ABSTRACT Imagine being given the chance to fundamentally change a product that hadn't been updated for years. A chance to take an outdated and hard-to-use product and turn it into a customer's delight. And then imagine hitting the "internal inertia" of many companies -- "we don't do things that way", "not enough resources", "my group doesn't work on that". We will share how we learned that internal company processes impact redesign efforts and why managing internal change is as important for improving a product as redesigning the screens in the user interface (UI). Learn from our pilot project - our tips (and failures) about how to identify internal company process problems and road-blocks, get buy-in, break down silos, and evangelize new design processes. And how this seeming side-path into change management contributes to overall product success. FULL PAPER ACM Digital Library - CHI 2016 Extended Proceedings http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2851609&CFID=784556388&CFTOKEN=51669932

1. Why Designers Might Want to
Redesign Company Processes to
Get to Better UX Design
Meghan Ede – SAP Ariba
Garett Dworman, Ph.D. – VMware
A Case Study for CHI 2016, San Jose

2. Plot
This CASE STUDY…
…includes information from multiple clients.
Like a good fairy tale
• It is a good STORY
• About everyday PEOPLE encountering a PROBLEM
• That they RESOLVE
• With SIGNS & TIPS – so you can resolve this problem yourself!
9 May 2016 2Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

3. Once Upon a Time…
Assignment:
Redesign Account Creation screens
of an out-dated and hard to use Product
Warning Signs:
Each of our Attempts to do GOOD DESIGN…
Met with Resistance
9 May 2016 3Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

4. Plot Twists
A Story about UX Design…
… Became a story about Process Redesign
With Warning Signs, like:
Design Dead End Ahead
Pointing out a Need for Change
o Creating a new “design culture”
9 May 2016 4
DESIGN
DEAD
END
Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

5. We were asked to Redesign…
Change this:
Account
Creation
9 May 2016 5Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

6. But NOT this…
Needed Fixing:
• Too many steps
• Outdated UI
• Too wordy
• Broken workflow
• Manual data
entry
• …
DON’T Change this:
On Boarding Flow
9 May 2016 6Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

7. We began to notice the
signs…

8. Sign: Screens vs Flows
Redesign THESE
SCREENS – and
NO others..!
…Asked to design (or redesign) discrete features
or single screens, rather than full task flows.
DESIGN
DEAD
END
9 May 2016 8Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

9. …Products that look like Frankenstein’s monster:
“random parts, stuck together”
Sign: Frankenstein’s monster DESIGN
DEAD
END
A sign that redesigning
SCREENS but NOT
FLOWS has become a
HABIT.
9 May 2016 9Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

10. Sign: Because John said so…
…When product design decisions are made solely by an
influential person in the company -- and these decisions
have no rationale, other than that person’s position.
DESIGN
DEAD
END
CFO -- CEO -- CIO
I like Vista’s
black on black.
-- Do that.
9 May 2016 10Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

11. Sign: Repeated Flows
…When a single activity is repeated multiple
times, each using a different look-and-feel.
DESIGN
DEAD
END
These steps do
nearly the same
thing!
9 May 2016 11
Login
Log In: ______
Sign In
Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

12. Sign: No Overview
…When a large complex product is built in bits
and pieces, with no person or team monitoring
the overall impact.
DESIGN
DEAD
END
Known by:
Sally
Known by:
Jerry
Known by:
none
9 May 2016 12Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

13. Sign: Mystery Rationale
…When the story and rationale for a product
design cannot be discovered or conflicting
stories and rationales are provided.
DESIGN
DEAD
END
No one knows
why this steps is
here.
9 May 2016 13Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

14. Looking for the RIGHT path…
We floated ideas for UI improvements -- to many people
…as much to gauge reactions as to propose actual redesigns.
Result: Negative responses whenever our ideas addressed:
• Overall flow
• More than a few screens
9 May 2016 14Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

15. Sign: Unreasonable Negative Responses
…When all important (or minor) design
changes are rejected.
Courtesy: The Monsters’ Monster, Patrick McDonnell
DESIGN
DEAD
END
9 May 2016 15Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

16. Our “Big Bad Wolf”
– We have a Process problem
No GOOD DESIGN can occur in this environment.

17. The Wolf we battled…
Changing a “Siloed” environment into
…a cooperative, innovative one.
Using only our Wit (Design Skills)
(full details about this battle and success – in the Paper)

18. YOU can be the HERO of the Story!
Address the Process problem using your design skills…
… So, you can get back to Design
9 May 2016 18Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

19. Battle Overview
Do Research -- understand the root-causes (fix the right problems)
Create a Plan -- get feedback (learn and revise)
Get a Champion -- If your culture is top-down, find an Exec to “lead” the redesign
Create a Shared Vision – get everyone working towards a common goal
Do the work – this won’t happen overnight
9 May 2016 19Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

20. The Battle
Our Goal: unified and holistic redesign effort for one flow - Onboarding
o Uncover and pull together -- all teams / people working on PARTS of onboarding
o Teach New Ways -- design thinking and design skills
o Pick holistic sub-projects -- within the Onboarding flow
o Create cross-functional work groups – no more “silos”
o Keep work groups aligned – central Steering Committee (us, in disguise)
o Get Permission – point to “Exec Champion” as “approval”
9 May 2016 20Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

21. Successes…
• Moved focus from SCREEN to FLOW
• Consensus on “real” problems
• Cohesive, innovative, effective Redesign Projects
• Cross-functional teams – working together
• Support, excitement, and commitment – to start the actual redesign
• Communication across formerly “siloed” teams
9 May 2016 21Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

22. Did this work? Hmmm….
… In more than 6 months – hadn’t quite gotten to:
redesigning onboarding…
BUT
– we now had the right cultural context for redesign to succeed
9 May 2016 22Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

23. Tips
It’s easy to miss a Process problem
Try these tips…
(only listing two, rest are in the Paper)

24. Tip: Get off the Computer
…to see the WHOLE product or large task flows,
you need a LARGE visual area - like a wall
DESIGN
DEAD
END
9 May 2016 24Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

25. Tip: Talk to many people
…many people are involved in getting products
“out the door” – try talking to people in many
functional areas (PM, Ops, QA, business, sales…)
DESIGN
DEAD
END
9 May 2016 25Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

26. Takeaways:
UX is
…More than the sum of UI screens
Product lifecycle
Complete Flows
…Created by more people than just the UI designers
Business decisions on features to create, maintain, and evolve
“Ownership” of products and decisions
Team interactions and communications -- across many company functions
Development resources (and how they are used)
9 May 2016 26Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016

27. See also
Conference & Paper Details
ACM SIGCHI Conference, 2016
https://chi2016.acm.org/wp/
CHI 2016 Extended Abstracts – Citation and link to Full Paper
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2851609&CFID=784556388&CFTOKEN=51669932
Full Paper (PDF) – direct link
http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/2860000/2851609/ea840-
ede.pdf?ip=108.202.177.246&id=2851609&acc=OPEN&key=4D4702B0C3E38B35%2E4D4702B0C3E3
8B35%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35%2E6D218144511F3437&CFID=784556388&CFTOKEN=51669932&_
_acm__=1463070644_f1c8b740963ee294901d69bc4d30f505
Slideshare
http://www.slideshare.net/meghanede/chi-2016-redesigning-company-processes-to-get-to-better-ux-design
Authors:
Meghan Ede: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanede
Garett Dworman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dworman
9 May 2016 27Meghan Ede & Garett Dworman -- presented at CHI 2016