, CTO, Johnson & Johnson “It is through digital transformation, coupled with our WestJetters’ caring touch, that we will be able to provide the ultimate guest-centric service.” —Gregg Saretsky, President and CEO, WestJet “…while the world is focusing on new and shiny disruptive technologies, we sometimes forget about the customer experience. If we start with the healthcare consumer in mind, the gaps in their experience, how it can be improved, and what the key problem statements are, only then will we be able to see how and which technologies are here to enable a transformation.” —Eugene Borukhovich, Global Head of Digital Health Incubation and Innovation, Bayer “Engaging and marketing to our customers in new ways is key to building shopper loyalty and encouraging repeat visits, and it is the foundation of our retail brand strategy.” —Pat Lizotte, Director of Marketing Strategies, Petro-Canada “In a culture where usage is the primary goal, the primary focus is on ensuring customers are unblocked and the product is constantly being simplified to make it easier and easier to use. This focus is so central to the work we do that it takes priority over adding new features.” —Brad Anderson, Corporate VP Enterprise Mobility & Security, Microsoft “There’s no one-size-fits-all audience.” —Magen Hanrahan, VP of Media and Marketing Services, Kraft Heinz Company “This new model will be powered by data, analytics and audience insights, providing creative solutions as we continue to connect with new generations of consumers.” —Yin Rani, VP of Integrated Marketing, Campbell Soup Company “I must say that if you’ve got good customer insight it’s an excellent starting point. However, I think it is a mixture of getting customer insight, understanding where you currently stand with certain metrics, and what you need to do to build on these metrics. All these put together contribute to building a customer culture within any business.” —Carol Sheppard, Customer Experience Research Manager, Molson Coors “The client experience is everything, end-to-end, from the point that you first establish interest and awareness and are sharing initial thoughts, to the long-term, sustained relationship where you are coming back and back because you want more and more services from the person offering it.” —Diana O’Brien, Global CMO, Deloitte “All that insight (data and analytics) allows us to understand the final clients of our clients a little better,” —Jérémiah Bousquet, Digital Transformation Leader, Airbus It is our hope that these quotes/statements from some of the brightest minds, behind some of the most prolific brands, will inspire you in your journey to create the most memorable customer experiences. Do you have any inspiring customer experience quotes? We’d love to hear it.

I love technology; so much so, that I have made a career out of it. I see its potential, and I see it as the answer to many questions and problems that we as a society face. Technology is not meant to complicate our life; rather simplify it, streamline it, and enable us to do more. And it is these experiences with technology that are at the forefront of the consumer’s mind, not the complicated mechanisms behind it. It was Steve Matyas, CEO, Staples Canada, who once said “the customer doesn’t care what happens in the background,” and he couldn’t have been more right. Experiences define a brand; not products, services, or the technology that powers them. Essentials in designing experience Putting technology aside for a moment, at the forefront of any new idea or development should be the user experience. In order to do that accurately, you must go through the journey of these three essential aspects of design thinking: Empathy (with users to design human-centred experience) Ideation (generating ideas to best deliver on the user’s purpose) Experimentation (prototyping and refining with user feedback) These three essential aspects have far-reaching implications when it comes to developing new products and services because they help realign your development and design efforts with the true goal of technology – enabling the user. Instead, there seems to be a common thread in trying to integrate every last bit of technology into products and services; almost as if creating the tech equivalent to a Swiss Army knife. Except, much like the offerings of a Swiss Army knife, users don’t often find themselves in need of a mini saw, a corkscrew, and a Phillips head screwdriver all at the same time. The trick is in integrating technology so that it takes a backstage role; one that supports the requirements of the user, while propelling them forward, intuitively and seamlessly to their next step – not yours. Disruptive Technologies are artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, augmented reality, virtual reality, internet of things When looking at some of the most elegant and memorable experiences provided by the Googles and Apples of the world, and you’ll begin to notice a commonality – simplicity. This simplicity isn’t found in the technology behind it, on the contrary, it is among the most complex and sophisticated to date. Instead, it is the experience for the user that is simple, which is why it’s so effective. Investing in the fundamental truth of humanity The customer experience needs to be viewed as an investment, one that will help ensure that your business can compete in not just future markets, but current ones. Here, however, we see many falling behind; and choosing to view the customer experience as a cost centre, rather than an investment in their success. And yet, time and time again we see the most successful brands prioritize experiences over technology. Why? Well, when was the last time your app wrote its own 5 star review or recommended itself to friends? Assuming that by now you have begun to realize the value and far-reaching implications of experience design, it is important to note that we are talking about a dynamic factor, one that invariably changes along with the people who experience it. To assume that your users are the same people that they were yesterday, would be a gross oversight. People evolve, and it should be this evolution that is at par with your technological development. What needs do your users have today, and what do you anticipate them to be tomorrow? By taking measures to understand their behaviour, preferences, and needs, it is paramount that you embrace a fundamental truth of humanity – we are always evolving. To stay relevant and consistently provide your customers with expected experiences, you need to be constantly defining and redefining what is important to users of every generation. Continuous Monitoring of the Evolving Behaviours, Preferences, and Needs You would be making a potentially devastating mistake by leaving something as powerful as user experience up to chance. After all, good or bad, your users will have an experience with your brand, so why not take the effort to ensure that you are providing your customers with the best one possible? As I mentioned, experiences are feelings, which then get stored as memories, and much like a hard drive, we have the ability to recall these memories, ultimately dictating the emotions we feel when we think about them. So let me ask you, are you confident that your customers are having a memorable experience or are they simply being asked to accept the one you are dictating?

