What is a total metrics-driven modernisation approach?

The way we see it,

The work starts well before any technical decisions are made with defining the underlying drivers for change, mapping where the organisation is today, where it needs to be in the future, and agreeing on what success should look like, both in terms of business impact and operational readiness.

Only when the direction is clear, is the modernisation effort guided by:

• Key success metrics – clear indicators that the modernisation has delivered the intended value. These might include ROI, increased operational efficiency, reduced time-to-market, improved system availability, or measurable gains in user satisfaction.
• Delivery metrics – reflecting the relevance, quality and speed of the process, including predictability, technical stability, and effectiveness of implementation.

The method is simple on the outside, yet rigorous on the inside: the real impact happens when delivery is tied to measurable outcomes.

Total metrics-driven approach: the benefits

What makes this approach work is what it delivers early on. You see results fast, and you know it’s working because outcomes are measured from the start.

• Clear definition of success
  The goal of modernisation effort is clearly defined up front, in terms of outcomes and business needs.
• Measurable results and accountability
  Every milestone has a clear set of metrics attached to it, making the progress traceable and any issues visible early.
• Faster time to value
  First tangible results show up within first weeks of work. This early feedback confirms the direction and builds momentum without stalling on long timelines.
• Result-focused collaboration
  While delivery is scoped to the most urgent goal, the team works holistically, proactively identifying improvements that can amplify impact elsewhere.
• Commercial predictability
  Built around Performance-led Engineering, the model ties delivery to metrics and holds the vendor financially accountable for results.

The true value of the framework, however, becomes clear only when it’s tested under real-world constraints.

Performance-led Engineering

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How is it different from a traditional modernisation approach? A case study

Before working with us, one of our clients in the transportation industry put it bluntly:

What sounded like pure outsourcing frustration was a symptom of a much deeper issue – the company’s business continuity was under threat due to a failed modernisation attempt.

By the time we first met, the company had already spent over 18 months and tens of thousands of dollars working with external vendors on a big-bang back- and front- office tech rebuild which had collapsed under its own weight.

Despite all that time and all that money spent, no feature had gone live, as the modernisation stalled before any outcomes were delivered. The business was still stuck with the same monolithic on-prem .NET app, expensive to maintain, increasingly unsupported, and poorly aligned with how teams wanted to work.

And without the ability to respond to market opportunities, the risk of business stagnation was becoming real.

Why did they fail?

On paper, that modernisation looked ambitious, yet feasible. In practice, however, it lacked the foundations to succeed. Why?

• First, there was no clear plan: no defined goals or success metrics. Without a clearly defined “why”, the initiative lacked direction from day one.
• Second, there was no way to measure progress or course-correct along the way. Without metrics, success was impossible to define. And worse, issues that grew along the way were impossible to spot until it was too late.
• Finally, the entire effort relied on a full tech rebuild delivered all at once, with no room for early wins or iteration, and causing even minor missteps to snowball out of control.

What did we do differently?

Instead of repeating the big-bang mistake and trying to solve everything at once, we focused on what would deliver the highest value and built from there.

Discovery

Before deciding what to modernise, we needed to understand how the current system actually worked and where it held the business back. That meant running a series of structured discovery activities:

• First, we looked at the core process and timelines to understand which areas were most business-critical and time-sensitive.
• We conducted a comprehensive audit of the existing system (covering the codebase, databases, user interface, and operational processes) to understand how it supported key workflows and where it introduced friction, from outdated UI patterns to performance bottlenecks.
• We mapped out the stakeholders’ roles to surface any gaps between ownership, priorities, and expectations.
• And finally, we used activity design methods, like service blueprinting and story mapping, to reveal where day-to-day friction was the highest.

Across all the areas we explored, the process for setting dynamic pricing stood out: the point where technical debt most clearly collided with commercial needs. What should have been a fast lever for pricing decisions, took a week of manual coordination. Adjustments required input from both sales staff and a database engineer, all working within outdated, legacy-bound workflows.

It was a narrowly defined part of the system, but the implications were broad. This single feature had become a bottleneck with outsized commercial impact. It offered a rare combination: high strategic value and relatively low effort to address. And that made it the obvious place to begin.

Implementing proven frameworks

This also raised a practical question: what’s the best way to move the project forward without repeating the past mistakes?

We used the 7R framework from AWS to assess our options, focusing on the best balance between effort, cost-effectiveness, and business impact.

While rewriting the entire system meant returning to the strategy that had already failed to deliver, all off-the-shelf tools lacked the flexibility the pricing model required. Therefore, the best path was to build a dedicated cloud-native module from scratch. Crucially, it had to be designed as a standalone, microservice-based component, ready to grow with future features.

Defining success metrics

Once the goal was clear, one thing still needed to be nailed down: how to recognise success and how to prove it in real, measurable terms.

We worked with the client to define that together and share that understanding across the whole project. Success had to be measured in terms of how the change would support day-to-day operations and unlock real business value.

From that shared understanding came a clear set of business-related metrics, providing a measurable representation of the outcomes we aimed to achieve:

• Deadline: go live in under 3 months with the dynamic pricing functionality,
• Efficiency: reduce the dynamic pricing process setting from 1 week to under 10 minutes,
• Ownership: cut involvement in the process from 3 roles across departments to 1 product owner, with no database knowledge required,
• Frequency of updates: shift from quarterly to weekly changes in pricing logic, without engineering input.

With that in place, we focused on finding the most effective way to deliver results we agreed on.

Performance-led delivery

After a failed all-or-nothing modernisation efforts run by another third-party vendor, our client had every reason to be sceptical about delivery promises. That’s why they needed a plan that would work and a way to know it was working.

What made our modernisation attempt different was that we approached delivery through our Performance-led Engineering model. How did it look in practice?

Knowing the goal, we chose the tech stack, delivery standards and the team setup best suited to make it happen. But the tech alone wasn’t enough. This is why we sat down with the client and agreed on how success would be measured – what to track, how to read the numbers, and where the line between “done” and “not done” was.

Read more: Beyond the code: achieving business goals with Performance-led Engineering

To track progress throughout the project, we implemented a metrics framework built around industry-standard, recognised benchmarks, including DORA metrics, SLA targets, and operational thresholds.

To strengthen predictability and accountability even more, we tied performance of delivery teams to commercial terms: the client paid only for outcomes that met the agreed performance thresholds. Within this framework, we prioritised a core set of delivery indicators reflecting speed, reliability, and efficiency, including:

• Lead time for change
  • Before: not tracked, releases required manual coordination and typically took weeks
  • Target: cut lead time to under 48 hours from code commit to production
• Deployment frequency
  • Before: 1-2 releases per quarter, typically requiring bundled deployments
  • Target: At least 1 deployment per week for the new module
• Change failure rate
  • Before: No clear data, as rollbacks and production fixes weren’t tracked consistently
  • Target: Keep failure rate under 5%, supported by automated testing and quality gates
• Time to restore service
  • Before: Reactive fixes with unclear ownership and variable response time
  • Target: Restore in under 30 minutes for any deployment-related disruption
• SLA: system response time and availability
  • Target: Response time under 200 Ms for key API endpoints under normal load, availability of 99.99% across new components.

