Cross Functional Design Teams

Many executives believe design is about making devices and screens look pretty. Good visuals improve any experience, but being great requires thinking about everything—and everyone. Companies need to push their people to move beyond traditional functional roles and work together to reinvent customer journeys. This is typically done by creating temporary project teams or task forces. But responding to a customer issue or improving a journey requires a culture where people from different functions work together spontaneously. Our Digital Quotient analysis revealed that less than 30 percent of companies say they have a highly collaborative culture. Improvements can come from having motivated, empowered front-line employees driven by clear purpose. Technology has a role too. By moving into cloud-based, virtualised environments, for example, companies can help teams to experiment and innovate