Ever use a business application (i.e. ERPs, CRMs, Inventory Management) and think to yourself “why is this experience so awful”? Maybe I should ask have you ever used a business application and NOT thought that to yourself. Well the folks over at Software Advice want to get your feedback. They have put together a survey of Ten Consumer Web UI Themes that they think would be useful in business applications, and they wanna know which UI Theme we most want to see. So, go ahead on over to their post and take the Survey and let’s help make these apps better!
nI’ve noticed that survey over the last few months as well. My only issue with what they’re trying to do–and I understand if I sound like a curmudgeon or I’m taking it too seriously–is that it’s divorcing the business & user need from functionality, and risks promoting features that aren’t in the best interest of the entire experience or ecosystem of other applications & services. nnIn other cases, many of these tool-based ‘themes’ are already being developed full force–in some cases without the necessary deeper thought into the ramifications of its use. nnFor instance, many enterprise social business applications have “like” features that the workforce can use to identify affinity to a comment, post, or shared document. But unfortunately, many of those systems have been rushed to market without a good understanding of what a “like” means, how it should influence the reputation of the person liking the content and likewise (heh heh) that of the person’s content who is being liked. nnActivity streams (referred here as Twitterish Feeds) are another similar issue where social interaction designers and UXers really have a tough nut to crack, but is really just glossed over here. nnAnyway, I know this comes off as a downer, but I think surveys like this can potentially do more harm than good if they’re peddled as actionable, influential research and preached to buyers more interested in chasing technology rather than addressing functionality to solve business problems.n
It’s a very valid point, which I agree with… but I also agree that you can be a downer :-).
It’s a very valid point, which I agree with… but I also agree that you can be a downer :-).
[…] User Experience by LisView Comments Back in December, I wrote a post promoting a survey regarding UX & Business applications. Well now here we are about a month later, and the results are in! The main survey question was: […]