Adaptive team for scalable delivery

To implement and deploy the new solution efficiently, we shaped the team around the intended outcome, starting with a Solution Architect and a Business Analyst to define priorities and constraints. A UX designer joined early to ensure the interface was both intuitive and visually engaging. As the work progressed, the team was scaled up with developers and DevOps specialists to accelerate delivery.

The new app ran in the cloud from day one. Lower environments were spun up on demand, optimised for cost and speed. The setup gave the team the flexibility to move fast and gave the client a delivery process that was measurable and built for impact.

Result

The new pricing module went live in under three months, just as planned.

The dynamic pricing process, previously a full week of cross-team coordination, now took less than ten minutes. Ownership shifted from three roles across departments to a single product owner and pricing logic could be adjusted on the fly, without engineering involved.

Our solution became a working part of the business. Thanks to its modular, cloud-native architecture, it opened the door to modernising other features by gradually replacing old functionality with new components through a strangler fig pattern.

Modernisation did not stop with the dynamic pricing module. It evolved into an ongoing, agile, and iterative process, expanding to other parts of the system. Together with the client, we prioritised further opportunities based on the highest business impact and lowest effort, building a clear and adaptable roadmap, ready to adjust to shifting priorities and emerging opportunities.

Will total-metrics driven modernisation work in my business?

Although the total-metrics-driven modernisation isn’t a plug-and-play framework, it is repeatable.

It works across industries, stacks and setups because it reframes modernisation as a business-critical, data-backed initiative, not just a narrow exercise in system replacement.

The total metrics modernisation: step by step

Modernisation is always triggered by a concrete business need, like the pressure to prepare for future growth, fix costly inefficiencies, accelerate product delivery, or ensure business continuity. The problem might be operational, financial or strategic, but the solution can’t be technical alone.

While every modernisation engagement is unique, the process follows a repeatable structure that keeps the work focused on what matters most.

Each phase stays grounded in business impact and remains traceable to working results.

Understand: define the goals

Before any design or delivery work begins, there needs to be a shared understanding between the business and the tech partner of why change is needed and where it will have the most impact. In a total-metrics driven approach, it means investigating both internal and external forces shaping the business context:

• Interview stakeholders to know where the pressure comes from. This step uncovers the true cost of staying still and surfaces where value might be trapped
• Review internal materials and external market reports to gain critical context on company performance, market dynamics, and structural constraints
• Run an initial assessment of business processes and systems to clarify what’s in place and where the most critical inefficiencies live
• Assess risk and constraints to pinpoint and remove all factors that may block or delay the process. This step helps set realistic expectations and prepare for trade-offs before delivery begins
• Define non-functional requirements, like scalability, performance or cost. These set the ground rules for what success looks like once the modernisation is delivered and help narrow solution paths well before any tech is chosen
• Align on the desired business outcome through structured workshops. Define what a successful modernisation means in operational terms.

Once the business goals are uncovered, translate them into measurable KPIs, so that progress can be tracked from day one.

Deliver

Once the metrics and the modernisation path are defined, delivery becomes the engine of the transformation. The right process should be predictable and designed to stay accountable from start to finish.

• Choose solutions based on impact and efficiency, prioritising solutions with the best alignment with success metrics
• Apply lessons from similar projects to avoid unnecessary detours and double down what’s proven to work
• Look beyond the scope: even if the project scope covers one area, stay alert for inefficiencies that may arise elsewhere. Look for any factors that may derail or amplify the outcome
• Avoid the pitfalls of vague, big-bang modernisation initiatives. Instead, deconstruct the scope into smaller, outcome-driven components built incrementally, following the strangler fig pattern. Each part should serve a clearly defined business goal, with measurable impact tracked throughout the delivery process.
• Build the team with the milestone in mind, ensuring the setup is tailored to the current project need with just the right skills, roles, and capacity to deliver the next outcome without unnecessary overhead
• Optimise for efficiency with the right delivery model, pairing it with operational metrics that show how efficiently the value is being delivered
• Follow industry-recognised frameworks like DORA, CI/CD, Lean IT, Agile or ISO-9241, selected to bring clarity, repeatability and traceability to the delivery process
• Stay aligned and accountable by ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clearly assigned across in-house and external teams. Keep communication transparent to share understanding of what success looks like for both sides
• Tie tech partner collaboration to the outcomes, using the right collaboration model (like performance-led engineering) that links effort to results with metrics and shared accountability

Monitor

Once the delivery is underway, metrics must remain in focus. Review progress at both operational and strategic levels to ensure alignment with business goals and to spot early signs of drift or inefficiency.

• Stay on course with executive-level visibility: review progress at both operational and strategic levels, ensuring decisions stay aligned with business values. Introduce regular checkpoints, like demos, retrospectives, and quarterly checkpoints, to validate direction and adjust when needed.
• Document key risks and decisions as they emerge, maintaining a shared risk log and decision log to ensure transparency and informed stakeholder oversight.
• Establish a clear cadence for sharing risks, so that everyone is on the same page, unexpected issues are reduced, and ownership stays shared.
• Surface and manage risks early, especially when goals are at risk. Give every team member the ability to flag risks, ensuring issues are spotted and addressed properly before they spiral out of control

Making modernisation work

As there is a difference between moving fast and making progress, total metric-driven approach helps make that distinction clear, by connecting action to evidence and every project scope to measurable impact.

For organisations under pressure to modernise and adapt, that clarity brings the unprecedented value.

Stay competitive and ensure long-term business success by modernising your applications. With our approach, you can start seeing real value even within the first 4 weeks.

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In this article, we take a look at some key takeaways about how the IT consulting services work and their benefits to potential customers, from a third-person perspective.

Future Processing – Background

Future Processing is a technology consultancy and software delivery partner. The business was founded in 2000 as a software development company and currently boasts more than 1000 staff who deliver end-to-end IT services.

With over 20 years of experience, Future Processing has a lot of excellent expertise when it comes to software engineering. The company fosters a warm and nurturing environment for its staff which leads to high retention and career development for individuals, many of whom have more than 10 years with the company.

Due to this success, Future Processing has transitioned from what was a traditional software house into a fully-fledged delivery partner.

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Most services at Future Processing are currently offered on a consultancy basis and are focused on achieving success for the business’s clients. All staff members strive to combine their many years of knowledge and expertise to go above and beyond when it comes to delivering the best final product possible.

There are many typical roles at Future Processing, including business analysis, UX design, security cloud operators, DevOps, data solutions, solutions architects and agile delivery teams.

