Fundamentals of User Experience in Enterprise Applications

The term “Enterprise user experience” is becoming very popular nowadays. Earlier user experience design was related only to consumer applications. Many of the small, medium enterprises were not using software for their functioning and those large enterprise who was using software were not concerned about its usability. But recently, since the pandemic outbreak, all enterprises whether it is small, medium or large has started developing new software or revising their old ones with better user experience.

So, what is Enterprise UX?

An “enterprise” is any collection of organizations that has a common set of goals. It can be a small company run by a single individual or a government agency, but more often used to describe very large organizations that have many activities and functions.

Enterprise UX refers to the design of enterprise products, software, or solutions. Enterprise software is the type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, finance, procurement, project management, risk management, and compliance, manufacturing, and supply chain operations. This software helps companies to automate regular tasks, eliminate human errors, increase operational efficiency and accuracy, meet changing business demands, make informed business decisions, ensure faster time to market, and boost revenue generation.

Enterprise software can be,

Business-to-Business(B2B), used for business transactions with other organizations.

Business-to-employees (B2E), used to support their employees.

Why UX is important in enterprise software?

Enterprise UX is important because it is the design of products for people at work. UX will help people to be happier and more productive with efficient, effective, and satisfying software applications.

Why is enterprise UX different? What are the challenges?

UX for Enterprise is a bit challenging. It needs more effort and time because,

Enterprise software is highly specific and complex. Good research and analysis are required to understand the workflow.

Enterprise projects are commissioned/purchased by people who might not be their actual end-users. The key users will be the people working in an organization and they will use it for their job. But getting access to real users is not always possible.

Users will already be using other legacy systems, so there will be hesitation to adopt new software. Unlearning the old one and learning new software is like changing the habit of the user.

Reference for a similar product may not always be possible even if it exists.

Enterprise software usually deals with a lot of data. Effectively visualizing complicated datasets in real-time is skillful.

Conclusion

Enterprise software is made for an enterprise to run its business efficiently. User-centered design of the software will not only improve efficiency but also increase productivity, satisfaction, and loyalty of the user.