Pursuit of optimal customer experience is driving digital transformation initiatives across all industries because technology is allowing customers to be in direct control of their interactions with us. From the ease of multi-channel digital connectivity to immediacy in service, customers expect frictionless and hyper-personalized customer experiences that embody simplicity, Do-it-Yourself, and social. Likes of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook are also not making it any easier by setting standards that customers expect every business to match.Without a doubt, the importance of Customer Experience has grown to become equal, if not more than products and services offered. Brands who focus on improving customer experience by mapping the evolving customer behaviors and preferences, applying human-centered approach, innovating collaboratively, and executing with agility – easily differentiate themselves and excel onto a path of greater success.But let’s be clear, customer experience does not belong to any one department. In fact, it requires intense collaboration from the entire organization. Everyone working “together” towards a common purpose for the sake of the customer, who only recognizes us as – one. From a customer’s perspective, it primarily involves customer-facing functions and touchpoints, however, there is a myriad of business challenges that we need to manage in an effort to achieve the desired customer experience.To bring it all together, below is an infographic capturing shared – customer expectations and business challenges – in a digital economy.Customer Expectations & Business Challenges in a Digital Economy is a graphical representation that depicts the unique Customer Expectations and the associated Business Challenges faced in trying to meet them.From the structure of the organization (People, Culture, Processes) to the disruptive technologies (AI, Machine Learning, AR/VR, IoT, Conversational Commerce) involved, we need to sync up with evolving customer behaviours and deliver beyond their expectations. It’s not going to be simple, but we must, in order to attract, win, and retain customers in this ever-increasing digital economy.

What do Uber, Airbnb, Instagram, and even the iPhone have in common? Aside from being groundbreaking, disruptive, and wildly successful services and products, they all share a respective point of origin – they all began as an MVP.MVP or Minimum Viable Product is a concept publicized in Eric Ries’ Lean Startup that emphasizes learning in new product development. It can be defined as a version of a new product that carries “just enough” features to engage and satisfy early adopters, from which feedback can be gathered and learned from for future development.airbnb, instagram and uber MVPsTypically, any new product development is a costly endeavour – that is, until enterprises started to borrow from the startup playbook. Now, and through the utilization of MVP, organizations can develop quickly, reduce their new product development costs, de-risk their investment, test the concept in the field, learn from their users, and iteratively add new features.Today, you are not only going to learn how to develop and plan an MVP but how to do so with the help of the Design Thinking process to put an unprecedented focus on what matters most – the user.Why Design Thinking? When it came to new product development, typically, resources were allocated towards projects that “sound like a great idea” and because of that, were given time, people, and budget to explore. Sadly, and as I am sure many can relate to, this has time and time again proven to be an inefficient waste of valuable resources.Fortunately, there is a new school of thought, one that doesn’t say “that sounds like a good idea,” or at least, doesn’t until the question “where’s the proof that this is a good opportunity to spend resources on” is answered. This is where Design Thinking comes in to play on the innovation lifecycle.design thinking in innovation lifecycle. explore problem, test problem solution and execute product/market fitDesign Thinking plays a crucial role in the initial part of the innovation lifecycle by helping find the “customer/problem” fit: what’s the right problem to be solved for the target customer segment? In this phase, the goal is to “invent the future” by discovering the unmet needs of the users and the unsolved problems he/she wants to be solved.But how exactly does Design Thinking help with defining and planning an MVP? It first helps by exploring the customer/problem fit in order to find the right problem and “do the right thing.” And that is done by empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing.Design Thinking for MVP Validation1. Identifying & Understanding Business Needs Everything begins as a small idea for something new or innovative. But how do you know the idea is valid or worth investment? In other words, how do you know your business value proposition is, in fact, valuable?One of the hallmark characteristics of Design Thinking is its emphasis on collaboration, specifically, involving everyone related to the business, from designers to developers and from business owners to the market at large. By inviting them to work together, it provides diverse perspectives on the concept being proposed and can help identify the market and business needs behind the idea to determine long-term goals of the product, solidify a shared vision, affirm the reasoning behind the project, and define success criteria.Through this collaboration, organizations can leverage the unique knowledge of different stakeholders and customers to discover the most valuable opportunities and to create a sense of support and ownership for the project that will not only accelerate its implementation but minimize the risk of failure while improving the potential for innovation.2. Identify Users & Discover Opportunities Aligned with your business value proposition, identifying users and their unique needs is mission critical. After all, it is bad business to build something that nobody wants. So how do you make sure there will be users for your potential solution? How do you identify them? What are their needs?User and Business GoalsDesign Thinking is also known as human-centred design and as such, requires working with clients, stakeholders, and customers to bring real user outcomes. With this user-centred approach, it emphasizes on not only understanding the user but identifying their current experience, goals, and needs in order to help determine what the real problem(s) is/are. This is achieved through a combination of quantitative and qualitative user-research methods specifically designed to answer the key questions about user behaviours, preferences, habits, and value proposition. The value of this approach is that it prevents the False-Consensus Effect, which is a bias in which people tend to overestimate the extent to which their opinions, beliefs, preferences, values, and habits are normal and typical of those of others. While hard to admit, it is prudent to remember that “you are not the user,” and it is worth investing time and effort in understanding the context of ‘real-users.’3. Decide what Features to Build By now, you should have identified your users, their unique needs, and your business value proposition. However, you may have also noticed something else happening in tandem – your idea has started to turn into something a lot more tangible. When that happens, you know it is time to visualize and begin designing the core features.Collaboration during the brainstorming process is vital to finalizing the list of core features to be developed. This list should be based on collected opportunity statements, a detailed product roadmap based on a breakdown of the proposed features, and finally a matrix that prioritizes them. Keeping the end-goals in mind of both the user and the business, reviewing the product from different points of view, and utilize the diverse expertise available to you will all aid in you not only making the right decision but “doing the right things.”Design Thinking Workshops specifically employ tools, methods and techniques to bring out the best ideas through a collaborative way. They are quite different from typical meetings and discussion sessions where power-distance relationships, personality types, and organizational culture often gets in the way of collaboration.4. Build a Prototype, Test, Learn & Iterate Building a quick prototype is the best way to allow users to test the concept and provides valuable information to designers, developers, and product managers on how the users will interact with it. Once done, you then iterate on that prototype accordingly to user feedback before building your actual MVP. This has proven to be the fastest, most cost-effective way to build and validate the product concept before spending a lot of time, money, and effort to build and launch it.It is stated by IDEO, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand meetings!”Explore customer problems and design thinkingexplore a customer problem with design thinking methodEmpathize. Identify and understand users and business needs. Define. Identify user’s goals, pain/gains and discover opportunities. Ideate. Decide what feature to build. Prototype. Build a prototype, test, learn and iterate.While the MVP consists of core features, it is essential to remain nimble. Products must evolve based on the market and user’s needs down the road. It is through tests and feedback that you will learn if assumptions about your product idea are indeed valid. However, sometimes (and in some cases, often) it will turn out your assumptions are not validated based on the feedback, or they may just be in fact, wrong. But don’t worry – this isn’t a bad thing. You want to fail early and fail cheap on your way to building a better product.Design Thinking for MVP & Beyond Digital products and the ecosystems they call home are dynamic, constantly evolving – much like the users, their needs, and expectations. And it is in this environment that we see the unparalleled value of the design thinking methodology and its user-centred approaches, early user engagement, and collaborative nature flourish. By utilizing design thinking to address the real needs of the users and in turn, “do the right things,” this practice will make all the difference in not only delivering innovation and value to the market but has the power to transform an organization and its people.By now, you know how to create an MVP utilizing Design Thinking, but that is only half of the equation. After you establish what you want to test with your MVP, you then must choose which MVP validation method will provide you with the most reliable and actionable data from real-life users; techniques, that we will cover in an upcoming article.

