66. The COO as the Principal UXer

If anyone within an organization has a 360-degree view of the processes and is tasked with anticipating scenarios, that person is the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

In their role, the COO must ensure the implementation of plans and the efficiency of processes, looking inwardly at the company’s operations.

These plans and processes should be based on a set of indicators that help gauge the satisfaction and effectiveness of both internal and external users.

These indicators abstractly measure user performance in specific processes, pertaining to both internal and external users.

If the belief is that teams should be organized based on user needs and inputs (PULL) rather than pushing changes and deliverables from the top down (PUSH), then the COO must ensure that the teams’ focus is user-centric, facilitating value flow to them.

Here, “users” refer not only to external customers but to all users affected by the organization’s operations.