NewCo at IBM
Socio-technical Design
Guiding global IBM employees as they transition to IBM's spin-off company, NewCo, now known as Kyndryl.
Roles
Danielle Justilien
Project Manager, UX Design, Content design
Brittany Sgaliardich
UX Research, Content Design
Isaiah Guzman
Visual Design, UX Research
Swapna Patwardhan
UX Design, Visual Design
Nadia Madrigal
UX Research
Deliverables
Research report, MVP prototype, experience-based roadmap, final presentation
Tools
Mural, Figma Sketch, InVision, Pen & Paper
Time
6 Weeks
Project Overview
What better way to officially begin my career as a UX Designer other than at IBM's early-career design bootcamp, Patterns. As the premise of this program, about 50 IBM designers and I embarked on a 6-week journey to create solutions for some of IBM's most pressing design problems.
On team "Surf's Up", five of us Patternites aimed to tackle the challenge of supporting
IBM's Employee and Change Management teams through the process of transition 90,000 IBM employees to it's spinoff company. , it was most important that supportive digital platforms and processes were in place for transitioning employees. For us Patternites, this meant not only designing digital tools for employees to utilize, but also designing for the social, emotional, and physical well-being of transitioning employees - a socio-technical challenge our team was facing for the first time.
How might we create a cohesive, consistent, and delightful transition experience for NewCo employees that will support them through the transition process, giving them a single source of truth in order to maintain their service levels to clients, optimize offer acceptance, and foster engagement.
The Design Process
Our team took full advantage of IBM's Enterprise Design Thinking framework and the loop (pictured below) to understand employees current situation and envision for the future.
As a part of the Patterns program, our design process also included weekly Playbacks, a time to bring stakeholders into the loop in a safe space to tell design stories and exchange feedback. In between playbacks, daily team stand-ups with dedicated stakeholders and our Cohort Coach, Mallory Frye, kept us moving toward daily progress.
Observe
Setting context
On October 8, 2020, IBM announced that the managed infrastructure services business of Global Technology Services (GTS-IS) will become an independent company, initially called “NewCo” and later known as Kyndryl.
NewCo, with the potential to be a global leader as the largest managed infrastructure services company in the world, had 4600 clients across 115 countries making up about $19 billion in business.
With that announcement, it became known that the IBMers that formed and supported the Global Technology Services business, or GTS-IS, and some Shared Services employees would be selected to transition to NewCo, and for most it would not be a choice. This meant that about 90,000 IBM employees across 570 unique job roles in 12 different countries now stood uncertain about the near future of their work lives.
Research Snapshot
Objective
We aimed to understand the relationship people have to information streams and support systems during their transition to NewCo, with a focus on factors that contribute to a shared sense of control.
Goals
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Build empathy with those affected by the transition from IBM to NewCo
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Understand how employees interact with information streams and support systems that relate to NewCo
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Identify what information and tools enable employees through transition over time
12
Sponsor user interviews
Our research began with 12 in-depth interviews with sponsor users. Our sponsor users included GTS-IS and Shared Services managers and employees who reflected the location, tenure, gender, and geographic mixes representative of the future NewCo employee base.
3
Subject matter expert interviews
The remaining interviews involved IBM employee managers and one external consultant who shed light on the internal processes and needs behind spinning off a company.
400+
Employee comments
Using internal publisher pages for NewCo updates and announcements, we scoured hundreds of comments left by IBMers to collect real, candid feedback, responses, questions, and concerns to better understand general feelings and thoughts about the coming changes.
Making sense of it all
We aimed to understand the relationship people have to information streams and support systems during their transition to NewCo, with a focus on factors that contribute to a shared sense of control.
Data wall
Assumptions & questions
After each interview, each of us added notable quotes, thoughts, and feedback to our data wall. Once interviews were complete, as a team, we sorted and grouped each note to inform our insights.
From our research insights, we also conducted a questions and assumptions exercise. This exercise allowed for us to bring our questions to internal stakeholders to get answers on outstanding questions about processes, tooling, and more before proceeding.
Empathy maps
After each interview, each of us added notable quotes, thoughts, and feedback to our data wall. Once interviews were complete, as a team, we sorted and grouped each note to inform our insights.
Needs statements
After each interview, each of us added notable quotes, thoughts, and feedback to our data wall. Once interviews were complete, as a team, we sorted and grouped each note to inform our insights.
Reflect
Although we identified three different persona types through our research, due to time limitation, we proceeded with our persona that reflected the larger majority of transitioning employees, Keith.
As-is Scenario
Starting with an as-is scenario activity in Mural, our team kept Keith's persona in mind as we mapped out what he would be thinking, feeling, and doing throughout the different phases of the NewCo transition.
Using that activity as a guiding point we created a detailed storyboard capturing key moments within the transition and Keith's experience up to the point of present time.
Insights & Opportunities
Starting with an as-is scenario activity in Mural, our team kept Keith's persona in mind as we mapped out what he would be thinking, feeling, and doing throughout the different phases of the NewCo transition.
Using that activity as a guiding point we created a detailed storyboard capturing key moments within the transition and Keith's experience up to the point of present time.
Insight #1
In the absence of information, employees can make negative assumptions about the future.
Opportunities
Transparent and direct communication from leadership
Insight into decision-making, timelines, and delays
Insight #2
Employees want to be made aware of critical information as soon and seamlessly as possible.
Opportunities
Centralized information translated across language and ability
Key questions addressed: benefits, pay, location, career development, timelines, systems
Clear and actionable steps for off and onboarding
Insight #3
People share nuanced and complicated reactions to the uncertainty introduced by NewCo.
Opportunities
Guardrails for leading and supporting team through uncertainty
Opportunities to connect with and learn from peers
Access to reliable information and escalation channels
Insight #4
The silver lining of unexpected change is the opportunity to improve upon the status quo.
Opportunities
Engagement in belief that employees form part of something groundbreaking
Attachment to NewCo vision and identity
Opportunities to voice ideas and concerns with ways to track action and progress
Hills
Information accessibility
Transitioning employees can readily access information relevant to their NewCo transition journey so they may maintain focus on clients and family.
Comunity engagement
Transitioning employees can connect with peers and contribute to the foundation of NewCo as soon as they learn they are part of the organization.
Formulating ideas
Content
Info architecture
Site map
Make
To-be scenario
Starting with an as-is scenario activity in Mural, our team kept Keith's persona in mind as we mapped out what he would be thinking, feeling, and doing throughout the different phases of the NewCo transition.
Using that activity as a guiding point we created a detailed storyboard capturing key moments within the transition and Keith's experience up to the point of present time.
Awesome wireframes design by Swapna Patwardhan
Testing, testing
Prototype
Final playback
Patterns experience
Patterns review
DEFINE
Speedy Ideation
To quickly explore a variety of possible solutions, I utilized the Crazy 8s sketching method to generate ideas for each section of the app. This process was extremely helpful in pushing me to explore more unconventional ideas. After completing the exercise, I reviewed my sketches to choose which ones would make for the best user experience.
Click Image to Enlarge
Designing the Solution
Designing the MVP
By implementing the best options from the Crazy 8 sketches, pulling inspiration from competitors, and integrating the brand identity, I designed the prototype focused on the main features necessary for the MVP.
Click to view more details on the design