Every year, November is observed as Quality Month. This celebration originated in Japan in 1959, though some countries (such as Canada and the United States) celebrate it in October. In software development, quality is commonly associated with proper tool performance and the absence of bugs. However, other equally critical aspects are often overlooked. For instance, a core tenet of quality involves aligning expectations. This is essential, as an application cannot be properly developed without a clear understanding of the customer's expectations and needs. To produce truly high-quality software or digital products, they must be built around the real needs of the end users.
When new software is created, it is because someone needed it to perform a specific task, and that need translates into a system. At Baufest, we address this through our Business Design practice, which focuses on user understanding and delivers insights into what clients need or experience with their current products (for instance, why they might not be using them). This practice encompasses digital experience design, UI/UX, and core product and service design backed by pertinent research. It also takes into account each country's cultural, economic, social, and political context, as designing software for Argentina differs significantly from designing for Sweden.
The goal is to understand user expectations, strategic purpose, and core objectives to ensure they are met. Along the way, we leverage modern tools to map potential scenarios within each industry or business and factor them into product creation.
However, that is only part of the equation. For software development quality to truly come full circle, another closely related aspect—often hidden in digital transformation processes—must be addressed: digital change management (or adoption). This is undoubtedly a key process behind high-quality technology projects, particularly at a time when organizations must focus on customers and users to deliver differentiated experiences. Underestimating this area can impact the entire enterprise.
Digital Adoption
Ultimately, quality is about properly satisfying customer needs. It is not just about producing error-free software, technological innovations, or new tools; it is about delivering real value to the business. If a technological tool goes unused, it ultimately serves no purpose and satisfies no need.
Through Baufest’s digital change management services, we help organizations achieve a vital outcome: ensuring users adopt new software, engage with it, and understand the rationale behind its implementation. This is an essential component of quality management. We begin by assessing and analyzing the digital maturity of the team to evaluate their readiness to adopt new changes and tools.
To guarantee the quality of a company's digital transformation, we look beyond process excellence reflected in the system to focus on agile transformation and digital change adoption.
In practice, many companies invest heavily in software, applications, or technological innovations that end up unused, misused, or met with employee resistance. This typically stems from the following shortcomings:
- Failing to involve people at the right time.
- A lack of communication regarding why the company is making the transition.
- Insufficient messaging around user benefits—how it helps them, what changes for them, and what they stand to gain.
- Inadequate explanation of opportunity cost—what users miss out on if they don't use the new system, compared to the investment made in learning it.
- The absence of a structured change management plan.
These mistakes can cause users to overlook the value of a new solution, remain in their comfort zones, or distrust the motives behind the change, ultimately jeopardizing any technological innovation.
In these scenarios, our role is to guide employees through habit changes so they actively use, leverage, and maximize the tool's potential. Our experience in developing and implementing digital products enables us to pinpoint resistance factors and engage teams at the right time.
Furthermore, adoption must drive the intended impact. Otherwise, a client might receive a "Ferrari" only to use the seat recliner.
Organizational Change
A study revealed that projects with excellent change management in the United States were eight times more likely to meet or exceed their objectives than those with poor change management.
Similarly, other research indicates that while successful digital transformations are rare, organizations that master six key factors can boost their average success rate from a mere 30% to 80%. Two of these six factors directly relate to what we are highlighting:
- Having an integrated strategy with clear transformation goals (outlining the why, the what, and the how).
- Establishing an agile governance mindset that drives broader adoption.
In a previous blog post, we highlighted the critical role digital change adoption plays in the success of digital transformation initiatives. We also outlined Baufest's approach to this area and the benefits of maintaining a dedicated focus on it. Today, we want to emphasize the specific contribution digital adoption makes to the overall quality of a tech project.
Quality Management
As mentioned, digital adoption goes beyond realizing a return on investment (ROI) in software development and fully leveraging a new tool's capabilities. It also involves training, cultural evolution, and organizational change focused on continuous improvement.
In software development, quality management must be viewed as an end-to-end commitment—from writing code and building robust solutions to embedding tools into daily business operations. This ensures an agile, lasting, and effective transition that replaces legacy habits. During Quality Month at Baufest, we emphasize the importance of continuous improvement across every process that shapes our work—from user-centered design to guaranteed adoption.