{"id":285,"date":"2019-10-18T10:21:06","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T14:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/ux\/2019\/10\/18\/ux-and-change-management-bloombergs-4-guidelines-for-rolling-out-ui-product-updates\/"},"modified":"2019-10-22T15:50:19","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T19:50:19","slug":"ux-and-change-management-bloombergs-4-guidelines-for-rolling-out-ui-product-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/ux\/2019\/10\/18\/ux-and-change-management-bloombergs-4-guidelines-for-rolling-out-ui-product-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"UX and change management: Bloomberg’s 4 guidelines for rolling out UI & product updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Man<\/p>\n

How, as a UX designer, do you redesign an existing product or feature without disrupting the workflow of hundreds of thousands of financial professionals? Bloomberg\u2019s product rollout cycle is a blueprint for UX-led optimization that respects your customers\u2019 time. <\/em><\/p>\n

Change is hard. But that\u2019s not to say change is bad. It\u2019s essential to growth, innovation, and customer loyalty. As our founder and CEO Michael Bloomberg says, \u201ccustomers’ needs evolve and we provide what they want or lose their business.\u201d<\/p>\n

UX designers empathize with users \u2013\u00a0listening to those evolving needs and working to continuously improve the products and services they interact with every day. But how change is introduced to users is often as important as the change itself.<\/p>\n

Take, for instance, the example of Snapchat in 2018. A sudden, disruptive change in the messaging platform\u2019s user interface (UI) led to a user revolt<\/a>, resulting in millions of lost users<\/a> and a petition begging for a switch back to the original interface.<\/p>\n

UX designers working on popular, market-leading products don\u2019t just need to drive innovation \u2013\u00a0they need to manage how existing users experience those innovations. It is, in essence, the equivalent of changing tires on a moving car.<\/p>\n

This is especially true at Bloomberg, where Bloomberg Professional Service (aka \u201cThe Terminal<\/a>\u201d) clients rely on their knowledge of the Terminal to respond with speed and precision to market conditions \u2013 making real-time decisions that impact global financial markets. Created in 1981, the Bloomberg Terminal brings together real-time data on every market, breaking news, in-depth research, powerful analytics, and communications tools in one fully integrated solution. Changes to the Terminal, however well intentioned, have the potential to interrupt established workflows and derail our clients\u2019 businesses if not handled properly.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Bloomberg\u2019s UX team designed an approach for rolling out enhancements and feature optimizations that puts users firmly in charge of the pace of change. Bloomberg\u2019s product rollout cycle gently introduces product upgrades, while slowly phasing out older versions.<\/p>\n

Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts: Designing Bloomberg\u2019s product rollout cycle<\/strong><\/p>\n

At Bloomberg, our clients\u2019 attention is a precious commodity. So, when we think about the typical UI elements designers use to communicate product updates or draw attention to a new feature, we acknowledge our constraints and are very aware about what actually works.<\/p>\n

Here are some things we know DO NOT work for Terminal users:<\/p>\n