Have you ever driven down a road that was incredibly uneven or bumpy? Did you ever get frustrated trying to install a piece of software on your computer? Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and had lousy food and even worse service? If you said yes, then you have been a victim of poor user experiences that you haven’t forgotten. While UX is a crucial element in both the digital and physical world, it is in digital that we see the value of UX skyrocket, and that is for one reason – choice.People will often drive down a bumpy road because it is faster or will eat at a restaurant with bad service because it is the only one in town; however, they won’t settle for a subpar digital experience. Why? Simple – quick and easy access to your competition. The internet and technology have torn down limitations and empowered the user to find what they want. What does this mean? Well, if you cannot provide your user with the experience they are looking for, rest assured, somebody else can and will.So what’s trending in User Experience? That was my question, and fortunately, I am lucky enough to work with a room full of UX designers, creatives, and researchers who could help me find my answers. Here’s our pick of 17 UX trends.User Journey Simplification Although trends in UX are ever evolving, a constant that will never fall out of fashion is simplicity. When users interact with an app or site, they typically have a goal in mind that they’d like to accomplish, and if any aspects of the design impede, hinder, or delay achieving that goal will only lend to a bad experience. Simplifying the journey isn’t just about making the next steps from point A to point B easier, but it is about making those steps more intuitive, and where possible, minimizing them. This is why linear flows, with their clear beginning, middle, and end, and progressive disclosure, making information visible when needed, have gained such popularity.Simplifying the journeyImage Credit: Uber In-App Gesture Paired with Animation Today’s market is seeing more devices being introduced that are gesture reliant, which sounds ideal, but not without its hurdles, mainly, the lack of physical interaction, such as a “button click” that indicates input. For this reason, developers have started relying on animation to provide the user with feedback and guide them through a smooth, memorable, and “natural” experience.In-App Gesture Paired with AnimationImage Credit: Dribbble| Full-Screen Experiences Modern devices are not only devoting much more real estate to screens, but those screens are among the highest quality available. So what does that mean for developers? Simple – more space to play with. However, the fact that these devices are capable of so much visually will also work against you if your media is not up to par. Images and videos that appear pixelated will only serve to lower the expectations and the experience of the user.Full-Screen ExperiencesEmotional Experiences Brands have long known that the most effective way to interact and create memorable experiences with users is through emotions. However, this year we see emotional intelligence actually being integrated into the mobile experience to make it not only more enjoyable but more engaging. This technology allows users to better express emotion, provides them with a natural way to interact with a UI, and can even mimic emotions in UI feedback. Today, we are seeing technology becoming an expressive extension of our personalities.Emotional Experiences in AppsImage Credit: Apple Biometric Authentication The ideal UX is always a near perfect blend of form and function; however, in our world today, the coupled considerations of security and privacy cannot be ignored. Fortunately, this has provided the perfect opportunity to not only enhance security but also do away with one of the most cumbersome parts of personal devices – passwords, and the solution is biometric authentication. The technology behind biometric authentication is not new; however, we see more widespread adoption along with the evolution of the technology, with touch ID being replaced with facial recognition.Biometric Authentication in app development Image Credit: Biometric Updates ; Dermalog Conversational Design Few things are more natural for a person to do than converse using their voice and as technology has made it possible, we see a rise in conversational design and interfaces. However, while conversational interfaces are unlikely to replace GUI completely, we see an integration of the two. For example, chatbots are regularly integrated as assistants into messaging platforms, and progression in natural language processing is giving way to completely voice-based interfaces to develop conversational design. As a byproduct, the need for copywriting for this type of interface has never been more important, as the words and exchanges between device and user need to be selected carefully. After all, the difference between a memorable bot and an ineffective one is personality, and that is what UX designers and other stakeholders can achieve through conversational design.conversational designAdvanced Personalization There was a time when the bar for personalization was when a piece of correspondence included the recipient’s name; however, as the user has evolved alongside technologies like conversational design, that simply won’t cut it anymore. One of the most exciting uses of personalization is utilizing the fact that people carry their mobile devices when travelling and providing them with useful and relevant information that corresponds to their location. Technology is also allowing the personalization to go one step further by actually adapting the UI to the user’s requirements, such as language, poor eyesight, or colour blindness.Advanced Personalization in app developmentAugmented Reality While conversational design has the potential to change the way we interact with our devices and applications, augmented reality, or AR, has the potential to change the way we view the world – through those devices. For many, their first exposure to AR was in the form of a game, Pokémon Go; however, thanks to Apple and Google releasing AR frameworks, we are seeing a surge of these applications. From immersive games that allow us to turn our devices into a lens through which to view (and play in) the world to solving real-life problems, like being able to measure the size of objects without using a traditional physical measuring tape, AR is poised to be a helpful and engaging trend.Augmented Reality in UX3D Effects Developers have long understood that the greater depth and more immersive the experience, the more memorable it becomes. That is why many are opting to shed their 2D habits and push technological and processing limits by creating more 3D effects. However, it is important to remember that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Accessibility needs to be accounted for on par with the user experience, and thus, in order to implement this trend correctly, it will likely require a delicate balancing act of form and function, but the excitement of adding another dimension to how we