Experience is engineered by observability that sees, learns, and adapts.
In an organization of our size and complexity, where services are delivered across a vast and distributed network, digital experience is not just a technical challenge—it’s a systems thinking challenge. It involves aligning processes, data, people, and platforms in a way that allows the organization to not just serve users— but to learn from them in real time.
One of the biggest experience gaps we’ve faced historically isn’t in the UI or feature set. It’s in the disconnect between user behavior and system intelligence. We might know what services were accessed, but not why users dropped off. We could track uptime, but not intent. That’s why we’ve had to move away from thinking about experience as a delivery problem, and start thinking about it as a data problem.
To do this, we’ve focused heavily on building event-driven architectures—where every action, transaction, or trigger leaves a trail that can be analyzed, aggregated, and acted upon. This gives us visibility not just into what’s happening, but into what’s likely to happen next. It also helps us identify which interactions matter most, so we can focus on optimizing journeys that move the needle for both users and the business.
Another area where we’ve invested is personalization. In our environment, users may not be digitally native, but they are digitally fluent—meaning they have expectations around speed, relevance, and support. Delivering personalized experiences in this context requires more than frontend logic. It means understanding the user’s lifecycle, integrating data from multiple back-end systems, and responding to them with contextual nudges, pre-filled forms, or proactive guidance.
You can’t personalize what you can’t see. Experience starts with architecture, but succeeds with observability.
But none of that works without robust observability. You can’t personalize what you can’t see. That’s why we’ve prioritized tools and platforms that offer end-to-end, real-time insight—not just into technical metrics, but into behavioral and process metrics. For instance, how long does a user spend stuck in a form? At what point do they abandon a service? What system or rule is creating hidden friction?
We’ve also had to shift the way we think about modernization. In large organizations, a rip-and-replace approach is rarely feasible. Instead, we’ve adopted a composable approach, where we modernize selectively, based on journey-critical systems. Some core elements may remain untouched, while others are exposed via APIs or re-platformed entirely. The key is to ensure that the user doesn’t feel the seams, even if the backend is stitched together.
What gives me optimism is the growing alignment between business and IT on the importance of experience as a differentiator. We’re no longer just talking about “projects”—we’re talking about journeys, personas, and outcomes. That shift in language is powerful. It means we’re not just building systems. We’re designing experiences that learn, adapt, and continuously improve.
–Authored by Manish Malik Executive Director (Information Systems), Indian Oil Corporation Limited