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The value of Future Processing’s consulting services to their clients

IT consulting has become more prevalent and widely adopted in recent years. Companies are finding that they need a consultancy partner to help them navigate new technologies in the digital sphere and Future Processing helps to fill this gap.

Their consultancy services range from acting as an advisor, helping to define digital strategies, identifying problems, validating ideas, helping to find opportunities, verifying the direction of product development and even research.

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It is not necessary for customers to bring their own defined solutions to the table because this is exactly what Future Processing’s consulting services are for. They define the problem, consider possible solutions and then use data and technical analysis to discern the best possible course of action to achieve success.

This approach helps to alleviate pressure for the customer by placing the onus on Future Processing to come up with the best possible solutions to solve issues they may be facing and to improve their business.

Consulting versus working with clients’ own ideas

Wherein ‘consulting’ normally consists of engaging in discussions with companies regarding their technical needs, issues they are having and potential solutions to try to address these, clients do sometimes approach Future Processing with their own pre-thought-out ideas and strategies already in place and ready to be implemented.

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While it is not ideal from an efficiency standpoint for customers to have rather fixed ideas and strategies in mind before approaching Future Processing, they always do their best to take these ideas on board and work with them. In the first instance, it is necessary to check the viability of these possible solutions and see whether they effectively address the problem and bring value to the situation. If so, fantastic!

But if not, then it is necessary to consult with the customer to show them the data and analysis of their ideas and how they might not be the best solutions, along with more effective proposals.

In general, the best approach is always to engage with Future Processing as a consultancy by coming to the table with your ideas, problems and requirements and working together in close collaboration to find the best solutions possible.

Future Processing’s technical services

Future Processing is proud to have a wide range of technical skills and services. In fact, with more than 1000 staff members, you would be hard-pushed to find an area of technical expertise that they are not experts in!

Some examples of technical services that Future Processing can assist with include securing business data from attacks, shielding legal or sensitive information, IT security services, keeping the software and hardware safe and secure, and much more.

In particular, Future Processing works tirelessly to keep companies’ data safe. These days, data is everything. Businesses have data relating to their operations, their finances, their analysis, their clients’ information and so on, so it’s extremely important that this data is protected by a rigorous and robust system. The data solutions department at Future Processing can help to protect companies’ data and give them the peace of mind that their information is safe.

As well as data security, Future Processing is also a leading cloud services partner who is an expert in cloud solutions, making the digital transformation leap, adopting modern applications and using cloud technologies to run services for the business. They help companies to implement new projects in the cloud and modernise existing infrastructure using cloud technology.

Another key area of Future Processing’s technical expertise is DevOps expertise. As DevOps specialists, they offer smooth delivery of new technologies in accordance with current industry standards and methods. Utilising DevOps in a business offers a real boost and can potentially bring untold value to the company.

Successful consultancy case studies

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Case Study 1 – Creating a CRM for sales

This project was quite significant as it involved between 30-50 people to complete due to the range of services and tasks that needed to be completed.

Future Processing helped to build the product processes, as well as introduced best practices on how to create and manage documentation, which directly resulted in shortening the feedback loop to the customer from four weeks to just three days by implementing a new cycle entirely, mapping out a brand new process using more refined tools.

The majority of the application needed to be refactored, as it was outdated and used inadequate technology. To address these issues, Future Processing created a bespoke solution that involved a complete re-write of the application, new technology adoption and a brand new lead acquisition process that helped to finalise purchases much more effectively.

In the end, a brand new application was created that was highly successful and catapulted the customer to become an industry leader in their field.

Case Study 2 – Market analysis

This client approached Future Processing to help them to analyse the market and decide between keeping their current bespoke content management system or switching to a readily available commercial solution. The customer asked Future Processing to evaluate all possible solutions from an independent and professional standpoint in order to make the best decision possible.

This is exactly what they did – Future Processing cross-referenced the current market trends, the company’s business model and their plans for the future, and they provided a set of recommendations based on their findings.

The final report included several scenarios that could be used to support the decision-making process by recommending to the C-level executives whether or not pivoting to a different CMS was justified. The report detailed the potential ROI for changing and keeping their CMS systems, identified all the potential risks involved and offered deliverables for each scenario.

Based on the information Future Processing provided in their report, the customer decided not to change their CMS, which later turned out to be the right decision as it saved them untold amounts of money and energy that would have otherwise been spent unnecessarily.

Case Study 3 – Redesigning a data ecosystem

This client worked in the tourism industry and needed to redesign their data ecosystem because the business owners wanted to make more well-informed decisions when it came to the products that they were able to offer to their customers, as well as to limit their operation costs.

This was a tricky case because there was a lot of different information around from a range of company departments that tended to result in the company making a lot of conflicting conclusions as to the best routes to follow.

Future Processing’s goal at that time was to limit the amount of information so that they could focus on the most important data only and provide the best solutions possible.

Future Processing did just that and was able to suggest a range of technological changes to the digital ecosystem and advise the company on how to migrate their data from the on-premises cloud model to a multi-cloud solution, which was much more efficient.

Consultancy timeframes and client involvement

The time it takes to complete a successful consultancy and the number of staff members the client is required to contribute will entirely depend on the nature of the project itself.

Some projects are shorter and much simpler to complete so they will require fewer people and can be done in a shorter time, and conversely, some projects are the opposite.

As an example, if it is necessary to conduct a strategy workshop, a product success workshop, or a requirements gathering workshop, then to achieve the maximum possible benefits, as many stakeholders from the client’s company as possible should be involved.

These should include the decision makers, project managers and domain experts so that those present can explain their use case and any potential issues they face and understand all perspectives of the company.

Future Processing would provide a full roadmap of all activities in order to understand each step of the proposed process and know what to expect at every turn.

The roadmap not only includes the major steps of the process, but these big complex steps are also broken down into smaller steps so as to minimise every involved’s engagement with aspects of the project that aren’t to do with them. This allows staff members to carry out their own tasks efficiently and effectively.

Lastly, it is really important to have a defined communication strategy to inform what, when and who should be informed. It is important, especially because of the fact that the plan for the service might change because of this feedback.

Typical problems Future Processing can help clients solve

Future Processing helps clients at any stage of their idea or product development through its IT consultancy services. When a business has a specific challenge to overcome or has identified a gap in the market they want to exploit, this is a fantastic time to approach them and work on researching the issue and coming up with a good strategy.

The number one aim of Future Processing’s consultancy services is to find the best and most effective solutions to achieve success for businesses.

Other typical challenges that Future Processing’s clients are often related to existing products and how to improve their performance and usability. They work closely with clients to find ways to improve these aspects and to incorporate new technologies and processes into their client’s businesses.

One of the most common requests is to replace a company’s legacy software. This is fairly typical for software development companies, but when carried out from a consultancy standpoint, the client’s journey is quite different because new software should mean new possibilities and new products without the old issues.