design in digital is hard to ignore.3D effectsImage Credit: WebDesign Trends ; 3D websites Expressive Typography The goal of a brand is to engage and communicate a message to its customers; however, all too often, one of the most fundamental ways of communication, words, or rather, the style in which the words are written, is often overlooked. Thankfully, that is looking like it is changing as more and more designers are embracing typography. Large, unique, and in many cases, hand-drawn fonts are quickly becoming the norm, as typography is becoming a more sought-after aspect of design and development. Utilizing this practice can allow brands to distinguish themselves further, ultimately enabling the typeface to become an expressive element of the message, especially when combined with animation, as well as encourage prolonged reading for the user.Expressive Typography in appsBright and Vivid Colours Looking to influence people? By now you probably know that emotion is the route to get there; however, what you may not have known is that colour, much more than words and images, can help facilitate whether a person has a positive or negative user experience. Fortunately, the onset and ready availability of display technology such as 4K have made it even easier for designers to implement a dynamic and much more impactful colour range. And almost symbolically, the direction is towards bright and vivid colours, almost as if to cut through the bland and dim designs of years past.Colour usage in appsImage Credit: awwwards Creative Menus Anything other than the most basic user experiences will all have one thing in common – options; however, it is the way in which those options are presented that can make a huge difference and possibly pay huge dividends on user-interaction. And while depending on who you ask, this couldn’t come soon enough, it seems the classic, yet dated, hamburger menu is on the way out in favour of more inspired, experimental, and design-driven alternatives. We are seeing more and more designers embrace horizontal menus, progressive disclosure menus, and utilizing unusual typography.Creative Menus Image Credit: Shiny Demos ; Charlotte Wood Design Usability Engineering Have you ever heard of the human-computer interface or HCI? You should, as that is the way in which users interact with technology; which at its core, is a cornerstone of user-experience. However, in today’s fiercely competitive market, more developers are turning their focus to usability engineering, which is a discipline that blends a firm knowledge of computer science and psychology to approach the development process. Usability engineering is done hand-in-hand with users to ensure a deeper understanding of functionality and design requirements, such as utility, learn-ability, efficiency, retain-ability, errors, and customer satisfaction. Given the direction of the market with AI, AR, VR, IoT, and voice, this more in-depth understanding of what resonates with the user through Usability Engineering has never been more valuable.Usability Engineering Image Credit: Fuzzy Math Content Focused Experiences There has begun a shift recently that is seeing UX turn away from design elements that are intended to merely impress and solely relying on UX designers, and instead, focus on what is arguably more important – the content. Utilization of flat design and minimalism are all meant to remove the distraction and help shape a more content-focused experience for the user. In this situation, UX designers take the role of ensuring that nothing impedes a user experience of the content. To follow this trend, UX designers must implement a distinct visual hierarchy, designed to ease content comprehension; utilize functional minimalism by removing unnecessary elements for more precise focus; and whitespace, which gives the content “more room to breathe” and improves the user experienceDevice-Agnostic UX Design There was a time not that long ago when everything was designed for desktop, with mobile seemingly an afterthought. However, today we see a progression towards more mobile centred design, and yet, that still doesn’t do enough in our ever-changing digital landscape. With the rise of the Internet of Things, we are shifting from mobile-first experiences towards multi-device experiences. At its core, this trend is all about creating a continuous interaction and digital experience, regardless of the device. For the user, they have a task in mind, and the way in which that task is accomplished should solely be based on the most convenient and relevant medium on hand, be it a phone, computer, smart speaker, or car. In order to achieve true user experience, it needs to be device agnostic.Device-Agnostic UX DesignAccessible and Inclusive Design No matter the industry you work, there is a global shift underway in which is seeing people becoming more socially aware, and this is causing a push towards more inclusive and accessible designs. And while yes, admittedly it is a fool’s errand to try and design something that is truly universal and is equally enjoyable to use for everyone, it is still no excuse to utilize all existing technologies and practices to make someone’s life easier. This includes reframing from using triggering or inconvenient elements for the sake of design, accepting that your users aren’t cookie-cutter and diversity is the norm, that you test using users from a variety of backgrounds, and utilize a diverse set of designers. Remember, inclusion and accessibility isn’t a barrier to innovation, rather a stepping stone to universal design.Image Credit: CAL Design Collaboration in Design To think that UX designers are the only players in the UX game would be a gross oversight. That is because marketers, product managers, designers, developers, copywriters, and even the user, all play a role in shaping memorable user experiences. By collaborating through the process and practicing design thinking, not only is empathy and experimentation added to the process but all of the aforementioned can give one another feedback and work towards establishing a collective understanding. The result is not only better experiences being crafted but does so with such intent and diversity that the previous point, accessibility and inclusive design, almost definitely becomes a byproduct of such collaboration. By identifying shared goals, continuously opening the lines of communication, and being open to new perspectives and constructive feedback, the world of UX promises only to become more lucid as time progresses.Collaboration in Design Image Credit: Stormid Considerations For UX Designers Going Forward Experiences are surely evolving alongside the technology that empowers them. As is clear from some of the trends mentioned above, we do not only see a global shift in UX but one of global citizenship that is purposely taking into account the diversity of the user through design thinking, like through conversational design or usability engineering. And while impossible to predict the future, we do know one thing about the direction of UX – it will continue to have a direct impact on the top and bottom line of your brand.

