Two-thirds of an ERP system's user experience is determined by how it is implemented – not by the software. This is the case for putting people, and co-design, at the centre of transformation.

The finding that should change how we buy software

A national NHS usability survey of more than 10,000 clinicians across 147 acute trusts produced a result that ought to reshape procurement strategy: roughly two-thirds of the user experience of a major system is determined by the implementation approach, and only about a third by the software's functionality. In other words, two organisations can buy exactly the same product and have completely different experiences – and the difference lies in how the change was led, not in what was bought.

This reframes the whole transformation question. The decisive variable is not which vendor wins the evaluation; it is whether the people who will use the system understand it, trust it and feel ownership of it. That is the work of co-design and change management – and it is where the return on investment is genuinely made.

The number to remember

Co-design approaches in comparable public-service programmes have delivered around 120% ROI – roughly £1.20 of benefit for every £1 spent – with sustainability rates as high as 97% beyond the initial phase.

What co-design really is

Co-design is not a consultation exercise or a workshop held for show. It means creating the solution with the people who will run it, from the outset – so the future state reflects operational reality and earns ownership before go-live. The strongest examples are striking in their scale of participation: a gold-standard NHS toolkit was built with more than 200 individuals across 31 health and social-care organisations in fortnightly working sessions, with lay partners given an equal voice to keep the user at the centre.

VE3 operationalises co-design through Fit-to-Standard workshops built on a live, pre-configured ‘Starter System’. Stakeholders interact with future-state finance and procurement processes from day one, validate them against their needs, and shape the small set of genuine local adaptations. Design becomes a shared act rather than a document handed down – and the buy-in this creates is the foundation of later adoption.

From co-design to ownership to outcomes

Co-design is the start of a chain. It builds early understanding, which feeds a network of super users and change champions, which underpins tailored training and confident go-lives, which produces genuine adoption – and adoption is what converts a technical installation into operational benefit. In a benchmark multi-hospital integration, this people-first approach kept staff willingness to change above 90% for the life of the programme, and ensured the transition did not detract from patient care.

• Co-design future-state processes with the people who will run them.

• Build a network of super users and change champions to sustain peer support.

• Tailor training by role and reinforce it with readiness checks.

• Measure adoption against clear targets and celebrate milestones.

“Solutions created with staff, not for them, are the ones that last. Co-design is not a soft add-on to transformation – it is where the return on investment is actually generated.” - VE3 perspective on co-design

The cost of skipping it

The mirror image of co-design is instructive. Where engagement, training and process readiness are neglected, even excellent software fails operationally. In one large public-healthcare rollout, low training completion and insufficient process re-engineering left users unable to perform basic tasks at go-live, contributing to late supplier payments and tens of millions in unplanned remediation. The lesson is unambiguous: the human side of transformation is not optional, and under-investing in it is far more expensive than doing it well.

The bottom line

If two-thirds of the experience is set by implementation, then the implementation – and the co-design and change management at its heart – deserves at least as much attention as the technology choice. Organisations that design with their people, build local ownership and invest in adoption do not just avoid the failures that plague ERP programmes; they unlock returns that the business case alone never captures.

About VE3

VE3 is a global technology consultancy that engineers transformation through cloud, data, AI and enterprise platforms. With teams across the UK, India and beyond, VE3 combines the agility of a specialist firm with the depth of a global consultancy – helping public-sector and enterprise organisations modernise with confidence. In healthcare and the wider public sector, VE3 brings deep ERP and SAP S/4HANA expertise, an “adopt not adapt” delivery philosophy, and a relentless focus on building lasting client capability rather than dependency. To explore how VE3 can support your ERP, finance and procurement, or shared-services transformation, visit ve3.global. Innovating Ideas. Delivering Results.