Therefore, again, a good strategy and action plan, awareness of previous problems and decisions based on real data are most important. For all of those examples, Future Processing adjusts the approach they take and uses appropriate technical and business services.

Future Processing’s clients can rely on them to create a comprehensive action plan that they then carry out in order to solve all technological and business problems.

Summary

Future Processing’s two-plus decades at the forefront of software engineering, and more recently IT consultancy, has led them to have an excellent understanding of how companies in a wide range of sectors work, the problems they are facing and how to overcome them.

With such a vast array of talent, an industry-leading knowledge of new technologies, digital transformation strategies and problem-solving strategies, Future Processing has access to the best minds in the business. Combined with a proven track record of delivering successful projects to very happy clients, they are definitely well-prepared to solve any issue thrown at them!

Achieve your business goals with the right experts

If you are interested in Future Processing’s IT consulting services, follow this link to contact them now to begin your consultation process.

Accelerate your success!

What stands behind those beautiful, simple app screens are months of analysis, research, prototyping, testing, and a strong team of specialists from areas such as business analysis, user experience (UX), user interface (UI), software development, quality assurance (QA), security and others.

Digital product design process needs preparation and with this document, we bring you a quick introduction to some of the activities and best practices. Our most important recommendation is – don’t start without solid digital product design knowledge and experience.

Download our guide and learn more about digital product design. 20 pages of knowledge from which you will find out:

• how the digital product design process should look like,
• the activities you should consider in your digital product design journey,
• the best practices to follow.

Also known as a POC, a proof of concept refers to a process in which the proposed software product is tested to discover whether it is viable and may be successful when implemented.

Testing occurs when we use prototypes in simulated real-world scenarios in order to identify the software product’s feasibility, risks, or any gaps in its processes which may interfere with its smooth operation.

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While working closely with clients, developers and business analysts use a proof of concept cycle to identify specific requirements for the product, focusing on the most critical ones, and using the POC prototype to prove that their concept satisfies the clients’ needs.

In case the product should include any utility layer, another person to engage at this stage is an experienced UX designer, who will take care of the user-friendliness of the prototype, so important for all user-centered products.

Are you interested in creating a Proof of Concept in software? See related articles:

• How to prepare a comprehensive and realistic estimation for a software development project?
• How to monitor the effectiveness of software delivery?
• What is the Definition of Done (DoD) in software development?

What are the benefits of creating a proof of concept?

Carrying out a comprehensive proof of concept simulation is an important step in the software development lifecycle.

If developers forget about this crucial stage, some errors may occur further down the line – usually those errors could have been avoided with a virtual POC test.

There are many benefits of creating a proof of concept. Here are some of the most important ones:

Feasibility

The most important benefit of creating a POC prototype is to prove that your software product concept actually works. Without this, all your plans are simply theoretical and have not been tested in any real-world environment.

Also, creating a POC provides you with a chance to prove that not only will the software product work, but also that it will be financially feasible. It will help to determine what the ROI is likely to be, as well as the market demand for the product.

Confidence in the project

A proof of concept helps the software developers, clients, and investors alike to build confidence in the project. It demonstrates that the developers and DevOps architects have carefully considered the myriad of possibilities and have come up only with reasonable and practical ideas.

A POC also benefits the writers themselves. Through rigorous testing, they are able to highlight any potential obstacles, risks, and difficulties that the software may encounter, which helps to make the product a success by mitigating these risks further down the line.

In addition, it provides space for the developers to grow their ideas and maximise the potential of their product.

Generating investment

Confidently presenting potential investors with a detailed roadmap that highlights your product’s market value and outlines steps to mitigate risks is crucial.

Additionally, demonstrating that you have a robust plan for monetisation further builds investor confidence. This approach significantly increases your chances of securing funding for your concept.

Teamwork and change management

Another huge benefit of undergoing a POC that is often overlooked is that it will help to build a culture of teamwork. Through the process of testing, identifying risks and evolving ideas and solutions, your team will need to be agile and flexible in their approach.

Allowing dedicated software development team the time to get used to the project and have their say in evaluating and improving it will be great for their morale.

How to create a proof of concept in software development?

Creating a proof of concept is an important part of the software development process for the reasons outlined above. So how can we go about creating a prototype?

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Step 1: Outline the scope of the project

The initial stage involved in creating a POC must be to define the scope of the project. It is important to get together with the team to understand all requirements, business needs and the idea behind it, to define all the use cases and gather all the information that will be required to begin the project.

This step helps to identify not only the crucial needs, but also the product’s place in the market, its feasibility and its objectives. It should be focused on narrowing the scope of the project and looking to fix any pain points that can be identified early on.

At this stage, it is beneficial to involve a business analytic who will be able to understand all those factors and work through them during discovery workshops.

Find out more about how to effectively prepare your team for software development process:

• The power of requirements workshop: revolutionising project planning
• Requirements Engineering: choose the workshop that best suits your needs
• The ultimate guide to roles and responsibilities for software development teams

Step 2: Propose the solutions to any pain points

Once you have defined the scope of your project and identified its pain points, it’s important to outline the effective solutions. Brainstorm ideas with your team and come up with ways of solving each issue. It’s likely that for every pain point there will be multiple possible solutions, so evaluating them at this stage to find the best one is key.

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If you work with experienced advisors, they will help you do this and will take care of all steps necessary, giving you sound advice on how to address even the most challenging issues.

Remember that feedback is crucial. Once a list of possible solutions is ready, it should be discussed with all stakeholders to see what they think. They will (hopefully) provide you with valuable insights which will help you to move forward with your ideas.

Step 3: Carry out a full POC in software development

It is in this stage that a full, in-depth proof of concept is undertaken. This involves creating a full prototype that can be used to test all its features and functions. The prototype should have all the expected features that were decided upon, plus the UI/UX – so crucial for the functionality and user-friendliness of the final product.

When the prototype has been built, it should be tested by the whole team and stakeholders, and their feedback should be carefully recorded. Focus on the most important aspects, such as how intuitive the interface is, errors or frustrations users had when engaging with the prototype and any suggestions for improvements.

Analysing feedback from utility tests that aim at identifying any possible problems and coming up with remedies, determined by an experienced UX designer, is of utmost importance.

Step 4: Implement changes based on feedback

Once you have received feedback from a range of sources, all changes necessary to evolve the software product should be implemented. This will help solve any pain points that were identified, and it will also serve as a springboard for developing the product further for better functionality.

It’s important to note at this stage that if the feedback you received was largely positive but with a few minor troubles or suggestions, the process of optimising your software product will be straightforward and clear.

However, if the feedback was generally negative, it might be more prudent to pause at this stage and go back a few steps in order to redesign the product and think more carefully about the points mentioned by the users. It may be that the POC process needs to be halted altogether, depending on the scale of the issues, or simply that it needs to be put on hold with more time allocated to redeveloping it effectively.