Have you ever had one of those unforgettable travel experiences that you just couldn’t help but talk about upon your return? Glad I’m not the only one; however, today I would like to share a particular experience with you, one that may not be what you’d expect. I say that because my excitement wasn’t caused by the country we travelled to, the city we explored, or the attractions we visited. Rather, it was the hotel my family and I stayed at that left such a lasting impression and quickly became an attraction in and of itself. Perhaps I should explain.Over the years I have stayed at many hotels; however, this particular experience quickly became unique from the moment I completed the reservation. Like most people nowadays, I make my travel arrangements online, and while receiving a confirmation email is nothing new, in this instance, I also received a link to download the hotels’ app; an action which entitled us to a discount. Never one to pass up a deal, I downloaded the app, received my discount, and patiently awaited my departure – but things got interesting way before that.A week prior to my departure, the app sent me a series of photos of local attractions that I scrolled through and either liked or disliked. After just a few short moments, it started suggesting personalized activities that my family and I might enjoy, even giving us the option to purchase tickets. The following day I was sent a list of popular restaurants located near the hotel and was given the opportunity to easily make reservations. The day after that, I received a long-range weather forecast for our destination, one that included the weather the day of our arrival and continued for the duration of our trip. It even suggested that we packed sunscreen and may want to consider bringing something warm as the temperature was expected to drop in the evenings. Finally, the day before my departure I received another alert that included a suggested packing checklist to help ensure that nothing was forgotten. Thinking to myself that this was already a distinct travel experience, I was nowhere prepared for what happened upon my arrival at the hotel.The moment my family and I stepped through the front entrance, we were greeted by a welcome notification on my smartphone. In a highly intuitive fashion, the hotel app guided us through the check-in process; one that we could easily complete ourselves. How easy? Well, let me put it this way; instead of a concierge guiding us to our room, my daughter took us there by interacting with a virtual assistant (in the form of a teddy bear no less) that walked along the walls of the hotel corridors. We didn’t even need a key to unlock our room. Imagine arriving, checking in, and walking into your hotel room all without having to speak with hotel staff.It wasn’t the check-in experience alone that captivated us, rather, the experience continued on to our room itself. It allowed us to personalize our surroundings via the app, including the art on the walls, the temperature of the room, and even the curtains. We could request toiletries, order room service, control the television, and arrange for a wakeup call, all from my smartphone. It gave us the wonderful feeling that whoever designed the hotel had us in mind. The experience left my family and I feeling empowered as if we were in complete control of what, when, and how we wanted things to be. And that wonderful feeling is just one of the many benefits that come along when your process is driven by Design Thinking and Innovation.Design Thinking: What is it? The definition of design thinking, simply put, is an iterative approach to problem-solving, one that intentionally takes into account and utilizes different perspectives, knowledge, experiences, and skills to create practical solutions and drive innovation. While this may sound like a rather haphazard approach to design, in reality, it is very process driven and like any process, involves a sequence of steps to be carried out in order to achieve a goal:Design Thinking Process1. Empathize.We understand the people who we are designing for, We are solving problems for them not for us – so we avoid assumptions, We conduct interviews, observe, and listen in context, We map the end to end journey.2. DEFINE.We transform our empathy findings into INSIGHTS to define the need, We stay away from an “everything to everybody” mindset, We then come up with Problem Statement – Point of View (POV), We turn problem into opportunity by How-Might-We questions (HMW).3. IDEATE.We brainstorm a range of crazy and creative ideas along and in teams, We learn from each others ideas and go beyond obvious solutions, We transform abstract ideas into concrete solutions, We storyboard each concrete idea into homogenous and lucid stories.4. PROTOTYPE.We create prototypes to test number of ideas quickly, We test rapidly rather than deciding on the direction too early, We enable audience to imagine what their experience would be like, If fail, we fail quickly and cheaply, and lean from people’s reaction.5. TEST.We use prototyping to test and validate our understanding of the problem, We prototype as if we know we are right and test as if we know we are wrong, We only show and do not tell, letting users explain to get the feedback, We revisit assumptions based on raw feedback from users, and.6. ITERATION.At its core, this human-centred approach to innovation looks to align the needs of the people (Desirability), the possibilities and potential of technology (Feasibility), and finally, the requirements for business success (Viability). Aside from the innovative and disruptive products and services that can be created via Design Thinking frameworks, what is truly beautiful about the process is that it is not limited to any specific industry or area of expertise.Design Thinking in Hospitality: Intercontinental Hotels, USA Travel for business is almost as old as business itself; however, ask anyone who has done so and they will likely tell you that working out of an often cramped hotel room is less than ideal. So how would a hotel go about providing a better working environment for those travelling for work while not alienating those that are travelling for pleasure? This is exactly the problem faced by Intercontinental Hotels Group, however, before they could solve it, they first needed to understand the needs of their guests.Younger workers are tech-savvy, independent, entrepreneurial, and most of all, demanding. And as a result of research, sensory data, surveys, and interviews with potential customers, it was found that what the hotel chain lacked was informal, flexible experiences; energizing and uplifting spaces; peer-style customer service; personalized choices; and intuitive and integrated technology to control it all.The result was Ignition, a new meeting and working experience located in the lobby of Crowne Plaza hotels. Some of the more notable amenities include workspaces ranging from single person pods to a 10-person “apartment” that can be booked by the hour, food and beverage on demand – that even come on a specialized design square plate to fit perfectly next to a laptop – and a brand new “Host” role within the organization to help business travellers in a variety of capacities, including delivering food, sourcing restaurants for meetings, and more. Ignition was designed to keep travellers in a state of heightened productivity, all part of the brands promise of “Making Business Travel Work.”Design Thinking in Banking: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia Taking a simplistic view, one could say that a banks’ customers fall into one of two categories; business and personal. So how would a bank go about creating richer, more exciting experiences between those two, more specifically, the merchant and the customer? Easy – you find the place where these two meet.Commonwealth Bank of Australia wanted to help customers and businesses build stronger connections and they believed that the best way to do that would be an innovative and different form of payment. After conducting research in Australia, Germany, and the UK, they learned a number of things that would impact their design moving forward. First, they saw that the ideal platform should support the full spectrum of human behaviour around payment. Second, the platform should add value by bettering relationships between banks, merchants, and customers. Lastly, they learned that the payment experience should be customizable, working one way in a luxury retailer and another in a gas station. The results were Pi, a new retail business platform, and Albert, a portable payment device.Pi can easily be implemented by larger merchants into their existing network, while smaller merchants can grow their business using some of the powerful tools provided. Albert offers a large and intuitive touchscreen that not only can handle