AI 2018 Business Excellence Awards

Acquisition International - 2018 Business Excellence Awards 5 prototypes respectively, they can save businesses time and money because they allow for a multitude of facilities – including gathering feedback for real end-users, enabling low-cost changes to the product and allowing for testing against user expectations. Other factors that can affect a project’ success User Experience techniques will only lead to a successful project if they are applied within a wider cultural, behavioural and environmental framework agreed and outlined prior to the planning phase. Once the objectives of a project are defined, a briefing with digital experts will raise questions, identify opportunities, such as new technologies, and explore alternative options that can form the Request for Proposal (RFP). This will help save time later and ensure that the agency responses are consistent and easier to compare. Businesses excited to embark on a new project should allow enough time to fine-tune its aims and test and receive feedback on every step of its development, as shifting deadlines will cause unnecessary delays as the project unfolds. A major impediment to a project’s success is often its financing. Businesses that keep making costly additional requests or who are unable to specify the actual amount of investment in a product or idea, can hinder the developers’ work. The budget has to be realistic to ensure the right UX techniques are considered and the desired scope and quality is achieved. Poor communication can be the downfall of a project. From the start, clear lines of internal and external consultation must be established so that all parties involved are aware of the progress and challenges of the project. Communication is also imperative for managing expectations, keeping track of expenditure and monitoring the project throughout. Conclusion Success of a digital project is vital to a business, with 86% of business leaders believing digital transformation is worth investing in (6). However, if a new project fails to create value for its end- users, it will be abandoned or never implemented and this will lead to substantial financial losses for the business. Tailored user experience techniques, combined with commitment to deliver a project on time and on budget will prevent the project from derailing and ending in failure. DotLabel have designed a free e-book to provide help when planning and budgeting for a new, user- centric and results-driven website. 1 . https://www.forrester.com/report/Rich+Internet+A pplication+Errors+To+Avoid/-/E-RES46114 2 . http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/ why-software-fails 3 . https://www.walkerinfo.com/customers2020/ 4 .https://usabilitymatters.com/10-stats- demonstrate-roi-ux/ 5. http://www.humanfactors.com/newsletters/how_ many_test_participants.asp 6 . http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/06/15/ survey-reveals-half-all-business-leaders-remain- confused-digital-transformation About Matt Oxley Matt Oxley is co- founder and Director of the award winning User Experience (UX) and digital agency DotLabel. Celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2017, the prestigious client list includes Hendricks Gin, The Balvenie, Airbus, SDL and Anthony Nolan. The agency is proud to have been recognised with industry awards from Wirehive, The Drum, UXUK, and BIMA. Matt comes from a creative design background with a passion for user-centred digital experiences. In his career Matt has held the role of Creative Director at agencies Intercea and NetSitePro providing expert advice to household brand names such as GlaxoSmithKline, Kelloggs and McVities. About DotLabel DotLabel delivers a range of UX-focused digital experiences including websites, apps, intranets and portals. Dedicated to a UX design approach, the team at DotLabel know that when you combine a company’s objectives with an understanding of the users’ goals, attitude, frustrations and expectations, you can create digital experiences that get better results and really drive conversion, whether that be increased enquiries and sales, improved engagement or reduced calls to customer support. DotLabel offer a flexible user experience methodology that is designed to meet different objectives and budgets. www.dotlabel.co.uk