Why enterprise software sucks (and how to unsuck it)

A corporate love story by @RianVDM

What’s so wrong with

enterprisesoftware?

enterprise software

Too much legacy

Lack of empathy

Whysucks

Lack of empathy

Sold to

Used by!=

Lack of empathy

ControlConfigurabilityComplianceFeatures

Getstuffdone

The death spiral

As fewer people are able to use the software, fewer people want to use it, until no one uses it any more.

Lack of empathy

Build forFeatures & timelines

Build forThe Job to be Done

enterprise software

Lack of empathy

Too much legacy

Whysucks

Too much legacy

Waterfalls Silos Bureaucracy

The dysfunction in the organizationbecomes

the dysfunction in the product, and that gets passed on to customers.

— Jon Kolko

How do weunsuck it?

Show the business value of design

2014 Design Value Index Results and Commentary

The Design Value Index (DVI), a market

capitalization-weighted index comprised of design-

driven companies, shows 10-year returns of a 219% over that of the S&P 500

from 2004-2014.

— 2014 DVI

From Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach

Cos

t of m

akin

g ch

ange

s

1xDuring Design

100xAfter

Launch

6xDuring

Development

Shrink user-centered design to fit

Ethnographic study

HTML

Formal usability testing

Phone interviews

Clickable prototype

RITE

Ask a friend

Paper sketch

Show someone at Starbucks

Stumptown

Explore

Prototype

User testing

Turn Sales into a product design function

Product Forces Framework

Break down silos through collaboration

Product Discovery

Design Studio & Prototyping

User Research

Modern collaboration techniques

“We enable people to work better together using simple, smart, beautiful products.”

— Elisa Steele, CEO of Jive

jivedaily.com

Show them why it’s important

Show them it’s not going to make their lives difficult

Give them a framework that covers the whole product

Make them part of the process

@RianVDM elezea.com

jivesoftware.com/careers