current card methods of payment but can also adapt to future methods, even eliminating the need to swivel a screen from cashier to customer.Design Thinking in Telecom: ETB, Colombia How does a 130-year-old telecom stay relevant in the 21st century, all without alienating its loyal customers but still appealing to the new, tech-savvy generation? Simple, they practiced a design thinking mindset.ETB, Colombia’s oldest telecom, decided to leverage their already highly recognizable brand and created a blueprint for a complete overhaul of their retail spaces, one that would appeal to a new generation without neglecting their current customer base. However, in order to do that, they needed to transform and design their public spaces (stores) and give them a more personal feel. This included new warm and bright retail outlets, self-service kiosks that eliminated waiting in line, as well as a facelift of the brand with a new colour palette and brand guide.The result was a complete and scalable blueprint for the next generation of stores, services, and roles within the organization.Design Thinking in Retail: Burberry, England How does one of the most iconic fashion labels in existence increase an abysmal growth of 2% per year? A difficult question, until you apply the design thinking process, at which point it becomes quite clear – you need to connect with the new generation (Millennials) of consumers, and do so in a way that appeals to them. That is the “what,” but now comes the “how.”In order to grow revenue, the company understood it needed to connect with the “digital demographic,” one that reaches for their phone any time a want or need arises. Innovating off the brands’ core heritage, they crafted a marketing strategy that connected the values of a younger customer base, that was “cool and innovative,” and one that would convince a new generation to become loyal customers. As such, the label created personalized campaigns, invested in their social media presence, and was the first of any luxury brand to reach 1 million followers on Facebook.The result was an increase in revenue to $3 billion annually and a transformation into one of the most digitally innovative fashion brands in the market today. All of this came from simply empathizing with their end users and taking a human-centred approach to their marketing efforts to directly relate and reach their desired demographic; digitally – which is exactly where they’d be.Design Thinking, Agile, and Lean: Complementary or Conflicting? All too often we see organizations blindly following frameworks and methodologies because they have a problem they can’t solve. And most often, in doing so, they will negate themselves from other viable solutions, simply because they are adhering to a single approach. It is here that the problem lays.The idea of a particular right way of doing things is slowly being disregarded as more and more people realize that there is nothing to be gained from dogmatic adherence to any one method. So instead of asking lean or agile or design thinking, it needs to be understood that these processes aren’t mutually exclusive, and perhaps a better statement would be agile and lean and design thinking. A recent presentation by Nordstrom Innovation Lab very neatly combines the core principles of Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile Execution into a unified strategy.The lean mindset is what drives business to continuously learn through experimentation until they discover the right answers. It helps dictate what to build, all while improving the work that delivers the greatest value. Agile, on the other hand, is all about achieving the best outcome through technology. It is about how IT and development teams can continuously deliver value, adapt to changing needs, and produce the highest quality of work. Lastly, design thinking helps to tie it all together by understanding limitations, recognizing and capitalizing on the opportunity, and exploring all the possibilities from a human-centred point of view. When applied in unison, these methodologies can help any team create solutions that deliver the desired outcomes; as long as iteration is continuous.

A Customer-First Experience sounds great, and really has a nice ring to it, but how do you design your application to be UX first? Now traditionally, web applications were tied to the features and roadmap of a single monolith solution. In order to change that, we need to not only shift that paradigm, but we needed to reverse roles; and for that, the concept of Decoupled Architecture was introduced.Decoupled Architecture is a type of computing architecture that enables computing components or layers to execute independently while still interacting with each other through well-defined protocols.So what’s unique about it? Well, in Decoupled Architecture, every component is an independent business unit that consists of its own logic and data and performs its tasks independently of the others. Most of the time, we use Decoupled Architecture for complex applications to allow layers and components to be completely sovereign from each other. This architecture enables developers to develop, test, and deploy application modules independently.3 Design Principles for a Well-Architected Decoupled Solution1. API-First in Decoupled Architecture: What is API First? It is on-demand, stateless services that your frontend application can call to retrieve content or perform a specific transaction. The API is designed to meet the expectation of the customer. However, with legacy solutions, these same APIs were designed based upon a journey. For example, Perform Step 1 before 2 and Step 2 before 3 etc. What if you wanted to start at step 3? That would not have been possible before. But with API first, the services are broken down into modules facilitating the ability to adjust and decouple itself from the service journey to animate the user experience.2. BFF in Decoupled Architecture: Nope, not Best Friends Forever; BFF means Backend For Frontend in this context. Imagine this is your computer and orchestration service layer for your web application. From time to market perspective, this allows the frontend team to develop the user experience in parallel with the backend team who become the underwriters with the service contract owner being the user. Consequently, that outcome becomes reusable and trustworthy because it’s consistent regardless of which form or mutation it undertakes. Allow your frontend application to focus on enriching your user experience and decouple itself from the management of the complex business rules.3. SaaS in Decoupled Architecture: Decoupled Architecture also allows the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) strategy. In this scenario, we move everything to the cloud, so the data is accessible from anywhere. Even some of the companies move their data and services to different geographical locations. So they are available from a nearby data center to achieve efficiency. This pattern aims to provide scalability, availability, and concurrency of data and services.Decoupled Architecture and its Benefits Decoupled Architecture and its BenefitsBelow are a few of the developmental advantages an organization can achieve by following decoupled architecture as a core development principle:Independent UI component framework Decoupled architecture is one of the best solutions to build diverse experiences Independent Deployments: Deployments are faster and smaller Deploy faster with segmentation without risking functionality Scale your web applications and improve your maintainability Improve online rendering performance Reduce negative experiences with fail and hide independent handling Decoupled Architecture and its Challenges Before deciding if Decoupled Architecture is right for your organization, consider the following that could pose some challenges:Performance is a challenge and usually, overall response deteriorates. In the case of distributed components and layers, latency increases as compared to in-memory architecture. It needs an extensive thought process to design a network layer: Since everything is now in independent modules, components, or layers, so you must careful while handling communication requests between each element. In such scenarios, developers have to write extra code in the network layers to avoid barriers. Redundant code in decoupling can result in code duplication in different modules. Testing is very complex in a decoupled environment. decoupled environment.No one could argue of the shift we are seeing towards Customer-First Experiences; however, achieving them is easier said than done. Fortunately, with Decoupled Architecture, you can make your code more manageable, scalable, and consistent, all while curtailing the total cost of ownership to get your product to your user faster and with confidence.

