Creating the UX Center of Excellence
Overview
- Project Type: UX Strategy, Management
- Industries: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Date: 2019
- Role: UX Designer & Consultant
- Responsibilities: Led smaller UX projects such as creating brand and style guidelines and UI kits, assessed and trained UX maturity and best practices.
Project Summary
Post-acquisition, Forterro's R&D team sought to replicate the success of Abas' UX strategy across its other companies. I was tasked with establishing a department for consulting, educating, assessing, and implementing UX best practices across various business units.
The Challenge
Poor UX Maturity
Many units lacked developed UX strategies in their product development.
Integrating UX with Agile
Adopting Agile methodologies was already underway, so integrating UX practices into Agile workflows presented additional challenges.
Outdated ERP Software
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is large and complex, making significant user-centered improvements difficult.
Change Management
There were ingrained habits and legacy processes that required change management strategies to ensure smooth transitions without disrupting ongoing operations.
The Solution
Assessing UX Maturity
With the Chief Technical Officer and R&D head, I aimed to:
- Choose a UX maturity model.
- Create assessments to determine current maturity stages.
- Develop adaptable UX processes for each business unit.
Key areas of UX impact were distinguished to pinpoint improvement efforts effectively:
A standardized evaluation form facilitated consistent assessments across units:
Defining the Base Process
We adopted a memorable "D" process: Define, Discover, Describe, Develop, Deliver, including deliverables for each step:
Creating a Repository of Knowledge
I collected and developed educational materials on key UX topics, including user research, strategy, and accessibility. I also shared resources like UI kits, style guides, and design pattern libraries.
Results
Many teams reported clearer direction, a better grasp of UX's value, and more efficient processes. Incremental changes highlighted the advantages of user empathy over assumptions.
Enhanced Understanding of UX Value Across Business Units
Incremental growth in UX maturity led to more user-centered product development.
Tailored UX Process Model
The standardized UX process proved adaptable to the needs of individual business units.
Comprehensive UX Impact
The assessment allowed for focused and impactful improvements targeted at critical areas of UX influence.
Better UX Strategy
Reduced reliance on assumptions and ad-hoc decision making, leading to more informed design choices.
Reflections
Key Takeaways
Effective UX needs buy-in. Effective UX needed cultural buy-in from many involved—from the product owners to the development teams. Championing the user had to be a way of thought, a collaborative understanding that everyone could use as a “north star” for each of their projects.
A shared UX strategy serves as a bridge. Aligning user needs with business objectives helped to bridge a gap in communication between product owners, technical teams, developers, and other experts.