Whatever their specific purposes, successful business tools or products – be they for one’s employers or one’s customers – all share two primary interrelated objectives: to increase efficiency and productivity. At the BwB Advisory Group we see the core requirements for achieving success in these two arenas equally shared across the three key areas of Design, Implementation and Business Process.
Design:
It is critical to collect as much real users’ input as possible before the development of any tool/product. One of the most costly mistakes in developing a business tool/product is not to include the right stakeholders in the development feedback process. The bias usually tends to be towards getting feedback from higher management or top-level executives. This often leads to core requirements being missed and having to be built back in once the tool/product is already released. This will cost considerable and unnecessary time and money to the business. The reality is that higher-level understanding is no substitute for the input and feedback of daily users and customers. They are the ones who truly know “how the shoe must be designed to fit properly”.
Secondly, the development of any tool/product is a process that requires work and rework to make sure that nothing critical is missed and that every component/function works as planned. Most importantly, prior to any release, sign-off is required by all critical stakeholders. They must approve and confirm that the tool/product - in its last iteration- is indeed designed and operating as per the desired purposes and objectives. As such each developmental phase(s), must be followed by UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and input followed by adjustments, modification and redesign until user approval prior to any partial or final release.
Additionally, the role of CX (Customer Experience) cannot be overlooked. As an example, if an international or global team is designing the tool/product for a local team/market, the naming of the application, as well as any interface, functions and menus, must be reviewed and approved by the local user. There is nothing more ineffective and less productive than local users having to use a tool/product within a digital environment which is non-intuitive and difficult to navigate because the language used in the application is not in line with local naming conventions but rather a literal translation of the developers' language. This aspect is often undervalued but locally appropriate naming conventions as well as, other aspects of look & feel are a core requirement for ease of use and as such adoption. CX is critical.
Implementation:
Once the tool/product has been created now the implementation & usage aspects must be executed. These should have already been planned in advance as one of the biggest challenges is always getting people to adopt and use the new tool/product – change management. Of course, the more the end-users have been involved in the initial design and development the less resistance there will be; they were part of the change. Regardless, as people too are part of the natural world, the best way to manage change is by providing incentives. Because people are biologically coded to be wary of the unknown - an instinct that has assured the human race survival throughout history - people must be encouraged to try and use the new tool/product. Positive reinforcement - such as employees’/customers’ contests, public recognition and/or monetary rewards (such as gift cards for example) - are known to be effective in taking that first step.
Training the trainer(s) is also just as fundamental for implementation success. Trainers must be made into experts, made easily and extensively accessible, and provided with all the support they need to succeed. They too should be incentivized in whichever way is culturally and effectively appropriate. Being able to reach out to an expert and quickly resolve any unexpected bugs or any user challenges due to inexperience will make or break adoption rates. Positive associations with using the tool/product are critical to advance usage amongst the targeted population.
In summary, plenty of support and training must be given to trainers, customers, and employees during the implementation of any new business tool.
Business Process:
Last but not least, a business must be flexible and adaptable. As end-users begin to visualize, design, use and adopt the new tool, they may do so in ways and/or for purposes that may be different from what the business originally intended. Usually, this happens when there was a faulty or incomplete understanding of the desired purposes and business processes tied to the tool/product. Not enough analysis was conducted on how the businesses used the current tool/product nor on how these tools/products delivered on user/customer needs, functions and processes.
For this reason, when implementing a new tool/product it is advisable to also look at the processes (business & others) that will utilize the tool/product as often the introduction of a new tool/product provides the opportunity to also review (analyze) and improve (re-engineer) the process. This must be done during the design phase because doing this afterward is once again highly inefficient and costly. The gravest danger is obviously that the tool/product itself no longer fits the business process for which it was designed.
As such BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) is highly advisable to be conceptualized prior to or at the same time a new tool/product is being designed/chosen and well before it is developed/acquired.
We at the BwB Advisory Group have extensive experience in the critical areas needed to deliver a successful new tool/product. Our experts can help guide you through Product Management (including Vision & Roadmap), Business Process Analysis/Re-engineering as well as, Project/Program Management.
Is YOUR company prepared to deliver a new tool/product? To learn more about how BwB can help you please click here.
September 2021 / Insights / By: Dr. Alessandra Bufano