When asked what I do, I usually have an answer queued up and ready to go: I develop and design digital products, services, and experiences for our clients that are rooted in a deep understanding of the user and business goals. Next, they follow up with, “what does it take to design an experience?” and that’s where it gets interesting.Today, I’m going to take you through mobileLIVE’s design process, one which has evolved through many trials and several iterations. In it are best practices for different design workflows and it’s proven flexible enough to support software projects across any industry.Our Design Process Phase 1 – Discovery Discovery phase of UX design processWe start with the understanding of users, their context, and challenges. For enterprises, it’s equally important to understand the stakeholders and business processes. It’s essential to understand the lay of the land – how is the experience delivered to the end-users? What are the roles that each stakeholder plays in delivering the experience?Stakeholder Discovery Stakeholder Discovery is always the first step. In this phase, it is essential to align the entire project team around goals for the project. The biggest goal of a UX Strategist at this phase is to give each stakeholder a chance to communicate their needs and wishes.The UX Strategist plays a key role in translating the information from stakeholders to the design team and frame it in the context of customers’ goals.Team Roles: Business, UX Strategists, Developers and MarketingData Data tells about customer behaviours – what are they doing? Where is the experience falling short? Which areas need most attention? Where do we see the most friction? But getting these answers isn’t easy! Bringing cross-functional team members together is a must to transform the messy and unstructured data into actionable insights, and facilitate and enhance its analysis.Insights are also collected through competition research, expert evaluations and UX tear-downs.Team Roles: Business, UX Strategists, Developers and AnalyticsUser Research Research at this phase allows the team to ensure everyone is tackling the right problem. Sometimes, the business assumes that the information they provided is enough for the Design team. In our experience, this is rarely the case.Data analysis helps us focus the user-research on the right problems; however, for new products or services, existing data may not be sufficient, and UX strategists must work with product managers to understand the context. Sometimes quick tests, surveys also help collect information or validate assumptions.The designers involved at this stage must be able to drive the conversation towards understanding the end customer. That’s the reason that User Research is an essential ingredient of the Discovery Phase, so the whole team will share a defined problem and be better equipped to work on the solution in the next steps.Team Roles: Product Manager, Business, UX Strategists and ResearchersPhase 2 – Define Define phase of UX Design ProcessDefine is the next phase in the UX process, where we analyze all the information gathered to establish a clear view of the problem, with an opportunity to redefine the problem we are solving.Understand the user In the Define stage, the team will synthesize observations about the user gathered from the previous phase. We dig deeper to understand the users by creating user personas, journey maps, and different use-cases. These activities help us develop new hypotheses to test, uncover hidden problems, learn from our previous experience as well as that of others in adjacent problem spaces in the industry.Team Roles: Business, UX Strategists, Interaction Designer, Researchers and UX WriterRedefine the problem Synthesizing is the right action at this point – piecing the puzzle together to form whole ideas. The team should be organizing and interpreting the data gathered to create an accurate and encompassing problem statement.Another essential part of this process is storytelling through visual and mixed media formats. Explaining complex ideas and vague concepts through storytelling helps bring everyone on the same page.Team Roles: Business, UX Strategist, UX Writer and DevelopersPhase 3 – Ideate Ideate Phase of the UX design processOnce you have clearly defined what problem you are trying to solve and have ample background knowledge, the time has come to get creative. In this phase, the intent is to challenge assumptions and create solutions to the problem at hand.Workshops User experience is all about finding creative solutions to real-world problems. Although it may sound simple, good ideas don’t just happen. It’s part of the process to actively facilitate innovation.Creating an environment where the team will be able to generate a broad set of ideas, with no judgement or evaluation, is the aim. In simple terms, a design workshop is a dedicated session for coming up with new ideas. The main goal is sparking innovation by bringing people from diverse backgrounds. Inviting business, design, and technology teams in these workshops ensure that our ideas solve the right problems and are implementableTeam Roles: Business, Product Manager, Solution Architects, UX Strategists, UX Writer and Interaction DesignerCreation Different concepts and solutions explored in workshops and other activities in the define phase are documented. All stakeholders must understand all the concepts that are being generated and all the artifacts that are crafted.Team Roles: Business, Interaction Designer, Information Architect, Creative Director, UI Designer and UX WriterEvaluate All design explorations and explorations are reviewed with stakeholders. Alignment in all the actions is fundamental for the success of any product or service.Team Roles: Business and UX StrategistsPhase 4 – Prototype Prototype for UX Design Process“A prototype is worth a thousand meetings”Prototyping is the most exciting phase of the design process. The goal is to make the shortlisted ideas and solutions tangible. The main objective of prototyping is to build and test your ideas, embracing mistakes quickly to reach success faster.Paper Prototype Looking for insights but working on a tight budget? You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better method than paper prototypes. Producing an early and scaled-down version of the product will help you reveal any problems with the current design.A low-fidelity prototype, although incomplete, will utilize some of the features that will be available in the final product, thus providing good insight.Team Roles: UX Strategist, Researchers, Interaction Designer and Creative DirectorWireframe When looking at wireframes, we are essentially talking about the “skeleton” and flows of your user experience design. Centred on structure, the wireframes help you to focus more on functionality and less on the details – especially visual. Wireframes show you ‘how will the experience roughly work.’Team Roles: UX Strategists, Researchers, Creative Director, UI Designer and Interaction DesignerHigh-Fidelity As we work our way up the levels of fidelity, we evolve the functional wireframes with visual elements and components. A high-fidelity prototype is usually clickable, therefore more compelling and engaging for everyone involved, clearly showing the interactions.Team Roles: UX Strategists, Researchers, Creative Director, UI Designer, Interaction Designer, Animators, Brand Designer and UX WriterEvaluate Before taking any further steps, we highly recommend that all the material documented is brought back to the stakeholders to be discussed and evaluated. An open conversation will be able to cut down on discrepancies and realign all teams involved in the same direction.Team Roles: UX Strategists, Developers, QA and AccessibilityPhase 5 – Evaluate Evaluate your UX Design ProcessBy this phase, you should have the makings for a relatively complete product, one that is a solution to the previously defined problem. But how do you know it works? You don’t – until you test it.Usability tests At this point, you should have your final designs (or at least what you and your team considered to be the final one) and ready for testing them in the real world. We recommend a full user test cycle as soon as possible to mitigate the impact of a total crash.The primary purpose of usability testing is to identify usability problems within the design so they can be fixed before going live.It should be noted that usability testing is an iterative process. It is only through repetition that you’ll be able to map the issues, understand what works, and improve the design.A test report should be created every time you perform usability testing. This way, you’ll be able to keep the documentation updated and stored.Team Roles: Business, UX Strategists, Researchers, Analytics and DevelopersSynthesis After the analysis process is done, it is time to create a coherent summary of all the data gathered so far. This will help the understanding of what worked and what needs to be improved.Team Roles: Business, UX Strategists, Researchers, Analytics and DevelopersWhile most processes have a clearly defined beginning and end, when it comes to design for experiences, the process is truly ongoing. If innovation is your mandate, then ideas need to be continuously discussed, evaluated, improved, and evolved.I hope this framework serves you well and acts as a guiding light to you and your teams. With it, not only will you engage the right resources throughout the process, but improve on communication, all while discovering that good experiences, like any product, can be crafted – you just need to know how.

