Reducing churn and avoiding costly technical reworks, this is how doing it right gets measurable design ROI in large-scale transformation projects here in South Africa.

Digital leaders often treat design as aesthetics. 

In complex organisations, that mistake is expensive, as 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail due to poor user adoption, which is directly linked to user experience (UX), a key design function.

In fact, investment in design is often only 2%–5% of the total project budget, but it prevents 70% of the failure risk.

Why?

Design ROI removes delivery risk, speeds up adoption and cuts down on reworks, so transformation ships faster, costs less and actually gets used. 

A multi-year analysis by McKinsey found that strong design capabilities tend to deliver 32% higher revenue growth and 56% higher total returns to shareholders over five years. So it’s worthwhile for anyone overseeing a transformation initiative to make design a key focus.

Here’s what you need to know.

What Design ROI Means In Enterprise Systems

At Kohde, most of our work is internal information systems, the platforms staff use to execute the business. That’s different from public apps, where you track traffic, or checkout conversion. 

For internal systems, Design ROI shows up in (1) reduced change-management friction, (2) faster time-to-competency for staff, (3) fewer operational errors and compliance misses, and (4) lower maintenance and support load. Those gains compound across teams and processes.

“In enterprise systems, design is how you clarify the problem, align the people and avoid the cost of rebuilding later.” — Jaco van Schalkwyk, Director & Head of Design at Kohde. 

Making The CFO Case For a Design Focus

Design isn’t only about how things look, it’s about the value it delivers. To get the business on board, speak in results and numbers. Seen through a measurable ROI lens, design turns from a creative expense into a strategic investment:

• Cycle-time reduction on key tasks (cost per transaction drops as staff hours fall).
• Error-rate reduction (fewer incorrect orders, billing mistakes and compliance penalties).
• Training time and support tickets (lower onboarding and fewer help-desk calls).
• Rework avoided (fewer rebuilds discovered post-go-live).

“Design helps teams visualise solutions early, reducing rework, saving time, and improving alignment,” explains Kohde Senior Marketing Manager, Neil van der Walt. “That’s what makes design such a valuable investment, it accelerates delivery while reducing cost and uncertainty.”

Where Design ROI Shows Up Fast

1. Cheaper Fixes, Fewer Rebuilds 

Studies have shown that software defects found later in the lifecycle drive dramatically higher costs. Catching requirements and workflow issues in the design phase is far cheaper than fixing them in code or production. 

2. Higher Adoption Through Managed Change

Lack of adoption is the big unseen killer of any transformation project: The smartest system in the world becomes a virtual paperweight if your employees don’t want to use it. And good change management, mainly featuring design principles such as journeys, prototyping and co-creation, is by far the most effective at driving that internal adoption, proven to be 7 times more effective at getting teams on board with new tech.

3. Better Business Outcomes On Customer-Facing Journeys 

On public channels, Design ROI is easiest to observe in conversion and task success. Well-designed and crafted systems that optimise for conversion are by far the standout performers in customer-facing tech, not to mention the easiest to track over time and across variants.

How Kohde Operationalises Design ROI

Design is embedded in every sprint. We design before we code. Early cycles require more effort (by intent) as the design system is being established. Once the system is mature, design effort tapers, turnarounds are faster, and each subsequent feature is more consistent and efficient.

Decision alignment via shared artefacts. We remove risk by making clickable prototypes, journey maps, personas, and process flows that everyone can evaluate the same way. That clarifies scope, verifies shared understanding and reduces build-time debate.

Right-sized research to avoid “over-design.” We keep research lean, deliver the smallest valuable increment, learn from real usage, and iterate, ensuring the budget goes toward validated outcomes, not speculative polish.

“In enterprise systems, design is how you clarify the problem, align the people and avoid the cost of rebuilding later… It’s the cheapest way to get the most expensive decisions right,” explains Jaco.

Want Help Getting Started?

At Kohde, we help South African enterprises build smarter with design-first approaches that align stakeholders, create clarity before big investments and save money in the long run.

If you’re ready to explore a small-scale pilot or want to explore a transformation project, chat with Neil, Jaco and the team.