How to Apply User Centered Design to Salesforce

There is a consistent reason companies lose the trust of their Salesforce users. And that's because they fail to take a user-centered approach to design.

If user-centered design is how companies like Uber and Airbnb ship their core Product… Why do we treat Internal Tools any differently?

What is User-Centered Design?

In the world of Product Development, user-centered design is FUNDAMENTAL.

It means understanding the user's goals, tasks, and preferences, and then designing a product that meets those needs. UCD is a critical part of any product development process because it helps ensure that the product's success.

It’s how you gain an intimate understanding of:

A user 👉 their demands 👉 their priorities 👉 their workflows.

When adopted, user-centered design increases product usability and delivers satisfaction to users.

Applying User-Centered Design to Salesforce

Now, you might be saying, “Hey! Mapping user workflows to Salesforce is the #1 priority.” But that’s a small piece of User Experience design. Not to mention, it’s not just about automating their workflows with technology.

It’s about automating them in ways the user WANTS. (And sometimes, doesn’t even know it.)

The foundation of a user-centered approach rests on Research. On quantitative and qualitative insights. Quantitative Research is backed by data. i.e. How many clicks does it take a Rep to execute a specific workflow. Quantitative Research is based on user sentiment. i.e. The Reps’ behaviors, feelings, and attitude toward using a tool.

A company like Uber has 30+ User Experience Researchers. This is the only way to build a product that delights users, and it’s exactly how you should approach internal Salesforce development.

Adopting a truly user-centered approach starts with a few things:

1. The Salesforce team must truly control product strategy.

You can’t effectively incorporate user research if the roadmap is built off inbound requests. The Salesforce team must have a long-term roadmap they are executing against. Validating hypotheses, surfacing new insights, and pinpointing user needs through Research.

2️. You need to have the right resources in place.

In a core Product org (i.e. the teams building the product you sell), they have UX Researchers. In the context of Salesforce, this role is played by an Admin or Business Analyst. These individuals MUST understand research fundamentals.

It requires the ability to use formal research methods. And translate that into validated conclusions instead of building off anecdotal data.

Need help adopting a user-centered design approach to Salesforce? Schedule a call here.