How to use it

This book is written for everyone whose decisions shape what audiences actually experience, and you do not need to read it cover to cover to get value from it.

XEF is a framework, not a programme. It does not have a fixed end point, and it cannot be applied by any single function. The four dimensions (Strategy, Audiences, Operations, and Measurement) work as an interconnected system, and the value of the framework comes from how the dimensions connect, not from any one of them in isolation. 

XEF is owned by leadership, but practised by everyone. And it is never finished, because experience is not a problem an organisation solves and moves on from. The betabook is written to support that ongoing work, whatever stage of it you are starting from.

How it's structured

The betabook is in three parts. 

• Part One: Foundation. It sets out the problem the framework addresses, why existing approaches fall short, and what the Experience Ecosystem Framework (XEF) is. 
• Part Two: Framework. It introduces the framework, examined dimension by dimension, with the development process, the tools, the failure modes, and real-world examples. 
• Part Three: Practice. It reviews how to embed the framework, what it looks like in organisations that have done the work well, what its absence has produced in those that have not, and what the experience-led organisation looks like.

There are three reference sections: Definitions sets out the specific vocabulary the framework uses and what each term means. Overview provides a brief overview of the main components of the framework as a quick guide. References lists the source material the book draws on.  

Who it's for 

The Introduction is applicable to everyone as it sets the scene. It creates a definition of experience, reviews psychological triggers behind it, identifies the forces that are shaping it, and outlines why experience matters for organisations, society and beyond. 

If you are a senior leader evaluating whether experience-led strategy is right for your organisation, Part One and Part Three provide the relevant information to make the case at board level. Chapter 4 (Strategy) is also worth reading in full because it outlines the work that the leadership team will need to champion. The other Part Two chapters are valuable for understanding the architecture but are not essential at the decision stage.

If you are a consultant or practitioner who will be doing the work of building and implementing XEF, we would recommend reading the entire betabook. Part Two is the methodological backbone: the development process for each dimension, the tools, and the worked examples are designed to be immediately applicable. In addition, Chapter 8 details the process for how to embed XEF within the organisation. 

If you are a student of experience strategy, it is designed to be read in full and in sequence. The conceptual foundations, the evidence base, and the framework architecture build on each other throughout the chapters. The references section provides the wider literature for further study.

For other readers, in addition to the Introduction and Part One, the following chapters may be the most relevant for these roles:

• Organisational strategist > Chapter 4 (Strategy) 
• Experience specialist > Chapter 5 (Audiences)
• Analyst or research specialist > Chapter 7 (Measurement)
• Project and change managers > Chapter 8 (Embedding experience)