UX Internal Review
In my role as Digital Experience Advisor at BCE, I reviewed our teams' UX and UI practices to better understand how user-centred design was being applied across the organisation. The findings helped shape future initiatives to strengthen UX capability across our IT teams.
Objective
The primary objective was to review the UX and UI methodologies being used across our teams. As the role was newly established, the findings helped identify where I could best focus my efforts in supporting teams with UX and UI advice. The review also provided an opportunity to engage with key stakeholders and gain a better understanding of their work. A year later, a follow-up review was conducted to measure the impact of these efforts and assess whether the adoption of UX and UI methodologies had increased.
Research methods
Interviews and survey: I conducted interviews with IT managers, team leaders, product owners and subject matter experts to understand how UX and UI methodologies were being applied across the organisation. Their feedback was documented and used to inform a survey of UX and UI practices. In 2022, I held 29 meetings and, in 2023, conducted a further 22 meetings.
Reports: The insights gathered from the interviews and survey were analysed and presented to the Head of IT, combining both quantitative and qualitative findings. The results were subsequently shared with the broader IT department through a webinar.
Synthesise insights
The first review revealed which methodologies were widely used and which were not. For instance, teams demonstrated strengths in stakeholder engagement, user engagement, and usability testing. However, UI design and accessibility practices were less commonly engaged.
The second review, conducted a year later, indicated an increase in the use of UX and UI methodologies, reflecting a growing focus on user experience among teams. More teams were incorporating UX methodologies in the planning and requirements gathering phases.
A standout insight was that the percentage of products including accessibility in their planning or development had increased to 44%, more than double the number from the previous year, indicating that our efforts to raise awareness of accessible practices were making a difference.
Application of research to design decisions
The findings from the reviews led to several initiatives:
Community of Practice: I established a network of UX and UI champions with regular meetings to share knowledge and promote learning in UX and UI best practices.
BCE Design System uplift: I initiated a project to improve the usability, governance and access to the organisations' design system, ensuring a consistent and accessible user experience across our products.
Accessibility training, standards and tools: I championed the adoption of WCAG accessibility standards across our digital products. I also sourced training and accessibility tools for IT teams, and promoted best practices to better support all users.
Reflect
Reflecting on the feedback from my Head of IT, who wisely advised, "don't eat the elephant all at once," I adopted a systematic approach to address the findings and provide the best support for our IT teams. By breaking down the challenges into manageable steps, I was able to work with the teams to implement changes effectively and sustainably. This approach fostered a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration, ultimately enhancing the user experience and supporting our teams in delivering high-quality, inclusive, user-centric solutions.
