I’m seeing a ton of evidence that IT leaders recognize this too. I hear story after story of IT rollouts that result in poor adoption. These failures are no longer being chalked up to poor planning, readiness, or technology. Leaders are acknowledging that their teams lack an understanding of the users they are deploying technology to. For example, a theoretically perfect solution of replacing printed manuals with digital solutions ultimately fails because its later discovered that users love their printed manuals and have years of hand-written notes in the margins. The simple step of engaging and empathizing with users before solving for them would have easily uncovered this.
Great article overall. To me, it epitomizes a lot of what I'm trying to communicate through this site. If you're at all involved in decision-making for any organization that selects systems, or builds them, you need to be on board.
Love this bit as well:
The leading brands of tomorrow will go far beyond a great product and great technical support. They will map their customers’ experiences from beginning to end in search of anything that might get in the way of an amazing experience and the outcomes customers’ expect. They may even find a few moments along their customers’ journey that they can exceed expectations and deliver that surprise.