A hands-on UX/UI guide for enterprise software development teams, making the business case, what goes into building a strategy for project success and how to calculate the ROI of your next UX project.
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Change for change's sake isn't the point of updating any element of your application’s UX and UI. Instead, it must be done in a way that delivers genuine value for your users. There are numerous examples of web applications that have alienated users thanks to abrupt, poorly implemented changes to their UX. Here are some tips for navigating an overhaul without falling into the same trap:
Instead of assuming what your users want out of your application, dig deeper. Research is a key part of the UX design process, but it’s frequently overlooked at this critical stage. While you may already know who is using your application, you also need to review how they are using it. Look into how much time they spend on the app, poor workflow, and support call data. Use this information to establish clear priorities and set measurable goals for your redesign.
Usability testing is the focus group's real-world counterpart. After the planning and research stages, usability testing occurs once the initial wireframes and information architecture have been developed. It should aim to illuminate conceptual problems in a UX design workflow. Give users a set of tasks to accomplish and look at how they attempt to do so. Are there opportunities for making the process simpler or more obvious? If so, it may be necessary to further refine your design
The old adage about how you can't please all the people all of time is certainly true when it comes to UX and UI. Ultimately, every user will have slightly different expectations when engaging with a web-based application. Attempting to solve every problem that comes up can quickly drive your project off the rails. Instead, prioritize issues that are most frequently reported or that have the most impact on a user's experience. Choose the most important user type for your app’s success and design for them.
How your app looks is important, but it isn’t the whole story. How it works is critical to user adoption, productivity and satisfaction. In fact, 90 percent of the value of an experience comes from how the app works, not how it looks. Too often, there is a strong emphasis on visual design, often at the expense of the underlying UX/UI. While a good looking app may have instant appeal, if the user cannot easily accomplish their tasks, the end result will be a poor experience and lack of satisfaction. Experience trumps aesthetic.
Before starting your UX/UI overhaul, your team must have clearly defined user pain points and established current benchmarks. This way you can keep tabs on these indicators and demonstrate how the UX/UI project is working towards those goals. These might include faster task completion rates, increased user satisfaction with the app or fewer errors. Tying your project to specific, tangible outcomes will ensure everyone on the team, as well as management, understands what constitutes a successful redesign.
In the B2C world, there is study after study that clearly demonstrates how people’s interactions with mobile technology is changing. A famous study from Microsoft noted that, in the 15 year span between the year 2000 (or about when the mobile revolution began) and 2015, the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds to eight seconds. A Jampp study that examined how consumers interacted with mobile apps reported that there is up to 88% decrease in consumers’ attention span year over year.
There is no doubt that how users interact in the B2C world influences how they interact in the world of enterprise software. People have come to expect — and demand — the same ease of use and intuitiveness of B2C software in enterprise mobile and website applications.
The need for a UI tailored for a specific screen size is obvious. Users don’t use desktops and tablets and phones in the same way, and they often don’t need the same robust functionality they have on desktop to be available on their phones.
The study offers these average interaction times for each device that may be running your applications
Generally speaking, the smaller the device, the lower the attention span a user has for applications on that device. When you embrace efficient design principles for your app, consider what users actually need on the go and what workflows require large screens and prolonged interaction. This way, the UI is still using the same logic, but boosts the UX by providing only what a user needs in the moment.
While maintaining consistency between platforms is important, your UX needs to get increasingly efficient as the screen size gets smaller.
Is your UX/UI facilitating that efficiency, or is it aggravating users? In the enterprise world, users often have no choice but to use the app. But we can make them more efficient, more productive, minimize support and more focused on the goals than on how to get around the app. Effective multi-platform implementation is just one example of how keeping your user interface updated can benefit your organization.
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We hope the guide helps you plan your next UX/UI project. And remember, we’re always here if you have any questions, or need any help.
