UX in Business Software (Part 2 of 2)
What can we do to reach the light at the end of the tunnel?
In the first part of this article, I talked about why there is a new demand for better user experience in enterprise software. Let’s take the story forward by considering why UX should be a criterion while buying software and some steps that can be taken to ensure better UX.
Why should UX be an important factor while buying software?
Okay, there is a new demand for better UX, but why would it be important while buying software for the enterprise? It is in fact quite natural for senior-level decision makers to overlook user experience as a factor while making a purchase decision simply because it is something that doesn’t impact them directly. After all, aren’t employees paid to do their work no matter what software is provided to them? This is an awfully short-term mindset which must be avoided to win in business today.
Simple, usable software can increase productivity by leaps and bounds by letting users achieve their tasks effectively and efficiently. This translates to lower error rate and more transactions processed per day — metrics that are very much important to the decision-making senior management. Apart from this, other less tangible benefits that will materialize over a longer time frame are higher morale and job satisfaction for the employees which ultimately results in better customer satisfaction.
Yet another reason why enterprises should push for better UX is that a software application with a user-centered design shows that the vendor cares deeply about the needs of the end-user and is an indicator of how the relationship with the vendor is likely to turn out.
What changes should enterprise customers implement for better UX in enterprise software?
First and foremost, there has to be a change in mindset to acknowledge that design issues are the root cause of most errors; not people. Design issues have emerged as the root cause of several disasters such as the Three Mile Island nuclear accident — an example that is used several times by Don Norman in his book The Design of Everyday Things. From such a mindset change would stem a demand for better designed interfaces. Once there is a strong demand, it is just a matter of time before things improve.
But, even if an organisation wants to invest in well-designed software, it is a real challenge to identify such software at the time of purchase, since the decision makers are oftentimes not the ones who directly use the software being purchased. To make things easier, it is important to involve end users, at least a few identified lead users during the purchase process when the deal seems likely to happen. These users have to be shown product demos and if feasible, provided with working versions of the software so that they can see by themselves the pros and cons of having to use the software in their daily routine. Feedback from these users should be factored in while deciding whether the software will be worth the investment.
A wise step that enterprises can take is to choose vendors using agile approaches to software development. Although such approaches demand a greater extent of customer involvement during software development, the time invested in the early stages will definitely offer great returns by assuring an acceptable product that the end users are happy with. With the several iterations of prototypes that is an inevitable part of agile methodologies, the users will not only get a say in the experience, but they will also be familiar with the product even before the final version is delivered to them.
It is also worth mentioning that often, start-up software vendors are most likely to meet the various criteria mentioned above. Working with start-ups will help enterprise customers to get better value for the money they invest and greater agility in execution, not to mention the bargaining power and ability to influence the long-term evolution of the software / product.
What changes should enterprise software vendors implement?
It is imperative that a change in the quality of enterprise software has to stem from the software vendors themselves. Due to the intense focus on functionality and domain expertise, it is very common for enterprise software companies to completely ignore user experience.
For ensuring good UX, companies should invest in full-time UX teams that are independent from engineering. It is important that UX is not made a part of the engineering organisation, since that will greatly stifle their creative freedom and prevent them from coming up with great designs.
Furthermore, using concepts like personas, storyboarding etc. during design will help to ensure consistency in understanding across the various teams involved. This is crucial to maintain integrity of the software and to figure out what to keep and what to dump. Moreover, implementing these concepts invariably involves plenty of user research and real user feedback, thereby building a culture of user-focus in the company — a very important ingredient of great software applications.
UX in enterprise software is only going to improve from here on. The self-reinforcing cycle of demand and supply will ensure that. I believe the steps that I’ve mentioned in this article will help to speed up the journey towards better UX.
What do you think? Is there anything else that can be done to get to good UX faster? Do you have different views on something I have written? Do let me know by leaving your comments in this story.
Cover photo: Courtesy nicolemors on Flickr
