Where Does it Hurt? A Closer Look at Pain Points

The more I talk to customers, the more it amazes me how much similarity there is in the core problems businesses are trying to solve. Whether it is an IT manager or an accountant, the common denominator is that they spend the majority of their time trying to figure out how to get things done. In my world, this tends to mean moving from paper-based processes or figuring out the right way to get things done with digital information.  Which tools, what processes and how to teach everyone the “right” way to do things is a constant problem.

Companies are trying to figure this out, while at the same time, they tell their IT organizations to lower costs, streamline their processes and to protect their business interest.  No easy task – and how does an IT organization do this while also empowering their end users with best practices?

IT organizations need to think beyond just offering tools and leverage best in class practices for their organizations.  Often, this can put IT in a bind. How to lower costs and also get the best tools into their users hands?  I have found that the best organizations do this by first focusing on prioritizing the pain points of their end users. This is where the end user needs to speak up. What costs the most time, effort and pain to you in your daily work? In my previous post, I spoke to an example of a company that completely revamped its UI based on user feedback, which led to impressive results. Some examples we hear from end users are:

Gathering feedback and approvals takes foreverUsing forms to collect information is too difficultSending multiple attachments causes confusionEditing PDF documents is a hassleProperly protecting electronic documents is too time consumingIt’s hard to ensure that published documents are readable in a multi-screen worldIt’s hard to send large files with email and IT restrictionsIt takes too long and is too complicated to get documents signed electronically

Sound familiar? These are very common themes, especially as we move into a new business climate where we are not just trying to be productive on our PC’s, but also on our phones and tablets. It’s time to take a look at what NEW best in breed companies are doing.

What are your pain points? How do you handle them with the current technologies you use?

(Photo credit: Thumb Being Pressed on Thumb Tack via Shutterstock)

Mark Grilli is senior director of Acrobat Solutions product marketing at Adobe Systems Incorporated. He is responsible for worldwide marketing strategy and implementation of the company’s Acrobat, EchoSign, and document products and services. Prior to joining Adobe, Grilli held marketing and client services positions at WebEx (now a Cisco Company) and was co-founder in a eLearning start up. Grilli blogs often on the official Adobe Acrobat blog. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCSB and a MBA from Pepperdine University.

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