Standard : Customer empathy guides decisions

Purpose and Strategic Importance

This standard ensures that customer understanding is central to decision-making. Teams actively engage diverse customers, create safe spaces for honest insight, and use empathy as a guide when shaping products.

It supports our policies "Customer at the Centre", "Inclusive Discovery", and "Psychological Safety in Discovery". Without this standard, products risk irrelevance, exclusion, and erosion of trust.

Strategic Impact

  • Solutions resonate with real customer needs
  • Broader inclusivity and accessibility in products
  • Stronger loyalty and advocacy

Risks of Not Having This Standard

  • Products fail to solve customer problems
  • Certain groups excluded or underserved
  • Decline in adoption and satisfaction

CMMI Maturity Model

Level 1 – Initial

  • People & Culture: Customer voice largely ignored.
  • Process & Governance: No formal discovery activities.
  • Technology & Tools: Minimal customer research tools.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Success measured internally, not by customer feedback.

Level 2 – Managed

  • People & Culture: Teams seek some input but rely heavily on assumptions.
  • Process & Governance: Discovery occurs irregularly.
  • Technology & Tools: Surveys or focus groups used occasionally.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Basic adoption figures collected, but not linked to decisions.

Level 3 – Defined

  • People & Culture: Teams consistently involve customers in decision-making.
  • Process & Governance: Structured discovery and feedback loops embedded.
  • Technology & Tools: Research platforms, journey maps, and analytics in active use.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Customer needs and satisfaction tracked per initiative.

Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed

  • People & Culture: Empathy embedded in team culture. Diverse perspectives routinely considered.
  • Process & Governance: Governance ensures customer impact is reviewed before major decisions.
  • Technology & Tools: Advanced platforms integrate behavioural and attitudinal data.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Customer-centric KPIs drive prioritisation.

Level 5 – Optimising

  • People & Culture: Customers seen as co-creators; empathy is cultural norm.
  • Process & Governance: Continuous improvement of practices ensures inclusivity and safety.
  • Technology & Tools: Predictive insights highlight emerging customer needs.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Continuous validation links empathy-driven decisions to business outcomes.

Key Measures

  • % of decisions informed by customer input
  • Customer satisfaction/NPS trends
  • Representation of diverse customer groups in research
  • Evidence of product pivots based on empathy-driven insights