By digging deep to understand consumer behaviors, needs and wants, organizations can build systems that not only meet essential user needs but also uncover new business opportunities and anticipate future requirements.

1. Digital Engineering:
Combining Computer
Science with Social Science
to Translate Human
Insights into Precision Code
By digging deep to understand consumer behaviors, needs
and wants, organizations can build systems that not only
meet essential user needs but also uncover new business
opportunities and anticipate future requirements.
January 2018
DIGITAL BUSINESS

2. 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Digital innovators are upending established business models across industries, from
transportation and telecommunications, to banking, entertainment and more. As products
and services become commoditized, enterprises must transform themselves and the user
experience they deliver, or face disruption and possible irrelevance.
When every bank offers about the same interest rate and financial advice, why choose
one over the other? When all video, phone and Wi-Fi connectivity is about the same, why
not just shop for a lower-priced provider every two years? And when you can summon a
self-driving car from a ride-sharing service any time you want, why care about what kind of
vehicle you own — that is, if you even own one?
Gaining, and keeping, competitive advantage in this digital world is not about jamming
every bell and whistle into a device (or an application), only for customers to abandon
them after a short time. It instead requires understanding customer needs and focusing
the digital solution on meeting those needs.
Delivering such insight-driven solutions will separate leaders from laggards in the digital
era. This report focuses on how organizations can embrace human-centered transformation
and evolve from a seller of products and services, to a provider of life-changing, human
experiences.
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| Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code

3. 3Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code | 3
Digital Business
THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE
The digital wave is proliferating with every download of a smartphone app, creation of a social media
account, tweak of a big data analytical algorithm and introduction of a new cloud service.
Mobile technology gives consumers unfettered access to information about products and services, not
merely at an individual level, but collectively from all users. Social media buzzes real-time updates on
everything from friends’ vacations to world events, providing enterprises with a “Code Halo™” of dig-
ital clues into consumers’ wants, needs and activities.1
Increasingly powerful and intelligent analytics
can sift through this data in search of insights into consumer needs, and teach itself to deliver per-
sonalized services and offers. Empowering all this is the cloud, offering more computing resources,
at lower costs, with less delay and effort than ever before possible.
These technologies have remade the business landscape and turned digital natives into giants with
global financial, and even political, clout. The power of digital has turned Uber into a transportation
leader without a fleet of vehicles, and Airbnb into a lodging giant without owning a single room.
But even greater changes are coming, including:
• A flood of new data from sources ranging from wearable sensors to social media, smart appli-
ances and industrial robots.
• Quantum leaps in the predictive capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI), allowing businesses
to more accurately anticipate customers’ needs.
• New interfaces driven by natural language technologies and virtual and augmented reality
that expand the ways customers interact with the brand, and allow enterprises to deliver compel-
ling new experiences.
• Increasingly capable autonomous devices, such as vehicles.
• The potential for distributed ledgers such as blockchain to eliminate the need for middlemen in
many industries, while creating new business models and even new currencies.
• The growing clout of “digital-first” millennials, who expect businesses to incorporate these
technologies into the brand experience.
Given the size, power and pace of these changes, it is no surprise that businesses are scrambling to
create digital-first strategies. By 2020, 50% of Global 2000 companies will see most of their business
depend on their ability to create digitally enhanced products, services and experiences, according
to market researcher IDC. By the end of 2017, IDC says revenue growth from information-based
products will be twice that of the rest of businesses’ portfolios.2
Even today, 40 of the top 100
product-based organizations are dependent on software to drive their business, says consulting firm
McKinsey & Co.3

4. 4 | Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code
Digital Business
4
Defining the ‘T’ Word
Businesses that are succeeding in this environment are using these technical and societal changes
as opportunities to create new products and services, and deliver them in new and compelling ways
(see Figure 1). They are reimagining everyday experiences from the perspective of the consumer,
unhindered by the constraints of legacy technology platforms. They are also designing solutions from
a cloud-first and mobile-first perspective, and fine-tuning them in a series of rapid iterations to ensure
every feature or function meets a real emotional, human need.
• Predictive maintenance
from IoT data, reducing
costs, increasing uptime.
• Self-driving machinery,
cutting costs, boosting
productivity.
• Agricultural analytics,
improving yields, reducing
waste.
Food Production Benefits include:
Benefits include:
Benefits include:
• Improved fitness and
health tracking,
encouraging a healthy
lifestyle.
• Earlier diagnosis of illness,
leading to better outcomes,
lower healthcare costs.
• Big data analytics to track
disease outbreaks and
potential causes, leading to
improved diagnostics and
treatments.
• Anywhere, anytime
banking and financial
information, increasing
customer satisfaction and
retention.
• Easy-to-use financial
planning and management
tools, attracting millennials
and retaining them as their
incomes rise.
• Status as trusted financial
adviser, leading to sales of
ancillary products and
services.
Financial Wellbeing
Personal Wellness
Meeting Digital Needs Across Industries
Figure 1

