In many aspects of technology delivery, something-"as-a-Service" is considered the ultimate end game. In user experience, however, it may only represent a step on the journey.
Photo: Joe McKendrick
That's one of the many takeaways of a recent talk[1] by Jared Spool, a writer, researcher, speaker, educator, and an expert on usability, software, design, and research. Notably, Spool points out, UX is a gradual journey, one that could unfold over many years.
Even a customer experience-obsessed company such as Disney took years to finally get their customer UX where they wanted it to be, he observes. When Disney first launched its web-based capabilities in the late 90s, he relates, people would often accidentally book accommodations in the wrong parks. "People would show up in Florida with California hotel reservations," he illustrates.
To keep a great customer experience front and center, the company would keep hotel rooms available for such mix-ups. They would reserve millions of dollars of rooms, and "even in their busiest season when they're all sold out, they still had empty rooms waiting for people who show up with the wrong reservation. Imagine a world where a corporation keeps millions of dollars of inventory aside because it's easier than fixing the damn website."
The company has learned a lot about UX in the years since, and now leads the way with superior, wow-inducing UX design features such as MagicBands, which manage customer preference data and matches up appropriate experiences. Disney has attained what Spool brands as "infused UX," which he explains as the successful outcome of a five-step journey.
Disney led the way, and now many companies seek to up their UX game, especially when digital interactions can make or break growth. However, UX design doesn't happen