It can be difficult for software and infrastructure companies to navigate periods of high volatility and change. Products and technology are facing new and increasing demands, now more than ever. Logic and design, security, speed, network stability, and many other important aspects of software have been put to the test at unprecedented levels in the past month.

Before most of us had heard anything about COVID-19, we were already well into an era of companies rapidly adopting AI and conversational applications to free up more of their employee’s time for more valuable thinking, conversations and tasks. The COVID-19 crisis has understandably created a frenzy of companies looking to automate as much and as fast as they can. And rightly so – generally speaking, the more a company can accomplish, despite the impacts of the crisis, the stronger better their company health will remain. For many companies, AI, conversational applications and automation are suddenly a way to maintain or advance productivity and help keep jobs.

In his UX Magazine article, Navigating Uncertainty, David Jenkins covers some of the design areas that are now being put to the test, and offers insight on how to be better prepared in uncertain times.

He recommends making information readily available, saying, “you need to make them aware of what’s important, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Consider incorporating elements of AI and machine learning into your product to highlight exceptionalism, provide actionable insights and improve information density³. Make the design clean and simple to use, then, understand how it behaves in a real-world environment.”

He mentions that an important element of dealing with exceptionalism is automation, and he recommends automating routine tasks: “automate routinely, but with great care.”

Another important aspect of navigating uncertainty is communication with your customers and employees. Jenkins says that if you see errors happening in your eco-system, you need to be ready to intercept the behavior to correct it quickly rather than following a request-driven customer service strategy.

Adaptability is also put to the test – in the current crisis, more people are working home than ever before. Jenkins questions, “how does your interface react?”

Uncertain times can serve as a call to action for software companies:

“Don’t wait until the heat is on to care about the basics of security, resilience, speed and throughput. Not only is much of this mandated by regulation it’s always front and centre during times of stress.”

Read the full article in UX Magazine.