5. 5Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code |
Digital Business
Turn to the social sciences (e.g.,
anthropology, sociology and behavioral
science) to perform on-site observations
of how people work, live and play, to
uncover their actual needs before writing
a single line of code.
TRANSFORMING THROUGH DIGITAL ENGINEERING
The first step businesses need to take is to focus not on technology but on understanding their
customers and how new technology can meet their needs in game-changing ways. Rather than the-
orizing about how customers might use the latest new gadget, businesses should turn to the social
sciences (e.g., anthropology, sociology and behavioral science) to perform on-site observations of how
people work, live and play, to uncover their actual needs before writing a single line of code. This non-
traditional, open-ended approach is meant to specifically uncover what businesses don’t already know
about the consumer. This is the first step in what we call “Insight to Code.”
For example, in our observations of communications service provider (CSP) customers, we uncovered
feelings of disconnection between parents and children, even when families were together at home,
because family members were paying more attention to their screens than to each other (see Quick
Take, next page). When we spent time with sport utility vehicle owners, we discovered that while they
wanted to bond with friends and family on adventures, they found it daunting to determine the right
location, round up the needed gear and coordinate everyone’s schedules (see Quick Take, page 8).

6. QUICK TAKE
Digitally Engineering a
Communications Service Provider
CSPs face stagnant customer satisfaction, high churn and an inordinate number of cus-
tomers turning to costly human-based support rather than lower-cost digital channels.
One leading CSP asked us to help identify new services that would increase brand loyalty
and set it apart in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
To identify consumers’ human needs, ReD Associates, a Cognizant strategic partner,
observed how families in California, Texas and Pennsylvania were using the Internet,
smartphones and other devices in their daily activities. ReD discovered that customers:
• Rely on the Internet for work, education and social interactions, but have little
understanding of how it works and how to safeguard and manage their connections.
• Abruptly abandon new devices such as smart watches, fitness monitors, smart
appliances and virtual personal assistants, finding them too difficult to use or con-
nect to one another or to cloud-based services.
• Often feel isolated from family members who are distracted by their devices,
and unable to agree on how much gaming, texting, browsing and e-mail checking is
acceptable.
Based on this research, we developed three minimum viable products (MVP):
• One that enables families to collaboratively agree on how much time each person
may spend online, and enforces those rules on the home Wi-Fi router.
• A second that tells parents — based on their children’s smartphone location — when
they fail to appear at an expected place and time, even if only to another room at
home, while other family members are online.
• A third that enables the CSP to remotely connect devices, such as virtual personal
assistants, smart thermostats and appliances, to each other and to capabilities such
as the Spotify music streaming service.
The CSP is currently refining these MVPs for production rollout, and evaluating
monetization options, including charging for the apps, selling location-based advertis-
ing or collecting revenue from the sale of products and services associated with the
smart devices.
6
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| Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code

