Last Wednesday, I wrote about applying user experience techniques for a non-profit organization SharePoint project (you can read it here). User Experience or UX has been the latest buzzword to come out of the Internet much like how everyone is using the term cloud.
Websites, mobile apps and the like are optimized to maximize a positive user experience. You would be hard pressed to find a site or an app where some UX conversation and thinking didn’t take place. As common it may seem one area that is often getting neglected is applying the UX principles in the workplace.
How can we apply UX principles in the workplace especially in adopting a “new” system or process? Begin by spending time understanding and learning how the employees are currently getting their job done. Chances are there is some system in place. It might not be perfect, but the stakeholders who are currently doing the job knows the most about it. They might not be experts in this instance in SharePoint, but they are experts in delivering the business value. In spending time learning what they do, how they do it you will be discovering things you most likely didn’t even consider. Keep in mind that the purpose of any implementation is not to make a new, shiny object (or system) but to address a business need or business needs of an organization. A system is just a tool so treat it as such.
