Episode 4

The Design of the User Experience

Published on: 8th August, 2023

On this episode of The Smart IT Podcast, I welcomed Evelina Deleanu, Head of Experience @ ChaiOne, to the show. We talked about design, end users, and experience.

In IT, we often talk about the back end of the digital infrastructure that powers business services. It is important as well to take a step back and think about the experience of the people using our systems. We need to answer the question of what users are trying to accomplish in their daily tasks as they interact with technology. Design is more than aesthetics; it is the actual experience. We discussed user experience (UX) and the entire experience with a product or service. For example, buying an Apple product, from unwrapping device, to setting it for use. Experience encompasses the entire lifecycle of interacting with the product or service. We discussed several insightful areas, including:

  • When companies do not invest in experience, you have user complaints. Many digital transformation initiatives fail because they do not consider the user enough.
  • Viewing the human experience holistically interacting with technology systems. The importance of designing the experience of technology for users. 
  • A good experience working with a system is the result of thoughtful design. There needs to be a purposeful understanding of what users are trying to accomplish and design the technology systems to meet those needs as efficiently as possible. 
  • Many users resist digital transformation initiatives and new solutions. The importance of focusing on being user centric to meet their actual work needs. If not done well, we risk lower user adoption rates and technology investments may not pay off for our businesses. 
  • Part of the design process is collecting end user data using methods such as interviews, observation, and time motion studies. 

We closed out by discussing career pathing for those looking to get into design. 

LINKS:

LinkedIn - Evelina Deleanu

ADP List: https://app.adplist.org/login

Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/

Interaction Design Foundation: https://www.interaction-design.org/

LinkedIn - ChaiOne

#design #humancentereddesign #ux #experience

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About the Podcast

The Smart IT Podcast
Where IT explores what's next...
The Smart IT Podcast, where IT professionals can assemble and hear from each other, industry leaders, thought leaders, and those in adjacent fields to collaborate and learn from each other and explore what’s next for IT.

The Smart IT Podcast explores what’s next for IT as it continues to find ways to get the important things done for our organizations.
Preparing for the next decade, we need to think differently about how we approach our work to continue to thrive into the future.

Smart IT is an approach, conceptual framework, and development model to getting the important things done by transforming the way traditional IT thinks, works, and leads. It supports the disruption of the status quo, simplifies the complex, reduces uncertainty, and improves risk mitigation.

There has never been more pressure to deliver for our organizations; but I know IT is up to the challenge.

That will require IT to lead by working smarter. Let’s do it together.

About your host

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William Reed

I am an advisor of technology for business use, have seen the possibilities, the challenges, the constraints, and the risks. I have seen firsthand the technical debt, silos, broken communication, despair of IT, and business frustrations. And, I have seen the possibilities, the hopes, and the opportunities while working in the trenches of IT.

As someone that has analyzed, designed, built, and supported technology infrastructure for many businesses over the years, and followed the technology trends and cyber threats, I see the opportunities for our organizations and for the professionals of IT as a fulfilling and thriving career.

I believe we have been blessed with great opportunities to continue to improve ourselves and organizations. If it’s possible, there is no reason enterprise IT cannot reach new heights and help our businesses thrive in age of disruption, complexity, and risk.

I have a passion is bringing a fresh perspective to the challenges in front of IT and help inspire a team to tackle and win. And to help individuals and organizations make better decisions to improve outcomes and experiences.

I advise on matters of technology use for organizational benefits. He has over 20 years’ experience in the Information Technology field. He has worked for multiple technology value added resellers, representing the major vendors and technologies in the industry. He has consulted across the major industries, including banking, health care, retail, oil & gas, education, government, finance, and legal.