Banks have always taken a customer-centric approach to how they operate – an approach, that for the last 30 years has become more and more fueled by technology.From ATMs that allowed customers to avoid lineups for simple transactions to the internet that brought banking home, and the smartphone that brought banking anywhere – we have seen a constant trend of the customer being empowered to do more.The industry, on the whole, is collectively focused on the future and what will best serve the customer. However, I’d argue that you need only take a look around at present and see what some of the more forward-thinking financial institutions are already doing to get inspiration on what your customers will not only want but soon demand.The technologies that enable transformation – and superior customer experiences – have never been more readily available, viable, or robust. Today, I’ll take you through what will soon be the industry standard as we visit what the digital banks are doing to ensure customer expectations are surpassed on their path to maturity.Omni Channel User Experience What was once a nice-to-have has quickly become essential in the age of customer convenience. No matter the device, be it a smart TV, tablet, phone, watch, car, or desktop, customers want to be able to bank when and where they want to. While technology has made this increasingly more feasible, it has also created new challenges like maintaining UX and the user journey across these channels. Digital banks are keeping this user experience simple, engaging, continuous, and omni channel.User Experience It is impossible to talk customer-centricity without touching on user experience. And UX, more specifically, seamless and pleasant UX has become the expectation for customers going forward. Unfortunately, this is not without its challenges. Banks cater to diverse customer segments, each with their own needs and wants. This requires nuanced worked; however, through intuitive and conversational design, banks are simplifying the journey while keeping customers engaged.Cardless Banking person holding a mobile and tapping on the ATM machine to withdraw cash, image shows Cardless BankingThere was a time when nobody thought we’d see a shift to a cashless world, and yet, here we are. And today, we are on the dawn of another shift, one towards cardless banking, and this shift is one that nobody is doubting. The natural evolution of the ATM; many forward-thinking banks are offering the same experience but without the physical card. Instead, a simple scan of a QR code or a tap of a phone or other smart device is all that is required to withdraw cash without the use of debit or credit cards.P2P Payments Person to person payments or P2P is one area of FinTech that is booming and shows no signs of letting up. These payments allow the transfer of funds between two parties utilizing their individual bank accounts or credit cards through an online platform or mobile app. Used for a multitude of things, from splitting a $27 lunch bill between friends to paying rent, P2P payments are adding value and keeping the customers engaged.AI & Analytics Banks possess one of the most potent advantages in business – data. In fact, banks sit on vast pools of customer data; data that can be used to better understand customers and manage their experience. Utilizing AI and advanced analytics, banks are leveraging the data they already possess and use it to proactively showcase the right products to the right customers, not only saving vast sums on marketing dollars but upselling and cross selling to existing customers through timely and relevant promotions.Internet of Things Imagine checking the balance of your account, simply by asking – while driving down the highway. Or opening the fridge and discovering you’re out of milk, only to place an order for it immediately from the screen on your fridge. When talking about the internet of things, the possibilities are seemingly endless, with 5G network around the corner and the growth of connected devices in cars, homes, appliances, wearables, and more; banks are presented with an ideal opportunity to add a new level of convenience to their customers.Augmented & Virtual Reality image shows a person looking into his mobile device, mobile screen showing the way to his destination using AR, use of augmented reality and virtual reality in bankingAs banks shift their attention to attracting and retaining the next generation of customers, they must begin to utilize the technology that appeals to them most. And for future – and present – generations, that technology is AR and VR. Imagine using augmented reality to guide your customers to the nearest ATM or virtual reality to help showcase investment products and their returns in dazzling, engaging visuals. Paired with mobile devices, AR and VR technology is empowering customers in ways never before possible and soon a reality with 5G network.Chatbots Chatbots are already commonplace in many industries, including BFSI; however, the technology that powers them is continuously evolving, and their capabilities are growing to new and exciting levels. AI and NLP based tools are empowering customers to transfer funds, check their balances, pay their bills, find the best credit card rate or apply for a mortgage; all with an air of ease like never before.Open Banking Open Banking is a practice of using APIs that allow third-party developers to build applications and services around a financial institution; like a bank, and the financial data of its customers. This has the potential to open the doors to countless new products, services, tools and partnerships that were once thought a regulatory impossibility. The implementation of PSD2 in Europe has already signaled that the market is ready to adopt open banking and FinTech is leveraging it, leaving North America to decide if they are willing to act quickly to keep their customers engaged and ensure their banking needs are met, not only today but for years to come.Few could argue that banks are already investing heavily in technology; however, what is critical not to overlook is why they are doing it in the first place. Technology is excellent, but not for technology’s sake. Instead of imagining what you could do, begin assessing and investing in what you must do, and it starts by putting the customer and their expectations first.Today’s customers may even switch banks based on their digital experience. The need to focus on the whole customer journey rather than selling a single banking product or service is imperative. Speed and efficiency are important to customers and so is their comfort level in engaging with a digital bank. They must believe that their needs and preferences are met and that there is a level of personalization tailored to their day to day banking needs. The technologies that will power the customer experience for years to come are here, and they are only waiting for you to take advantage of them.

Ready to launch a new product? A new app perhaps? Do you know if there is a need for it in the market?In this day and age, it has become extremely easy to take an idea and invest in getting it developed. But then, not every idea is a good idea. You need validation before money and time are invested, and that’s where an MVP comes in.You’ve probably heard the term in almost every national sport but the MVP I want to discuss is a bit more important to your business. So, what is an MVP? Simply put, MVP (Most Viable Product) is the first version of the product that lets you validate and capture the attention of early adopters with the least amount of time and money invested. The two most important points when planning your MVP are; determining and prioritizing your features for the release.This infographic will help guide your MVP planning phase and what to do after.How to Plan Your MVP Infographic is a step-by-step guide that is your go-to reference point for quickly and effectively determining features on the journey to creating your Minimum Viable Product.