Designing for Adoption, not just requirement

A global FMCG company was preparing to relaunch an internal ROI and media performance platform that had been active for some time — but whose adoption had significantly declined. The tool was robust, but teams across regions had stopped using it as part of their daily decision-making.

I joined the project to investigate the root causes behind this decline, identify behavioral and symbolic blockers, and support the strategic repositioning of the platform for a second launch — one grounded in real user needs and aligned expectations.

CHALLENGE

1. Why did adoption decline after initial rollout?
2. How could the platform be reframed to feel relevant again?
3. What would a meaningful relaunch look like — beyond UX fixes?

APPROACH

1. Stakeholder interviews across marketing, media, and strategy teams
2. Mapped usage decline patterns and pain points across teams
3. Identified symbolic blockers: lack of clarity, perceived redundancy, misalignment of metrics
4. Reframed the value proposition with updated personas and adoption journeys
5. Framed the research not as a conclusion, but as a strategic input to guide the relaunch roadmap

IMPACT

1. Helped shape the repositioning and relaunch strategy of the platform
2. Enabled cross-regional teams to reconnect with the tool’s strategic value
3. Shifted perception from “one more platform” to a shared decision-making asset

WHAT I LEARNED

1. Adoption isn’t a launch metric — it’s a living relationship
2. Sometimes, users don’t reject the tool — they reject the story around it
3. Research becomes strategic when it helps people see themselves in the system again