7. 7Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code |
• Referral fees for
sales of guided
tours, camp sites,
equipment rental,
etc.
• Sales of location
and activity-based
advertising from
service and
product providers.
• Subscription fees
for premium
versions of the
application.
• Sales of
data-driven
insights into
customer needs
and behaviors to
other product/
service providers.
Motor Vehicle Manufacturer
Trip planning/scheduling app
• Fees from third-
party services for
linking those
services to other-
wise “stranded”
devices.
• Revenue-sharing
with service pro-
viders based on
customers’ purchase
of products/
services over the
connected device.
• Increased sales of
such devices,
driven by the added
convenience of the
CSP handling the
setup and
configuration.
• Selling data-driven
insights into
customer needs
and behaviors to
other product/
service providers.
Communications Service Provider (CSP)
Remote application to remotely link smart home devices to each other and to third-party services.
• Referral fees for
mortgages, home
inspections,
attorneys and
other home-related
products and
services.
• Sales of location
and activity-based
advertising from
service and
product providers.
• Subscription fees
for premium
versions of the
application.
• Selling data-driven
insights into
customer needs
and behaviors to
other product/
service providers.
Financial Services Organization
Interactive, AI-guided mobile app to track spending and investments in real-time to make financial decisions
based on actual spending patterns.
Potential Revenue Streams
Potential Revenue Streams
Potential Revenue Streams
The ROI of Digital Engineering
Figure 2
Digital Business
These are not fundamentally technology issues; rather, they’re human issues that can be addressed
through the proper use of technology. Meeting these needs connects organizations with customers
in ways that their competitors cannot easily match. Just as importantly, it opens the door to new
revenue streams, partnerships and business models that provide competitive differentiation (see
Figure 2).

8. QUICK TAKE
Applying Digital Engineering
with a Global Vehicle Manufacturer
As ride hailing apps tap fleets of self-driving cars to move customers from point A to
point B, traditional selling points such as ride, performance and styling could become far
less important to consumers. We are helping one global manufacturer remain relevant
and generate revenue by meeting the needs of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) owners for
adventure, self-fulfillment and increased safety and security.
In 2016, ReD Associates conducted foundational research to uncover how SUV owners
use their vehicles, as well as the key barriers, life dreams, needs and values they share.
In response, we created three MVPs that the manufacturer tested with consumers for
two weeks. We also conducted a national survey of SUV owners to understand the com-
mercial potential of each application.
8
Digital Business
| Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code
The next step is to quickly turn these insights into production-ready code, review customers’ reac-
tions and iteratively tweak them to ensure they meet the human needs revealed by the social science
observations. By doing this right, organizations can deliver game-changing products and services
through applications that are:
• Cloud-native, which provides the low-cost, accelerated time-to-market and scalability required to
serve digital customers.
• Based on microservices, which makes it easier to develop and deploy new services and functions
as needed, and to access the internal and external data sources required to develop new services.
(For more on this topic, see our report “Overcoming Ongoing Digital Transformational Challenges
with a Microservices Architecture.”)
• Designed to use containers and other modern platforms, such as serverless computing, to make
the most efficient use of IT resources, and provide maximum portability across environments to
meet cost, performance, scalability and other needs. (For more on this topic, read our white paper
“Using Containers to More Effectively Manage DevOps Continuous Integration.”)
• Based on an in-depth understanding of human needs, rather than technical capabilities, so orga-
nizations can anticipate and meet customer needs their competitors cannot. (Learn more in our
white paper “Being Digital Means Being More Human.”)

9. • In the first area — adventure — ReD Associates found that customers were being
held back by everything from the complexity of scheduling time with family and
friends, to the hassles of choosing destinations, making reservations and selecting,
finding and learning how to use the needed equipment. We responded with a single
application that, according to early feedback, makes it easier to perform these tasks
and coordinate schedules.
We’re now working with the manufacturer to identify the potential for subscription
revenue; partner with providers of vacation lodging, equipment and services; and
sell data gathered by the application about consumers’ needs, wants and spending
habits to third parties.
• In the second area — personal enrichment — ReD Associates discovered that SUV
owners wanted to identify interesting nearby activities to break out of their rou-
tines, learn new skills and bond with friends and family. In this case, the MVP helped
customers find the best new events, ideal routes and any equipment required to take
part in the activity. We’ve also identified revenue opportunities, such as advertis-
ing, sponsorship and revenue sharing with service providers, (i.e., parking garages),
as well as the sale of insights about customer needs drawn from their use of the
application.
• The third human need was to better coordinate and track rides, and keep tabs
on their children’s location. Consumers are already using the MVP to schedule
rides for family members, receive notifications when the trip has been completed
and track locations. Through the app, the manufacturer is evolving into a business
that can solve human problems, such as juggling work and childcare schedules. An
added benefit: The app is a less intrusive way to track children’s locations than tex-
ting. Revenue opportunities include partnerships with outside service providers
and location-based advertising, such as a discount for a take-out meal, if a ride has
been delayed and the family will not have time to prepare dinner. As security and
control is one of the reasons customers buy SUVs, this also increases the perceived
value of the vehicle itself.
9Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code |
Digital Business
The MVP helped customers find the
best new events, ideal routes and any
equipment required to take part in the
activity.