Step 5: Create a roadmap

All going well, by this stage your POC will be tested, developed further and all issues will be solved, leaving you ready to begin implementing your software design.

Creating a product development roadmap is the last stage of a successful proof of concept cycle. It must outline a step-by-step process from which the full product will be built. Consider it as your blueprint on which all subsequent activities will be based. Having this roadmap will help to focus your team and make sure everyone is on board with its purpose, design, and methods through the following development cycle.

Summary

While a proof of concept has often been overlooked and undervalued in the fast-paced software development world, its importance is undeniable. It saves money and time, helps finding investment and is a vital step in bringing a successful product to the market.

Experienced software development companies know and embody this knowledge already, so it’s important to harness it to pave the way for creating a successful product.

When outsourcing your software development project, it’s fundamental to find out your partner’s approach to POC. The proof of concept can make a huge difference in the software development process and brings siginificant savings and benefits to your business.

Software Product Design

Transform your software Proof of Concept into a product with our designers and engineers!

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As its name suggests, it focuses mainly on end-users, but apart from that, it is also composed of a variety of other factors such as technology, technical feasibility, and business requirements.

Today, user-centred design is everywhere: most companies around the world know its importance and invest a lot of money in getting it right. But historically it wasn’t that way: some of you may still remember the times of unintuitive interfaces and programmes of the 1980s no one knew how to use. In recent years the great success of Google, Apple and Spotify proved that by focusing on users and their experience companies get better results and, obviously, more money.

Research shows that projects which don’t include user-centred approach are much more likely to fail. In fact, performing a discovery for a project increases the chance of its success by as much as 59%!

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Why is user-centred software design so important?

To answer this question, let’s look at Spotify. If you’ve ever used it (and we are pretty sure you did) you must know how intuitive it is. But its ease of use is just one thing – an even more important one is that it responded to the needs shared by millions of users around the world who wanted to have a dedicated area where they could listen to music without downloading it, who needed a huge database of easily accessible songs, a good search engine and a possibility of personalisation of their playlists. That’s what they got from Spotify and that’s why it became one of the biggest brands, recognisable all over the world.

User-centred design – preparation

If you are keen to start a comprehensive user-centred design process and make it work to your advantage, you should begin with answering some important questions. Let’s look at them in more detail:

1. Do you want to work on an existing product, or do you want to create a new one?

If you are about to work on an existing product that is already on the market or is used in your company, for sure it has some users and there is some feedback about it. In that case, the process should start with gathering and analysing all available data to see how you can improve the product.

If it’s a new product you are about to create, you need to put your idea into words and make it understandable for others.

The process of discovering what you are exactly looking to achieve is called discovery phase. It is extremely important as it helps you define the idea and understand what you know about the product you want to design. We like to think it’s a process that allows businesses to get from chaos to being able to name your ideas.

2. How well do you know what your product is supposed to be doing?

Let’s say you discovered a gap in the market – do you know how to answer to it? And if so, do you have a ready solution? Even if you think you do, you may still need an expert to go through it and analyse it. Such an approach saves costs and helps to find and validate wrong assumptions.

3. Is your idea well documented?

Documenting your idea is another crucial stage, allowing you to prepare a thorough process. The documentation should include full design of all user paths and requirements specification.

4. Does your idea/product meet both business needs and user needs?

The answer to that question is a key to a successful software design – its readiness to respond to users’ needs is the main driver, but you should never forget to check its ability to satisfy your business goals.

5. What’s your timeline and budget?

It’s important to be aware of your deadlines and the budget you have, to know when to start the development process and decide what sort of activities you can undertake to optimise it and make the best use of the time and money available.

If you are keen to start thinking about your design process, consider using our online tool that helps establish how to start working on your product. To do so, go to our website, fill in the form with your data and answer some simple questions about the idea you have. That’s done, you will get a list of recommendations that will help you kick start the process as soon as you are ready for it.

Remember though that by answering those questions, you will see just a small fraction of what really needs to be done in the process. When you start collaborating with an external partner such as Future Processing, their aim will be to go through the process even deeper and cooperate with you at every stage to ensure the best solutions for your case.

How to go about starting a user-centred design process?

If you’ve already answered the questions above and used our online tool, it’s time to start.

This is why it’s advisable to look for a partner that can help you at every stage of the designing process. Future Processing is a trusted company with over twenty-two years of experience and a team of great and passionate people who do just that: design software products.

Our areas of expertise include:

• consultations on business strategy,
  
• conducting user research,
  
• analysing existing research data and giving recommendations,
  
• asking the questions that help validate whether the assumptions are correct,
  
• designing the solutions,
  
• validating the product prototype.

By working with us, our clients:

• save money by conducting a professional discovery phase which helps plan, anticipate and estimate,
  
• verify/validate existing assumptions with experts,
  
• get comprehensive user research and plan how to ensure the product’s success.
  

But we don’t stop there: even when the product is already on the market, we keep improving it. Our clients come back to us, knowing we always deliver on our promises.

To check how to implement a user-centred approach to make it work to your advantage, fill in our online form and get a list of recommendations to act on straight away!

Looking to develop new or existing software?

Get recommended activities to create user-centred software.

Download the ebook!

What is the ROI of UX?

Return on Investment (ROI) is a financial metric that you can (and should!) use to estimate or evaluate the profitability of your investment. It’s the simple ratio of money coming in versus money going out.

In terms of UX, however, ROI can be described as the measures created to calculate the effect of an investment in design, used to help achieve design goals from a business perspective – and it’s not only about money.

It may also be reflected in greater customer satisfaction, fewer complaints, more positive reviews, and increased brand loyalty.

How do you measure UX ROI?

The general formula for ROI is pretty simple:

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However, in practice, it is often much more complicated than this, especially when it comes to UX.

So, before you start jumping into calculation sheets, you should keep a few facts in mind:

• Trying to estimate the exact ROI of UX beforehand is guesswork.
  
  If you don’t have any data to work with, it’s really difficult to be accurate. The assumptions you make can be far from reality and, for that reason, useless. Yet, this doesn’t mean that you are limited to just sitting and designing in the beginning. Actually, quite the opposite!
  

• Selecting the appropriate set of UX metrics and KPIs to measure your impact is key.
  
  This is something you should do right away. And there are plenty of metrics that you can measure, such as:
  
  • conversion rates,
  • time spent on tasks,
  • rates of error,
  • churn,
  • completion rates,
  • phone calls,
  • number of user complaints,
  • and much more…

These pieces of data can be drawn from a number of different sources, such as analytics, customer support, surveys, or usability testing.

• Calculating your ROI from UX after new improvements have been introduced is a must.
  
  This way, you will be able to compare your metrics from before and after a new feature or product has been launched. And you will know immediately whether the results meet your expectations.
  

• Trying different scenarios in order to make the most of your new design can be helpful.
  
