The Essential UX Designer's Roadmap: Navigating New Enterprise Software Projects with Ease
Hey there, UX designers! Jumping into a new software project, especially in enterprise software, can be a wild ride, right? It's more than just good design; it’s about diving deep into the industry's nitty-gritty, understanding the product from the inside out, and grasping the unique needs of different users. Been there, done that! So, I’m sharing my go-to checklist that’s been a lifesaver. Hope it helps you as much as it did me!
Ramp up on the Sector: Learn the Language
Ever felt lost in a sea of jargon? I sure have. Getting a grip on the industry's lingo and the business model isn't just about fitting in; it’s like unlocking a secret code to bring valuable, impactful solutions to the table. See below for how I go about ramping up in a new industry.
Find out who and what is really driving the product priorities
Uncovering user pain points is key, but in enterprise software, there's more to the story. Who's buying? What are their goals? You've got to dig deeper to understand what's really driving the product's direction.
Understand the vast and complex user roles
In UX design for enterprise software, it’s essential to recognize that you’re not crafting experiences for a single user type, but for a network of diverse roles, each with unique responsibilities and requirements. Take hiring managers, for instance: their primary job is to recruit the right candidates and manage team performance. The software typically supports a fraction of these tasks, like enabling managers to select interview candidates or submit performance feedback. These tasks, or 'jobs to be done' (JTBD), often depend on actions from others (like receiving feedback from an interview panel) and various data points. Initially, it's important to avoid getting bogged down in the minutiae of individual use cases. Instead, focus on gaining a comprehensive understanding of the different user roles and their core JTBD, which will guide more effective and relevant design solutions.
Broadening Your View: Understanding the SaaS Product Ecosystem
In designing for SaaS (Software as a Service), it's crucial to look beyond just the application and comprehend the entire product ecosystem. This ecosystem is intricate and ever-changing. A single product doesn't exist in isolation; it's interconnected with various tools, data, and dependencies. These connections can occur within the same software suite or extend to third-party applications. Moreover, the software configuration isn't uniform across all customers. Factors like automated workflows, customizations, extensions, embedded widgets, and APIs contribute to diverse and complex interactions between customers and the SaaS product. The key challenge lies in crafting a seamless user experience that smoothly navigates through these different products and platforms. Achieving this starts with a deep understanding of the entire ecosystem.
Know the standards
Should all experiences be responsive, or just key user journeys? Is WCAG 2.1 sufficient? Are fun elements (like Trello's flying unicorns) appreciated, or are they seen as annoying? Is the goal to maximize data display on the screen? Standards can vary by industry, so it's essential to understand these before starting your design work.
Know the internal processes (from dev lifecycle or stakeholder management)
In enterprise software, UX designers don't just create interfaces; they are integral in shaping the product's journey from concept to delivery. Understanding internal processes is vital for several reasons including Streamlining Collaboration, Effective Advocacy for User Needs and Managing Expectations.
THE CHECKLIST
Ramp up on the Sector: Learn the Language
As a designer you should know
Industry basics such as the product and services in the industry and the business models (how they make money)
The jargon - Yes, learning to talk in jargon is key. Ever tried discussing 'Average Handle Time' with a Customer Care pro without knowing what it is? Spoiler alert: It doesn’t go well. Get comfortable with terms like AHT, FCR, CSAT in Customer Care, or Employee Engagement and LMS in HRM
The key technology and trends (such as HRIS in HCM and CRM & call routing for contact centers) as well as where the innovation is (such as chatbots in contact center and predictive analytics in HCM)
The common industry challenges (such as staff retention in frontline industries).
Pragmatic Tips for accelerating ramping up
Start with industry-specific reports, including Forrester, Gartner, and insights from industry leaders. Chat GPT can provide a helpful head start by summarizing industries and identifying thought leaders."
"Learn from internal experts, such as product scientists, product managers, and customer success teams. Schedule 30-minute meet-and-greet sessions, where you can spend the last 15 minutes interviewing them for their industry insights."
"Dig into past user research. Review the final reports but also listen to some actual interviews. This investment is worthwhile as it brings the users' experiences to life.
Find out what is really driving the product priorities
As a designer what should you know
What is the current business model for this product? (ie how does it make money)
How does the product fit into the long-term goals and the strategic direction of the company?
What are the buyers looking for in the market today ?
What is the front that vendors are competing on?
What is the sales strategy and targets?
And of course: What are the end users needs and challenges
Pragmatic Tips for accelerating ramping up
Review internal decks and recordings of strategy share outs to ramp up on the business strategy. You most likely will find that most of your questions will already be captured in desks.
Chat to the licensing team to understand how the product is being charged today and if they have any plans for changing it. The most common model is annual subscription based on feature access as well as additional fees for implementation but there are some new trends emerging such as charging per user or charging per usage. More innovative SaaS are exploring charging by outcome
Chat to Sales for their view of the Buyer, and what they are looking for. Ask for the quarterly win/loss reports to understand drivers. Look for areas where the experience is a driver.
Chat to Customer Support / success for their perspective on drivers behind customer engagement and churn
Lean on UXR to connect you to high level summaries of user issues, also pull ticket reports to see what end users are logging
Check early concepts with marketing / sales to get their view on how they will be received in the market. All too often significant time is invested in defining feature concepts before learning that they won't be received well in the market.
