Customer experience, design and collaboration
I authored and co-authored 50+ reports on customer experience and design during my time as a senior CX analyst at Forrester. My research now as shifted to employee experience. I write and research psychological safety and collaboration.
Recent publications from my blog
Agile ux design process with Scrum - revised
A revised guide to introduce UX practice into teams’ agile process and make it work.
Read the blog
Effective collaboration does not happen by accident
Leadership influences heavily good team work. Are you doing what it takes for your team to perform?
Read the blogStop killing collaboration with retrospectives
Do you think you are doing what it takes to support your team’s growth just because you have set up retrospectives? Think again.
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Get notifiedAcademic research papers
Design Ideas for Recommender Systems in Flexible Education: How Algorithmic Affordances May Address Ethical Concerns
In flexible education, recommender systems that support course selection, are considered a viable means to help students in making informed course selections, especially where curricula offer greater flexibility. However, these recommender systems present both potential benefits and looming risks, such as over dependence on technology, biased recommendations, and privacy issues. User control mechanisms in recommender interfaces (or algorithmic affordances) might offer options to address those risks, but they have not been systematically studied yet. This paper presents the outcomes of a design session conducted during the INTERACT23 workshop on Algorithmic Affordances in Recommender Interfaces.
Published in Design for Equality and Justice (2024)
Authors: Suzanne van Rossen, Ester Bartels, Karine Cardona, Chris Detweiler, Katja Pott, Shakila Shayan, Aletta Smits, Jürgen Ziegler, Esther van der Stappen
Exploring Categorizations of Algorithmic Affordances in Graphical User Interfaces of Recommender Systems
This exploratory study investigates the rationale behind categorizing algorithmic controls, or algorithmic affordances, in the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of recommender systems. Seven professionals from industry and academia took part in an open card sorting activity to analyze 45 cards with examples of algorithmic affordances in recommender systems’ GUIs. Their objective was to identify potential design patterns including features on which to base these patterns. Analyzing the group discussions revealed distinct thought processes and defining factors for design patterns that were shared by academic and industry partners. While the discussions were promising, they also demonstrated a varying degree of alignment between industry and academia when it came to labelling the identified categories. Since this workshop is part of the preparation for creating a design pattern library of algorithmic affordances, and since the library aims to be useful for both industry and research partners, further research into design patterns of algorithmic affordances, particularly in terms of labelling and description, is required in order to establish categories that resonate with all relevant parties.
Published in Design for Equality and Justice (2024)
Authors: Ester Bartels, Aletta Smits, Chris Detweiler, Esther van der Stappen, Suzanne van Rossen, Shakila Shayan, Katja Pott, Karine Cardona, Jürgen Ziegler, Koen van Turnhout
Assessing the Utility of an Interaction Qualities Framework in Systematizing the Evaluation of User Control
The user’s experience with a recommender system is significantly shaped by the dynamics of user-algorithm interactions. These interactions are often evaluated using interaction qualities, such as controllability, trust, and autonomy, to gauge their impact. As part of our effort to systematically categorize these evaluations, we explored the suitability of the interaction qualities framework as proposed by Lenz, Dieffenbach and Hassenzahl
Published in Design for Equality and Justice (2024)
Authors: Aletta Smits, Chris Detweiler, Ester Bartels, Katja Pott, Esther van der Stappen, Suzanne van Rossen, Karine Cardona, Shakila Shayan, Jürgen Ziegler, Koen van Turhout
Customer experience and design research publications
In addition to thousands of reads from Forrester’s clients, my research has been featured in specialist press and at industry events. Here is a selection of my best ones, starting with articles and videos that are publicly accessible:
CX innovation in agile development is easier to implement than you thought
Published in Customer Experience Magazine (2022)
Making customer experience efforts fit into agile practice does not come without challenges. There is no simple recipe you can follow to make it happen, but there are three things you can start with.
> Read this article on CX MagazineAI and automation: how to improve customer service
Published in Le Mag IT (2022)
An article exploring the benefits of artificial intelligence and automation for customer service. This excerpt from a research report highlights practical and actionable findings and points out what not to do.
> Read this article on Le Mag IT (FR)What customer service journeys reveal
Presented at TopDesk event TopSEE (2021)
The analysis of a customer story reveals what makes amazing customer service. Customer experience leaders can seize this opportunity to make a significant impact.
> Watch the recording on YoutubeHow AI and automation drive better customer service
Published in Computer Weekly (2021)
An analysis exploring the benefits of combining artificial intelligence with automation, based on the research report “How AI and automation drive better customer service experiences” available for Forrester’s clients.
> Read this article on Computer WeeklyHuman Customer Service Is A Major Opportunity For Customer Experience
Published in CX Magazine (2020)
Companies that get caught into obsessing on costs invest in strategies that will back-fire and miss out the major opportunity that human customer service is for CX. The ones that seize the human customer service opportunity are well positioned to differentiate.
> Read this article on CX MagazineDesign better search
A 5 step framework to create great digital search experiences
Digital search can offer infinite opportunities to improve customer experience, but it is not a silver bullet. This report highlights the main challenges at stake with digital search and gives design and digital professionals involved in creating a search experience a five-step framework and a set of principles they can use to ensure they create good search experiences.
> Interested in this research? Book a callDouze stratégies de conception pour surmonter les résistances et adopter le changement
Comment utiliser les pratiques de conception pour accélérer la gestion du changement pour les employés et les clients.
Companies identify design as key to driving better customer experience (CX). But while they might receive a mandate to help their organizations transform by using design, design leaders often struggle with strong internal resistance that prevents them from delivering their best value. This report casts light on what drives resistance to change and highlights 12 design strategies that can help win over employees and customers.
> Interested in this research? Book a callElevate your mobile experience by applying behavioral science to UX design
How to foster feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness to sustain mobile engagement
Too many mobile apps still fail to meet customers’ expectations of a user experience (UX) that is effective, easy, and emotionally engaging. Companies should invest more in fixing and enhancing their mobile UX, as touch digital experiences are a more personal and engaging channel. This report explains how to design mobile experiences that will sustain engagement by combining a solid mobile UX foundation and psychological human needs as design principles.
> Interested in this research? Book a callAgile and design teams: better together
Improve CX and EX with great collaboration between designers and developers
Companies are adopting agile frameworks and adding designers to their delivery teams to improve digital experience development efforts. But these two constituencies don’t rely on the same workflow, artefacts, or ceremonies — and often struggle to find common ground as a result. This report for experience design (XD) pros explains how to help these two worlds join forces to create better together — improving customer experiences and building a more collaborative, customer-centric company culture.
> Interested in this research? Book a callDesign better feedback experiences to drive loyalty and value customers' generosity
You are missing out on customers' feedback, and it's on you!
Customer experience (CX) leaders need to better design feedback experiences to avoid missed opportunities, harvest the value that customers give them, and follow up in a way that will positively engage with customers, not dismiss them.
> Interested in this research? Book a callThe unintended consequences of service design
Learn from three service design projects that delivered more than expected
Service design initiatives that target a customer experience (CX) challenge often deliver beyond their initial scope, impacting the organization’s employees and culture as well as customers. This report illustrates how and why service design principles power success beyond expectations, using three success stories across the banking, healthcare, and social security industries.
> Interested in this research? Book a call