  You may want to measure the effectiveness of changes that you want to introduce by running A/B tests to see how your users react to two different layouts, and observe what works and what doesn’t. And this is something that UX experts start to measure in the middle of a project, not just after it’s done.
  
  Learn more about: Creative techniques in the requirements elicitation process
  

• Profits often appear in many forms, not only in terms of money.
  
  You cannot be too focused on revenue only, because success can also appear in the form of:
  • less customer support calls,
  • better customer retention,
  • the reduced risk of building the wrong feature or product,
  • bigger and faster conversion rates,
  • reduced development waste,
  • less time needed to accomplish tasks,
  • increased employee satisfaction, etc.
    

Of course, all of these things translate either directly or indirectly into money — though this can be more difficult to calculate.

• Underestimating the power of Google Analytics (GA) in measuring the UX ROI is a mistake.
  
  Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can help you measure user behaviour:
  • you can check conversion and bounce rates,
  • you can look at your navigation summary (to view user paths within your app or website) and your device breakdown report (to see which devices drive the most traffic).
    

Sound obvious? Well, maybe. But did you know that Google Analytics can also help you measure your customer satisfaction?

Checking your Net Promoter Score (NPS) by running a customer survey is one thing, but you can also see interesting NPS-related data on the GA dashboard, like purchase and churn probability or the most/least popular features. You can also turn a 24/7 customer feedback channel in order to see what people think about your products or services.

Would you like to find out more about UX Design? Check this out:

• How to create an effective UX Design Roadmap?
• How user-centered design methods increase customer satisfaction and engagement?
• How to improve User Experience (UX) on your website?

How can a company achieve high UX ROI?

There are a few steps to increasing your organisation’s UX ROI:

1. Onboard your UX experts right away. Kicking off your project the right way is a good risk mitigation tactic which will help you avoid costs related to fixing an already existing product.
   
   
2. Don’t rush! Skipping over a project discovery phase (or other parts of the UX design process) can be tempting, especially when you’re short on time, but doing things right requires patience and attention to detail.
   
   
3. Hire the right IT partner. Before entering into a cooperation and outsourcing your project to a software development company, ask about their approach to UX design and check to see if they have experienced specialists available within their teams.

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Wrap-up

The ROI of UX might be difficult to predict and tricky to calculate later on, but with the right experts onboard, nothing is impossible.

Future Processing will help you find the optimal solution for you, design a product that is not only attractive but also easy to use, detect usability issues and bottlenecks, make necessary adjustments, and remove any obstacles preventing growth in revenue.

Everything that is measurable, should be measured. This is not only important from a business point of view, but also for sales and marketing purposes. After all, a good case study is always a great excuse to make a positive fuss in the industry, and can even help you gain more customers.

Explore our potential and reach your goals

Get the product that is well adapted to your enviroment.

Let's work together!

You can choose between a Digital Product Discovery, a Experience Design or an Product Design Consulting. So let’s go ahead and see what the difference is between each of these workshops:

Design Sprint Workshop

All you need is to have a small budget available and the active engagement of key stakeholders and user representatives for the duration of the workshop.

Goals

During this highly productive 5day period, your idea will be clearly defined, evaluated by experts, turned into a working prototype, and thoroughly tested.

People involved

• Key stakeholders and decision-makers
• UX designers
• Business Analysts
• Potential users

Process

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Fast and effective – everything will be completed within one work week!

DAY 1. Understand
Your business needs will be analysed, and your main goals and scope of work will be clearly defined.

DAY 2. Diverge
The ideas for your solution will emerge and take shape.

DAY 3. Decide
The main direction of your software development will be set.

DAY 4. Prototype
You will receive a ready-to-be-tested prototype containing the most crucial features of your product.

DAY 5. Evaluate
The prototype will be tested by subjects representing your potential users.

Possible outcomes

The results of the workshop will provide you with:

• Clear and accurate visualisation of your product’s key features
• Recommended direction of development as determined by expert knowledge and user needs
• User feedback: direct insight into user flow, as well as user reactions and opinions

Thanks to the Design Sprint Workshop, you will find out what needs to be improved, and what works just fine. This is a very cost and time-effective way to kick off your project by getting a thorough verification of your idea at the initial stage of delivery.

Discovery Workshop

If you already have comprehensive documentation prepared and want to get started ASAP – you can choose Discovery Workshop.

However, if you haven’t done sufficient research and analysis, and still need proper UX design and testing – it would be better to bet on the Complex Discovery Workshop, even though it’s a bit more time-consuming.

Goals 

The Discovery Workshop will help you find a solution that is right for you. You will receive assistance in setting objectives, planning new features, and creating and testing your MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

Create your product with the customer-centred approach

Gain expert insights that allow for informed prioritisation, fewer changes during development and optimised costs. Let’s look at your idea from different perspectives to create the right product.

Validate your business assumptions! Contact us!

The entire scope of the workshop, as well as certain activities, can be easily adjusted to your project and requirements.

People involved

• Business analysts
• UX designers
• Various technology experts (according to the project)

Process

Strategy
Your problems and goals will be defined.

Research
Necessary data (related to business and user needs) will be gathered, analysed and presented in reports.

Ideation
After a few brainstorming sessions, the final idea will take shape.

Design
The idea will be turned into a design of the final solution.

Testing
In the end, the design will be evaluated by recruited end users.

Possible outcomes

The Discovery Workshop’s output is an irreplaceable source of information for your development team, serving as guidelines to successful project implementation.

You may receive, for example:

• A complex analysis of your existing system
• Clarification of your new idea along with the project’s priorities
• A project backlog and report/specifications to prepare an estimation of the costs and the most cost-effective implementation
• A target audience analysis along with user personas
• MVP by, e.g., story mapping
• An initial visualisation of the solution
• The chance to compare various IT software solution providers
• A guide map for the next steps in the process with recommendations from relevant experts and specialists
• System architecture design model

This expert workshop is designed to help you build a highly effective (both in terms of costs and functionality) solution, minimise technical debt, and get faster ROI.

IT Strategy Workshop

It involves analysing your company’s figures, performance, key processes, business needs, challenges and opportunities, as well as industry trends. Everything that you need to help you make strategic decisions.

Goals

The IT Strategy Workshop is designed to help solve your business problems with up-to-date technology, provided that you have a budget for innovation available to spend in the most efficient way possible. And it doesn’t matter if you need an overall IT strategy, or just a plan for developing a single product — this is a workshop that can help you with both of these goals.

People involved

There are a number of specialists that may be helpful during this workshop, such as Technical Architects, Business Analysts, Developers, or UX Designers. And your project could also benefit from involving external experts on artificial intelligence, machine learning, or cloud computing – rest assured, these specialists will be ready to assist you during the workshop as well.