Build a mental model of the complex user roles and their jobs to be done
As a designer what should you know
What are each of the common User Roles for this industry,
What are their main responsibilities / job to be done and challenges
Which of these jobs to be done does your software assist with?
What are the common dependencies for the jobs to be done (examples could include dependencies of people such as an approval chain or dependencies on off line decisions by leaders or dependencies on third party data such as qualitative feedback from customers in the call center)
Pragmatic Tips for accelerating ramping up
Do desktop research on industry / ask GPT to summarize the user roles in the industry.
Ask UX team for their artifacts (personas, user journey maps etc)
If no artifacts exist at the user role & job to be done level, consider co ordinating a cross functional workshop to create one
Talk to end users, not only how they use the software, but also about their overall jobs to be done
Get a holistic understanding of the product ecosystem.
As a designer what should you know
Understand the core functionality and scope of the product. This includes understanding the primary use cases, key features, and the unique value proposition of the product.
Understand how this product works with the other products the company makes.What are the cross product journeys ? Are they seamless or full of friction?
What are the common third party integrations ? Understand common use cases for these integrations. How do real-world users benefit from these integrations? Are they utilizing the standard UX components ? What is their impact on performance?
Is there a Low-Code Integration Builder? Can non technical users successfully use this?
Does the product appear as apps in other products market place (such as salesforce)? how does the product maintains design and experience consistency when integrated with third-party apps from marketplaces like Salesforce.
Does it have its own marketplace for third party apps? Understand the support and resources available for third-party developers to enable them to build a consistent experience
Pragmatic Tips for accelerating ramping up
Use the product, as each of the user role, based on what their real JTBD and usecases are. Often this is very time consuming as you need to make sure you a) have the knowledge on who the users are and what their tasks are and b) get the right access rights and data set up on your account. This investment will stand to you.
Interact with the cross product journeys - Keep an eye out for UI consistency, shared navigation patterns, and common UX principles and well as obvious frictions such as different RBAC systems meaning the user needs to log in separately to each product.
Ask for architectural diagrams or flowcharts that illustrate how different parts of the ecosystem interact.
Watch recordings of sales demos and walkthroughs for that industry, as this will give you an opportunity to hear a) the use cases and b) how they are positioned to the customer
Learn from the integrations & ecosystem team (if one exists).
Find out what are the public APIs and ask what for and where they are commonly used.
Find out what are the most popular third party integrations
Talk to the Admin users who would have visibility into how the software is set up in their company
Know the standards
As a designer what should you know
What is the current accessibility standard [eg WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1 etc] and is there a plan to meet a higher level on some or all features?
What are the primary devices used by the enterprise's user base to access the SaaS product? What are the current breaking points supported ?
What are the design principles ? Is fun desired or is efficiency king? Is ‘simple’ or ‘ease to use’ important or is that just frustrating to the power / admin user who knows what they want? Do the different user roles expect or need different experiences (Admin / power users tend to prefer compact experiences with all capabilities easily available where less frequent casual users tend to prefer simplified, more engaging experiences)
The design system
The performance standards, and where in the product there are issues…such as performance lags at certain times of a day or with large data sets
Pragmatic Tips for accelerating ramping up
Get the official word on what standards are agreed up from the functional leads of UX and Eng and PM
Play with the Design System
Know the internal processes (from dev lifecycle to stakeholder management)
As a designer what should you know
Design Process:
Research Engagement: Understand how researcher are integrated into your project. Are they part of the project Squad? Or are they a supporting team? Know the process for requesting and prioritizing research.
Customer Interaction: Learn the protocol for reaching out to customers and end-users. Are there specific channels or procedures to follow?
Incorporating Feedback: Identify when and how to involve marketing and sales for feedback on design concepts.
Design System and UX Guidelines:
Familiarize yourself with the existing design system and UX guidelines to ensure consistency and alignment with brand standards.
Development Lifecycle:
Process Overview: Get a clear picture of the standard procedures from development to deployment.
Collaboration with QA: Understand how and when the UX team collaborates with Quality Assurance.
Review Timelines: Know when UX is involved in reviewing the features as they are being built.
Release Process:
Readiness Reviews: Find out if there's a launch readiness review and the UX team's role in it.
Bug Logging: Learn where and how bugs are logged and prioritized, both internally and from the customer's perspective.
Stakeholder Management & Communication:
Key Stakeholders: Identify the decision-makers and influencers for your product.
Engagement Levels: Understand how involved they prefer to be in design decisions.
Communication Norms: Grasp the standard communication protocols, including design reviews, update emails, and ad-hoc updates.
Practical Tips for Ramping Up:
For experienced designers, these processes might be routine. For newcomers, take time to learn and adapt.
Engage in desktop research and observe day-to-day activities.
Request process documents from team leads for a deeper understanding.
Consult wikis or internal knowledge bases for documented processes.
Pay attention to daily interactions and workflows to grasp the nuances of your organization's approach
And there you have it – your roadmap for navigating the thrilling world of enterprise UX design. Remember, it's a journey of continuous learning and adaptation. Keep this checklist close at hand, and don't hesitate to dive deep into the industry, understand the complex web of user needs, and gain a holistic view of the product ecosystem. Your designs will not only be visually appealing; they'll be powerful tools that make a real impact.
Happy designing!