Example Reflection:  Visualization

Challenge:

The experience management industry is competitive (as are all industries) with “innovation” being a key  differentiator in the space.  Requests for proposal and sales prospects frequently decide on vendors  based on innovations.  Two years ago, our executive team set a corporate goal around innovation and in  support of that our marketing / branding focused on innovation with a key differentiator being the  ability to combine data from disparate business tools in a unified platform.  This generated a lot of  interest. The decision to focus on unified reporting capability assumed that this would add value to our  offering.

Selection:

Visualization.  As a component of innovation, visualization provides constituents with a physical  presentation of what the future will look like. I chose visualization because when done poorly it can have  a significantly negative impact on a business.

Application:

Rather than enhance our existing reporting platform the decision was made to innovate a brand-new  reporting platform.  Visualizations were white-boarded, based on assumptions for what would be the  best reporting functionality for our clients.  Visualizations were also created by our marketing graphics  designer using input from our head of sales, head of technology, and CEO and produced to look cool.   PowerPoint slides were incorporated into our pitch deck; the designs were engaging and looked  impressive.

However, existing clients were not interviewed to gain insight into how their teams used the reporting  platform, what problems they were trying to solve for or were encountering with the existing  technology. Further, the development team responsible for programming the tool based on the  visualizations were not familiar with our customer profiles or with the use cases of the reporting  platform.

The development plan focused on one large rollout, with coordinated marketing and press  announcements to create a lot of buzz in the media.  After many months delay, the new product was  delivered to the first three clients with almost immediate issues for the clients and our internal teams.

To say the new reporting platform did not provide value is an understatement. It did not solve client  problems, i.e. it didn’t add value.  It was disruptive to our clients’ operations, and to our relationships  with them.  Employee morale was negatively impacted, and several employees left the business over  the course of several months.

Approach:

The next design innovation visualizations will:

•  Include an understanding current state of reporting, including mapping out the client journey of  all client constituents.

•  Consider customer needs; putting customers at the center of the initiative and asking them  open-ended questions about their needs and what would add value we would have been better  aligned for success.

•  Including client constituents in development planning to understand what would add value.

•  Plan for piloting small development rollouts that could be quickly and easily deployed for quick  wins, or quick recoveries.

Visualizations that focused on novelty and were visually appealing, rather than creating value, resulted  in damaging our reputation with clients and employees.


Example Reflection : Visualization Challenge : The experience management industry is competitive ( as are all industries ) with “ innovation ” being a key differentiator in the space . Requests for proposal and sales prospects frequently decide on vendors based on innovations . Two years ago , our executive team set a corporate goal around innovation and in support of that our marketing / branding focused on innovation with a key differentiator being the ability to combine data from disparate business tools in a unified platform . This generated a lot of interest . The decision to focus on unified reporting capability assumed that this would add value to our offering . Selection : Visualization . As a component of innovation , visualization provides constituents with a physical presentation of what the future will look like . I chose visualization because when done poorly it can have a significantly negative impact on a business . Application : Rather than enhance our existing reporting platform the decision was made to innovate a brand - new reporting platform . Visualizations were white - boarded , based on assumptions for what would be the best reporting functionality for our clients . Visualizations were also created by our marketing graphics designer using input from our head of sales , head of technology , and CEO and produced to look cool . PowerPoint slides were incorporated into our pitch deck ; the designs were engaging and looked impressive . However , existing clients were not interviewed to gain insight into how their teams used the reporting platform , what problems they were trying to solve for or were encountering with the existing technology . Further , the development team responsible for programming the tool based on the visualizations were not familiar with our customer profiles or with the use cases of the reporting platform . The development plan focused on one large rollout , with coordinated marketing and press announcements to create a lot of buzz in the media . After many months delay , the new product was delivered to the first three clients with almost immediate issues for the clients and our internal teams . To say the new reporting platform did not provide value is an understatement . It did not solve client problems , i.e. it did n’t add value . It was disruptive to our clients ’ operations , and to our relationships with them . Employee morale was negatively impacted , and several employees left the business over the course of several months . Approach : The next design innovation visualizations will : • Include an understanding current state of reporting , including mapping out the client journey of all client constituents . • Consider customer needs ; putting customers at the center of the initiative and asking them open - ended questions about their needs and what would add value we would have been better aligned for success . • Including client constituents in development planning to understand what would add value . • Plan for piloting small development rollouts that could be quickly and easily deployed for quick wins , or quick recoveries . Visualizations that focused on novelty and were visually appealing , rather than creating value , resulted in damaging our reputation with clients and employees .