Process

The process can vary from one project to another, but in general it can be reduced to 4 simple steps:

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The process requires you to be open to making strategic changes affecting your business as a whole, in order to develop and achieve a competitive edge. It is why engaging management in this kind of workshop is the key to its success.

Possible outcomes

You may expect many different outcomes, depending on what you want to achieve:

• Analysis of your current business situation
• Presentation of possible improvements for key processes
• Customised IT recommendations for achieving your business goals, prepared in cooperation with an experienced Business Analyst
• Software product development strategy and roadmap
• Recommendation of technology solutions adjusted to your requirements and budget
• Access to expert know-how, including technical expertise and following IT project execution best practices
• Precise success metrics that will allow you to monitor your progress.

So, before making any big investments, you will receive all the knowledge that you need in order to reduce any risks associated with the implementation of your project.

Final thoughts

All of these workshops serve different purposes, so you can choose the one that suits you best. Long story short:

• If you have a specific idea in mind and can’t wait to see the shape of a final product and your customers’ reactions to it – bet on the Design Sprint Workshop.
  
  
• If you are thinking about going digital and already have some vague ideas, but also need a specific roadmap to help your development team get started – select the Discovery Workshop.
  
  
• If you have a business problem, or if you’re thinking about the digital transformation or developing a software product, but still have some doubts and need guidance on a strategic level – choose the IT Strategy Workshop.

Just remember that outcomes may vary in each case, as they are strictly related to the workshop’s goals and will be consistent with your individual arrangements.

And just so you know – we can provide you with any of the workshops mentioned above, so don’t hesitate to contact us to get the help that you need!

• We knew we would need to cooperate with all the decision makers on the customer’s side in order to figure out the goal of the new website, together.
  
• Examining user needs and opinions was also a crucial element, as well as being able to test our ideas beforehand, so that we could make sure that we were moving in the right direction — one that would reach a wide spectrum of our client’s customers. Because how can you possibly achieve any business goals without finding a way into your potential customers’ hearts and minds?

So… we decided to try a design sprint, since the structure of this process fitted perfectly with our needs and all the challenges that we were about to face. There was only one catch with this methodology: we had to cover everything… in just 5 days. No wonder we had so many doubts and questions:

• Would it actually be possible to work out and validate our vision in such a short amount of time? More often than not, the analytical process alone can take weeks, not to mention the design phase of the project…
  
• The range of functionalities for any problem can be pretty broad, along with the business vision, so how could we go through all the details and come up with a reasonable solution in just 5 working days?

Well – having been charmed by this book and the vision of the creators behind this methodology from Google Venture – we weighed the pros and cons and decided to go with a design sprint anyway. After all, we had already had a great deal of previous successful workshop and project experiences, so a design sprint was just challenging but not risky.

Design sprint: what it really is

Design sprints are similar to regular sprints in the Agile methodology. These are time-boxed processes that place an emphasis on the efficiency of work. Moreover:

• Each sprint has to be broken down into 5 smaller chunks, each of which takes exactly 1 day
  
• It involves defining goals, rapid prototyping and usability testing
  
• It is user-centric
  
• It requires the full attention of the entire design team and decision-makers for one workweek, so they will need to clear their calendars

When done properly – a design sprint reduces the risks associated with introducing a new product to the market. As a result, even after just 5 days, sprint participants gain validation for their ideas as well as a solid roadmap for the next phases of the project.

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But that’s enough theory; it’s time for a real-life example of what this all looks like in practice.

Design sprint – how we tested our solution

Preparation

We decided on a time period and sent out invitations to everyone who would need to be involved in the process:

• on the client’s side, this included:
  
  – the CEO,
  – one marketing specialist,
  – one recruitment specialist,
  – one team leader,
  – one developer;
  
  
• on our side:
  
  – two UX experts were responsible for conducting the workshop, doing research and working on the design.

Execution

DAY 1 | MONDAY: Understand

Ready, steady, go!

Feeling truly enthusiastic about the project, we met up on Monday and focused on understanding the long-term business goals and defining the scope of work.

• Analysis
  
  We started by analysing how exactly the client’s business works – what their objectives and challenges were at that very moment. There were a lot of details to discuss, one by one, which was tedious but absolutely necessary. As a result, we were able to clarify our long-term goals to guide us through the rest of the work.
  
  
• Map
  
  We also created a map depicting all current user paths and everything that added up to the user experience, including the paths that they had taken to enter our client’s website. We determined different user types, how they found the company, what they were looking for, how they contacted the company, and how they were served. This provided us a full view into the current situation, so that we could understand key issues and start planning improvements.
  
  
• Interviews
  
  One of the most significant parts of the day was when we got to interview the experts who were responsible for the key areas within the client’s company, in order to get their perspectives and opinions on the problem that we were working on. That was a real fountain of knowledge!
  
  We heard different views on the same issues, and were able to discover many problems that had been significantly affecting our project. Without this step, we would have surely overlooked some important issues. From these interviews we were able to pull out a common denominator – the same problems that kept appearing and reappearing in all of our conversations. Of course, we couldn’t take all of the reported issues into account since we had to be careful not to lose sight of our long-term goal.
  
  Plus, since we needed to be ready with everything by Friday, we were forced to keep things simple. We took the map that we had created and – based on the results of our interviews – we identified the most important areas to focus on while working out the solution.

And this is especially worth highlighting – during a process as short as a design sprint, you always have to focus on just one thing, instead of dabbling in all parts of the project at once. Remember that you have to prepare a prototype and conduct user testing within 5 days. However, if you choose your area of focus wisely, it actually works like an acid test – you can find out if your project makes any sense, and if it’s a good idea to proceed with your plan. And you will learn all of this well before anyone actually sits down to write their first line of code.

DAY 2 | TUESDAY: Diverge

On Tuesday, we focused on looking for inspiration and creating a sketch of the final concept.

• Lightning Demos
  
  First, our sprint team ran a brainstorming session, so that everyone could focus on finding inspiration from different areas. All the experts involved had a chance to describe and justify their ideas and suggestions. We were inspiring one another to come up with new and interesting solutions, making this a very effective part of the day. As a result, we collected a lot of sensible options to choose from.
  
  
• Split up
  
  Then our team split up and everyone had to create a sketch of the final solution on their own. We were all working on the same problem, regardless of our respective drawing and design skills. After all, a pen and a blank sheet of paper are sufficient enough to express what you have in mind, no matter who you are or what you do.

And it was crucial for all of the team members to not tell one another about their suggested solutions afterwards…

DAY 3 | WEDNESDAY: Converge

On Wednesday morning, we had a board containing 5 different options on how to solve the problem that we were facing. Each consisted of 3 crucial steps and involved new screen designs and user paths within a new website. We just didn’t know who was responsible for which suggestion, in order to remain impartial while deciding and voting.

• Discussion
  
  So, having these 5 options, we started to review them one by one. One team member would describe what was on the board, while the rest of the experts involved would listen and write down questions to ask the creators once the presentation was over, and they could finally reveal themselves.
  
