WORK ABOUT CONTACT RESUME

Ansible Automation for IBM Power

UX research to understand skills gaps and solve for user challenges learning to use an automation technology

Role

Lead Researcher

Length
Q3 2023 - Q1 2024

Project type
UX research + strategy

Status
Community & course are live

About Goals + outcomes

OBJECTIVE
Investigate the experiences of using Ansible Automation for Power, uncover pain points in the adoption experience, and provide recommendations to resolve issues & increase engagement.

OUTCOMES

Uncovered the main issue hindering adoption of Ansible by Power users: skills gaps. Derived a three-part approach to upskill users in a sustainable, scalable way.

68

users engaged throughout survey and interview research

3

Identified 3 main issues precluding users from adopting Ansible

4

recommendations delivered, 3 of which have been successfully implemented (as of June 2024)

5

playbacks of research findings to executives and user groups

RECENT LAUNCHES

Automation with Power community (launched Feb 2024)

Ansible for Power jumpstart course (launched June 2024)

Part 1 Survey research

THE PROBLEM
Ansible is a key technology in helping IT teams make the most of their limited Power-skilled employees; however, the level of adoption and engagement with Ansible for Power collections by IT admin was lacking.

Key business goal

Increase engagement with Ansible for Power collections among users (IT Admin) at customer companies

Why does this matter?

At a high level, IT teams need to make the most of a limited number of Power skilled employees. Ansible Automation is a tool that enables Power users to reduce repetitive tasks and increase efficiency.

METRICS & FINDINGS
Users’ interest in Ansible is not the issue. The problem is that many Power users do not know how to use Ansible and lack the support and resources to learn.

65

users from customer companies and business partners surveyed

62%

of respondents expressed a desire for more Ansible resources and support (n=44)

5

Primary user needs uncovered

8

Pain point categories identified

SURVEY RESEARCH OUTCOMES
Identified and prioritized 3 main issues precluding IT admin use of Ansible accompanied by actionable recommendations to resolve them.

Part 2 Interview research

After completing the survey research, we decided to focus our efforts around closing users’ skills gaps by diving deeper into understanding the pain points and barriers preventing Power IT admin from becoming proficient in Ansible automation.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Understand the current Ansible for Power learning experience.
Uncover the gaps in the currently available Ansible for Power resources.
Identify the barriers keeping IT admin from learning to use Ansible effectively.

PROCESS & METHODOLOGY

Participant recruitment
1:1 semi-structured interviews
Manual coding of qualitative data
Thematic analysis
Frequent playbacks of insights with teammates & executives

OUTCOME + IMPACT
Identified ways to close the skills gap and provided recommendations pivotal to creating the MVP.

8

users from 5 different customer companies interview

4

major insights extracted, accompanied by actionable recommendations

5

playbacks of research insights delivered to relevant parties, including IBM executives, RedHat teams, and end users

1

workshop facilitated with external end users and IBMers to strategize requirements for the MVP

Part 3 Strategy + launches

Constructed and delivered a 3-part approach to meet user needs for resources and close skills-gaps . Over the course of 2 quarters, our team has launced a community platform and rolled out a jumpstart course helping our users increase their Anisble proficiency.

Release 1:

Automation on Power Community

Provides members with a place to engage with IBM SMEs and fellow users, a hub for relevant resources, a channel for Q&A, and way to stay up-to-date about new releases, features, and resources.

Since launch in Feb 2024,
→ Community growth of 4X member increase from week 2 - week 4 of first month
→ Growth to 175+ members within three months
→ Positive user sentiment in response to community & blog content

Release 2:

Ansible on IBM Power jumpstart course

New, instructor-led Ansible technical training with hands-on labs. Created to meet users needs around needing an introductory course led by instructors to help Ansible students stay accountable to mastering the basics.

Since launch in June 2024,
→ 7/8 participants who piloted the course agreed that the course exercises increased their confidence in using Ansible
→ More metrics TBD

RESULTS

Through this project, the Learning Squad developed a new approach to solving users’ skills gaps which is being replicated by other teams the Power organization.

* Due to confidentiality purposes and NDAs, more detailed research results and data cannot be shared at this time.

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