Case study
Eaton. Software Transition Research
Finding what users of a software need to transition to a new platform seamlessly
Senior UX Researcher
Scenario-Based Testing
System Usability Scale
UX Recommendations
The challenge
Eaton was preparing to transition users from Energy manager Software A, an established software platform, to a new solution, Energy manager software B. Software transitions like this carry real risk. Even small usability gaps between an old and new system can disrupt workflows and slow adoption long after go-live. Teaming up with a UX designer, this research set out to validate existing pain points in the transition, compare the usability of critical tasks across both platforms, assess how easily users could complete key tasks in Software 2, and gather the qualitative context needed to guide a seamless transition.
Outcome & impact
The System Usability Scale (SUS) showed DIT Lite scoring lower than IPM, a gap reinforced by scenario-based testing results, indicating lower perceived usability among target users ahead of rollout.
This research found that DIT Lite's use cases differed meaningfully from IPM's, surfacing new pain points for users, particularly in the main [redacted task] dashboard, adding a new asset, and [type of asset] management.
Delivered 10 UX recommendations to the product team based on usability comparisons and interview findings, addressing ease of use, discoverability, and simplification gaps.
Informed the transition timeline and shaped the training materials the product team built to support a smoother user transition.
Partnered with the product team finding alignment and developing strategies to report findings more successfully, and the Europe sales team who participated in the participant recruitment and data collection
Research Process
01 — in-depth interviews
Conversations with Systems integrators, a critical persona in the adoption of software B
02 — usability testing
Virtual sessions that included scenario-based testing with real clients who would face transition
03 — usability scale comparison
Compare the system usability scale (SUS) of original solution against the proposed one
04 — ux improvements
10 UX recommendations targeting ease of use, discoverability, simplification
Process Highlights
Artifact
Persona Development Collaborative Session
With no existing persona documentation to work from, I designed and facilitated a collaborative session with the product team to close that gap together. Rather than presenting personas as a finished deliverable, I built an exercise that let the team surface what they already knew about users firsthand — turning scattered, undocumented knowledge into a shared reference the whole team could align around.
process
Feature Pairing
We mapped feature equivalences between the two pieces of software, identifying where a familiar task had a direct counterpart and where the path to completing it diverged. Layering in input from the product team, we flagged the tasks that were most critical to get right, giving the team a prioritized view of exactly where transition friction would hit hardest.
method
Usability Testing
We had 1-on-1 interview sessions with clients where we had a System Usability Scale (SUS) assessment of their current software, then scenario based testing of the new solution, finalizing with the SUS assessment of the new solution to have a quantitative comparison.
method
Synthesis alignment
We decided to involve the product team in the synthesis to generate alignment on what the research results may suggest, reiterate the importance of VOC stages, and solidify partnership with the product team.
method
UX Improvements
We had 1-on-1 interview sessions with clients where we had a System Usability Scale (SUS) assessment of their current software, then scenario based testing of the new solution, finalizing with the SUS assessment of the new solution to have a quantitative comparison.
Reflections and learnings
Treated the lack of persona documentation as an opportunity rather than a blocker, using it as the reason to bring the product team into a dedicated collaborative activity instead of importing personas from elsewhere.
Combined open-ended questions, scenario-based testing, and System Usability Scale scoring to triangulate a more rounded picture than any single method could give alone.
Involving the sales team in recruitment and the product team in data collection and synthesis didn't just improve alignment. It built trust and strengthened the partnership going forward.