10. 10
Digital Business
| Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code
Discover customers’ human
(not technical) needs
Rapidly prototype
solutions
Continually iterate
new apps
Move into
production
Researchers observe and
describe customer interactions
with the business’s products/
services, identifying unmet
human needs.
Researchers guide developers,
creating MVPs to test how
they meet critical human
needs.
Based on user feedback, the
app is enhanced and refined
to best meet human needs.
The UI is completed, required
data links are added, and the
solution is deployed.
Insights Code Refine Deploy
3 Weeks 2 Weeks 2 Weeks 1 Week
Insight to Code: Transforming Customer Needs into Digital Solutions
Figure 3
By applying these technologies in an Agile development environment that places behavioral sci-
entists alongside developers in quick sprints, businesses can ensure that new applications contain
only features that precisely meet human needs. In our experience, this only happens when require-
ments-gathering and testing phases are not isolated events. In our engagements, researchers work
alongside developers to create MVPs that can be quickly evaluated by users, adapted as needed
and deployed in production environments to achieve first-mover advantage in emerging spaces (see
Figure 3).
ONLY THE BEGINNING
No one can predict how tomorrow’s consumers will react to future technologies such as self-driving
cars, blockchain and virtual reality. The most effective way to meet ongoing competitive challenges
and capture market opportunities is to continually understand people’s human needs, and quickly
deliver applications that meet them.
By combining in-depth ethnographic research with ultra-agile development, businesses can:
1. Confidently invest: With the ability to continually validate new ideas with actual human
insights, businesses can more confidently choose which new products, applications and services
to invest in.

11. 11Digital Engineering: Combining Computer Science with Social Science to Translate Human Insights into Precision Code |
Digital Business
Sowri
Santhanakrishnan
Senior Vice-President,
Head of Digital Engineering
Practice, Cognizant Digital
Business
Sowri Santhanakrishnan is Senior Vice-President at Cognizant
Digital Business, heading the company’s Digital Engineering
Practice. He has 20-plus years of experience building and direct-
ing global business and technology operations. In this role, Sowri
works with Global 1000 companies to digitally transform their
business by combining strategy, technology and industry expertise
that enables businesses to improve their services and products,
create an omni-channel digital experience, and gain a competi-
tive market advantage across the digital stack: mobile, social, big
data, cloud and the Internet of Things. He can be reached at
sowris@cognizant.com | www.linkedin.com/in/sowris/.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FOOTNOTES
1 For more on Code Halos, visit our website, www.futureofwork.com/codehalo.
2 “IDC FutureScape: Worldwide IT Industry 2017 Predictions,” IDC, November 2016, www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?container-
Id=US41883016.
3 “An Executive’s Guide to Software Development,” McKinsey & Co., February 2017, www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/
digital-mckinsey/our-insights/an-executives-guide-to-software-development.
2. Eliminate waste: Putting human insights at the center of technology development reduces the
development cycles required to tweak code to meet market needs, and eliminates the production
of applications that fail to gain customer acceptance. The use of cloud-native technologies speeds
time to market, allows businesses to buy only the IT capacity they need and automates costly
manual IT management processes.
3. Compete in the digital economy: Applying consumer insights to the creation of production-ready
code is the most direct path to competitive advantage in any industry. Applying the Insight to Code
method positions businesses to create sustainable competitive advantage, and even create new
markets and business models, in today’s digital economy.

12. ABOUT COGNIZANT
Cognizant (NASDAQ-100: CTSH) is one of the world’s leading professional services companies, transforming clients’ business, operating and
technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry-based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build and run more innova-
tive and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant is ranked 205 on the Fortune 500 and is consistently listed among the
most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com or follow us @Cognizant.
ABOUT COGNIZANT DIGITAL BUSINESS
Cognizant Digital Business helps our clients imagine and build the Digital Economy. We do this by bringing together human insight, digital
strategy, industry knowledge, design, and new technologies to create new experiences and launch new business models. For more informa-
tion, please visit www.cognizant.com/digital or join the conversation on LinkedIn.
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other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
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