It has been some time since I read ‘Don’t make me think’ by Steve Krug, which is a book about human-computer interaction and web usability, and although he was primarilydiscussing commercial websites, a lot of what he says is also true in relation to business software applications.
Making business applications intuitive and easy to understand can be as important as the functionality the system is attempting to provide. The benefits expected to be accrued from the implementation of a new business system can only be maximised if the user-base can readily absorb the new processes and support the change.
Improvements to quality & efficiency, reduction in support burden, and hopefully the system being seen by its users as a pleasure to work with, rather than a hindrance, are a few of the direct benefits which can be attributed to a well thought out user interface.
With the rapid improvements in web technology it has become easier to produce web-based applications with a clean and intuitive interface, which users are quick to adopt.
At Workbooks we took the decision to build a ‘Windows Like’ desktop interface, so using Workbooks is a lot like using Windows. You can debate the merits of the Windows interface, but one thing is certain: everyone knows how it works, which means Workbooks’ users spend less time learning the product and more time being productive.