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by Dick Bucci, Principal, Pelorus Associates - July 31, 2014

Why the User Interface Really Matters©

Much has been said and written about user-friendly design. The term is applied to everything from spacecraft controls to coffeemakers. Like golden sunsets and happy puppies we can all agree that user-friendly is a good thing. But as a practical matter what exactly does it mean? And why does it matter?

The contact center is highly labor-intensive. Agents spend almost all their time heads down at a computer screen. To the extent that the interface can be made more pleasant and easier to use we can reasonably expect agents to be happier in their jobs and more productive. A significant obstacle is that agents typically work with multiple applications and databases. The most frequently accessed are:

• Customer relationship management
• Performance management
• Workforce scheduling
• Electronic learning
• Job specific applications such as sales automation, order entry, application forms, reservations, service tickets, claims processing and others.

These systems are typically sourced from different vendors and have different user interfaces. Several vendors now offer integrated workforce management suites that offer consistent controls and navigation routines. In multi vendor environments performance management software and intelligent desktop applications provide another way of harmonizing access to multiple tools and resources.

What do we mean by user-friendly?

Webster defines user-friendly as “easy to learn, use, understand, or deal with.” This brief and to the point definition applies to any device human beings interact with and therefore is too general to help us understand the term in the context of a software user interface. A more helpful definition is from ISO 9241-210[1] which defines user experience as "a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service." The ISO definition implies that the user experience includes all the users' emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, behaviors and accomplishments that occur before, during and after use.

A significant contribution of the ISO definition is the notion of “user experience.” User-friendly refers to attributes or qualities that we would find desirable in operating a device. User experience recognizes that people connect with devices on an emotional level as well as a tactile level. Tuomas Nurminen, a leading commentator on design trends observed in his article “The Meaning of User Experience” (April, 2011) “… people do not buy products because of the features but because of the experience delivered, when the user is in contact with the product. They want the product to satisfy them, impact all their senses, and generate good feelings.”

Introducing an interface that enhances the user experience is a loftier goal than simply producing something that is user friendly. The explanation is more specific and therefore more useful in helping set design goals. The world famous firm frog design puts it this way, “User Experience Design is a necessary competency to navigate today’s competitive landscape.”

Impact of a poorly designed user interface

An agent may log in and out in and out of up to 20 different applications as she tries to resolve a problem or perform a business process. This is frustrating, time-consuming and unnecessarily error-prone. The screens will differ on icon placements, navigation routines, layout, and feedback mechanisms. Some applications will follow familiar routines that users have come to expect from their daily exposure to computing devices. Some will take different and unexpected paths for getting from A to Z. Callers want answers right away and I are unimpressed when the agent uses the familiar retort,” I’m waiting for my system to come up.”

The most common pain points associated with a poorly designed user interface are outlined below;

Principles of good interactive design

The term user friendly was first used in 1977. At that time simply delivering information to the user via the primitive operating systems and monitors available was the foremost challenge. As desktop and later laptop and mobile computers became prevalent the art and science of human factors design grew in maturity. This eventually morphed into what today is known as User Experience (UX) design. It’s a new and rapidly growing field. Many practitioners of UX design have jumped over from related areas such as psychology, anthropology, marketing, graphic design, industrial design, programming, and computer science to lend a hand to the evolution of the trade.

Four of the most important qualities of a superior user experience design are;

• Familiarity
• simplicity
• clarity
• Forgiveness

Familiarity

The Heinz company designed the iconic catsup bottle in 1879. There have been efforts to change its impractical shape over the years. One idea was a screw-off lid like a mayonnaise jar. No more violent shaking and embarrassing squirts of catsup on your dining companion. But still the original bottle shape persists. Why? Because we have come to expect it. It’s the same with software interfaces. Sure improvements are desirable but designers beware of straying too far from the norm. Microsoft and Apple, because of their market shares and leadership reputations, have set expectations of where and how software functionality should be accessed.

Simplicity

The UI should be easy to learn and easy to use. Operations should be intuitive. Decisioning systems built into the application can guide the operator to make selections that are best for the caller and the enterprise. Customer relationship software and related consumer databases can trigger best offers and scripts for individual callers.

Clarity

Information should be presented in a clear and direct manner. If more details are required then simply clicking on a specific data point should explode more data.

Forgiveness

Recognizing that we are all human and prone to making mistakes, a good design will allow us to exit an operation with no harm done. As an example, consider where we would be if Microsoft had not developed the “undo” function? A superior design will present just the information specifically required for the particular task. It will automatically prevent the operator from traveling down roads that lead to dead ends, such as requiring a password or authorization not available to the agent.

Conclusion

A superior user experience requires a design that goes far beyond the ambiguous concept of user-friendliness. It entails a deep knowledge of the philosophies and tools of modern design and a disciplined process for achieving design goals. Does it have value? Absolutely! Just consider the incredible success of the Apple iPhones. Millions of people around the globe happily pay $600 or more for an Apple phone when competitive models with similar functionality are offered at a much lower cost. For end users a well-designed user interface means work gets done faster, with fewer errors, and with less frustration. For businesses that invest in superior design for their web sites and application views, costly training cycles are shortened, there is less dependence on a small cadre’ of internal experts, and the business gains a competitive edge that cannot be duplicated.

Dick Bucci
Principal
Pelorus Associates
dbucci@pelorusassoc.com
www.pelorusassoc.com



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