Many companies implement tools and software to improve productivity and meet business objectives but fail to recognize the impact on the humans that interact with those tools and software.
To say it another way, it’s people that do the work within a company. Without people, the tools and software implemented within an organization are just wasted investments.
People want and need experiences, not just tools and software, to be both effective and engaged in getting work done. So why is there seemingly so little thought given to the experience people will have when using new tools and software?
IT should be deploying experiences, not just tools.
Why is experience so important?
One does not have to look far to learn why the experience is so important to both organizations and those that work within those organizations.
In her recent blog post, Dr. Amy Climer discusses how experiences – whether individual or shared – shape who we are, influence our decisions, and determine how we relate to others. The meaning assigned to experiences, not the events themselves, is what guides our interactions with the world.
There is also a psychological dimension to how people connect with experiences. The concept of “embodied cognition” highlights how our physical experiences and the way we interact with our environment shape our thoughts, language, and perceptions. This further underscores the inseparability of people and their experiences.
What does this mean for organizations?
Focusing on the human experience – both for customers and employees – drives loyalty, engagement, and long-term success. Companies that prioritize meaningful experiences for their people and customers foster stronger relationships and create environments where individuals feel valued, supported, and motivated. This, in turn, leads to innovation, well-being, and a sense of purpose at work.
Ultimately, the success of an organization depends upon the people that work within it.
But experience is not being deployed – and here’s the evidence
It is often said that service management is all about “people, process, and technology.” Yet in its annual Global IT Experience Benchmark Report, the data collected by HappySignals indicates the focus of many service management efforts appear to have been on the “process and technology” parts.
For example, traditional ticket-based IT support is the most visible and emotionally charged part of enterprise IT. But this ticket-based approach is not resulting in good experiences. In its report, HappySignals states “despite advances in automation and AI, human touchpoints continue to have the greatest influence on end-user happiness.”
In other words, the “people” part of “people, process, and technology” has been omitted.
The HappySignals report also indicates what needs to be improved regarding poor experiences with IT:
- Ticket resolution efficiency – prolonged resolution times and prematurely closed tickets result in user frustration and inefficient issue management.
- Complicated user interfaces – The IT ticketing platform’s intricate complexity confounds users, especially those without IT backgrounds, causing confusion and inefficiency.
- Service portal usability – The IT platform’s complexity and specificity frustrate users and hinder effective navigation and request submissions.
- Fragmented support processes – The fragmented IT support process causes excessive delays and ineffective resolution, eroding user trust.
Start deploying experience, not just tools
To begin deploying experience, IT organizations must begin with the end in mind – the humans that will be interacting with tools and processes. This is where human-centered design (HCD) practices comes in. HCD places real people – consumers, customers, and employees – at the center of IT and business solutions.
The first step is to develop understanding through the use of proto personas. A proto persona is a fictional character that represents the different consumers of products and services, representing real people’s goals, needs, behaviors, and pain points, based on what we know or think we know about them.
Next, develop journey maps for each proto persona’s experience when interacting within an organization. A journey map is a visual representation of how people interact within an organization, including the person’s actions, thoughts, and emotions. Identify when a proto persona interacts with IT systems, processes, and tools to achieve a specific result. Doing this will identify pain points and improvement opportunities with those systems, processes, and tools. It also fosters empathy for the current user experience.
Finally, begin designing the desired user experience by inviting the real people who are represented by proto personas to participate in prototyping new solutions. Prototyping is a highly effective way of “learning by doing” and getting feedback from the people for whom technological solutions are being considered or developed. Prototyping new solutions will provide the IT organization with valuable feedback and make appropriate adjustments to technology solutions prior to roll out. It will also ensure that experience is part of deployments.
The results from taking these three steps? IT improves its ability to design processes and user interfaces that are intuitive, provide safety from failure or human error, and remove friction. IT can make experience a part of every deployment of tools and processes.
It’s a “win-win”
The HappySignals benchmark report concludes with “when you put people at the heart of IT, everyone wins”. Deploying experience as process and technology is deployed is a win-win for both the IT organization and the consumers who interact with IT-provided products and services.
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