  
• Voting
  
  After the discussion, everyone was allowed to vote for one of the presented solutions (either for the whole sketch or only part of it). We were able to create a heat map that showed how the team members were voting, to produce a final concept that merged all of the best ideas.

This way, we selected a final shape of concept that was ready to be prototyped and then put to the test of an end user. And we only had 2 days left.

DAY 4 | THURSDAY: Prototype

Finally, it was time to create a working prototype – in just 8 hours!

• Concerns
  
  As a designer, I was horrified at first, since we had very little time to prepare something that, in principle, should imitate the finished product as accurately as possible. In our case, the prototype was supposed to look like a real website covering a simple user path – from entering the main site to going through a few subpages. And that was when I learned to truly appreciate our interdisciplinary team.
  
  
• Teamwork
  
  We divided the tasks among our team in accordance with each of our skill sets. One person covered all of the copywriting tasks, while another prepared the photographs and icons. One UX expert focused on designing the screen views, while the other one added all the interactive features to the views. Everything was moving like clockwork.

In the meantime, the team member responsible for conducting user testing was preparing the test scripts for the next day.

What a day and what teamwork!

DAY 5 | FRIDAY: Test

On Friday morning, having created our prototype, we were ready to test our idea.

• Testing
  
  The users that we had recruited earlier began to successively join the test sessions, doing tasks and adding comments.
  
  
• Verifying
  
  Our team, on the other hand, was monitoring the process and making notes.
  

As a result, we collected important feedback that showed us what was working well, and what we would have to modify. But the most important thing we learned that day was that (after 5 testing sessions), we were sure that our idea had caught on and we were confident that it would work out really well in the market!

Modifications

All the necessary modifications were introduced after the design sprint. However, we were extremely satisfied with the effects of our 5-day test run. We created and tested a working prototype that met all user needs and fully supported the client’s business goals.

Final thoughts

After this design sprint I became a big fan of this methodology. And I agree that the bigger the challenge, the better the sprint, which was emphasised in the Design Sprint Book.

This method allows us to focus on a small yet significant part of a larger problem and work on it separately to ensure that we are moving in the right direction. Plus, we don’t have to stop at one design sprint – it can always be repeated whenever needed, and even used to create something bigger, more holistic. The result of a design sprint can also be leveraged to continue our work in the form of a Discovery Workshop or Software Product Design.

Place your customers at the heart of your business transformation: 3 mind shifts

1. Stop guessing. Identify actual customer needs.

• Do the research and take a customer-centric approach.
  
  The decision-making process should always be based on relevant data, and your customers should be the driving force behind nearly each and every one of your decisions, placing them right under the spotlight of your company’s activities.
  
  This makes checking up on them on a regular basis the key to success. You need to know about your customers’ needs and requirements and what makes them choose to stick with you and the product or service that you’re offering – over all the other options on the market. And, of course – how their needs and requirements change over time. For example, you can conduct surveys, ask your clients for feedback and about their expectations, have them rate your offer, and test your service.
  
  
• Analyse your target audience as well as your competitors.
  
  Asking direct questions is very important. However, you should also learn how to read between the lines and analyse customer behaviour, including their lifestyles, habits, and more. Monitor the way they use your products, what they seem to value the most, and what they totally ignore.
  
  It’s also important to keep an eye on your competitors and observe how they respond to their own customers’ needs. This is a great source of information – one that you cannot afford to overlook.
  
  
• Help your customers interact with your business in real time, so that you can react quickly.
  
  Nowadays, the ability to respond immediately to any reported issues or questions may be a crucial factor in determining your company’s position, or even survival, in the market.
  
  You need to provide your customers with the tools they need to interact with you in real time – and equip your employees with solutions that enable lightning-fast reactions.

2. Stop building new solutions on top of old systems. Bet on innovation to stay afloat.

• Hire an external IT partner to help you transform your business.
  
  You may, of course, try to handle your digital transformation on your own, but it’s wise to at least consider other options. Hiring an IT partner is a good one. Why? Because your IT department is most likely already occupied with a lot of ongoing tasks and getting them involved in a new and demanding project may be too much for them to handle. And expanding your team may consume too many resources and too much energy.
  
  A good IT partner, on the other hand, will provide you with a team of specialists tailored exactly to your needs, and take comprehensive care of your digital transformation, whether you decide to start small or go big.
  
  
• Reimagine the customer experience: come up with a new strategy.
  
  If you want to put your clients front and centre and transform your business in line with this new approach, you definitely need to have a good strategy to make it work. Most likely, you already have some thoughts and ideas on this topic, but it would be better to run them by someone else first – preferably an expert who can offer experience and a fresh eye.
  
  Our discovery workshop may be the perfect solution here.
  
  
• Modernise your legacy system or build a new one from scratch. 
  
  Depending on your digital transformation strategy, you may only need to update and modernise your software or you may want to build a new solution from scratch. Either way, the shift is inevitable, because you cannot truly prioritise your customers if you’re still relying on legacy systems. This is also associated with improving customer experience – the better it is, the more likely your clients are to reach for the products or services that you offer, and to keep coming back for more.
  
  Changing your attitude requires betting on innovation and inscribing it deep within your company’s DNA, since the clients are now much more aware of the ongoing trends than only a few years ago.
  

3. Stop limiting your employees. Empower them instead.

• Listen to their feedback, suggestions and ideas.
  
  Start with empowering and listening to your employees – especially the ones who work on the front lines and are the closest to your customers. They are a true treasure trove of information about your clients, so even their smallest and most insignificant suggestions may help you adjust your course and finally start moving in the right direction.
  
  
• Make sure that they have all the tools they need to ensure smooth customer service and analyses.
  
  Your customer service should be as effective as possible (for both sides), not to mention pleasant and enjoyable. Your clients should receive the best user experience possible, and your employees should not only be able to help them in any way necessary, but also analyse their feedback and behaviour effectively, so that they can draw adequate conclusions. Equipped with the right tools, your customer service team can help lay the foundation for your transformation.
  
  
• Take care of your employees, so they can take care of your clients.
  
  This may appear to be obvious, but it’s not nearly as simple as it sounds. Actually, a lot of companies struggle with establishing a pleasant and friendly work environment, fail at creating a supportive atmosphere, and don’t really care about motivating the people they hire. And these people, in turn, take it out on the customers. This is why you need to start by building a great workplace – one that will keep your employees satisfied and motivated enough to offer a similar level of concern when they connect with your clients.
  

Wrap-up 

As you can see – when transforming your business, you need to incorporate a real customer-centric approach.

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And this often requires redesigning your entire strategy and reorganising the way you work by getting rid of any legacy systems that may be holding you back.

So, if you’re not sure how to do it right, don’t hesitate to ask for help. We will be happy to assist you in any way we can.