Is the Future of User Adoption User-Led Search or Help in the Flow of Work?
This thought-provoking question was discussed in a recent podcast by the team at Tango. They highlighted two rapidly evolving strategies that enhance user support, drive adoption, and increase process success. Both approaches leverage advancements in AI, but they represent distinct paths to achieving similar goals.
The Approaches
Flow of Work (DAP’s)
This method offers proactive guidance to users by providing the right help at the right moment during a process. Digital Adoption Platforms (DAP's) like WalkMe power this approach, offering users immediate support without the need to seek it out.
User-Led Search
In contrast, this approach focuses on providing users with powerful search tools to find the information they need. This method relies on users to take the initiative by identifying their problem and searching for a solution. Platforms such as Google, ChatGPT, and newer entrants like Glean are leading in this space, utilizing AI to pull from vast information sources.
Key Differences
Flow of Work (DAP’s)
DAP solutions like WalkMe require understanding of your organisational processes. This involves identifying potential challenges and solutions and placing them at the relevant point in the process. from a users perspective it all looks like a single application. It’s especially useful in larger organisations where the economies of scale quickly pay off the investment in understanding process/hurdle/solutions. AI integration is adding to these solutions and helping to provide more dynamic, real-time information, borrowing from the search model.
User-Led Search
Meanwhile, search-driven solutions allow users to leverage the common search & results interface which are already widely used in the workplace. Note the split of this category into organisation supported search (the focus of this article), and plain old google (less useful, not the focus of this article). This substantive issue with this approach is that it relies on users understanding their issue well enough to ask the right questions and then being able to sift through answers to find a relevant answer. The improvement in this approach comes from generative AI better understanding questions, giving more relevant answers, and pulling from continuously updated information - from internal (intranet) and external (internet) sources.
Implications for IT and Operations
During the podcast, Ken and Daniel emphasized that IT and operations teams must see themselves as key drivers of workforce productivity. To achieve this, consider the following:
If you don't provide your users with adoption tools, they will resort to Google, which could lead to confusion, frustration, and wasted time.
Recognize that while these two approaches differ, they complement one another. Both aim to improve user experience, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Digital transformation initiatives and new application rollouts present prime opportunities to implement these solutions.
Which Approach is Right for Your Organization?
Both approaches are valuable, and organizations should consider leveraging both.
User-led search tools, enhanced by AI, are ideal for solving less common or emerging issues where predefined support may not yet exist.
DAPs, on the other hand, are best suited for addressing known challenges by providing in-application assistance at the moment of need. Larger organizations, in particular, can benefit from economies of scale by investing in DAPs like WalkMe to streamline processes, reduce user frustration, and enhance overall process quality. As common hurdles arise guidance can be updated quickly to offer new support solutions, and AI is adding to the ability of DAP’s to identify and solve hurdles before they become big issues.
The Role of AI in the Future
AI will continue to accelerate the evolution of both strategies. We have already witnessed significant advancements in generative AI, such as ChatGPT, which has revolutionized how information is synthesized and delivered. Simultaneously, platforms like WalkMe are utilizing AI to learn from user interactions, with plans to incorporate generative AI for real-time support enhancements.
What do you think? Are you ready to embrace the future of user adoption?
#DigitalAdoption WalkMe™ GuideMe Solutions #ChangeEnablers #ChangeManagement #DigitalAdoptionPlatforms
Disclosure - I work at GuideMe Solutions who are Digital Adoption and WalkMe experts - www.guidemesolutions.com
Podcast link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngPZxBs2xaw
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