I’m not a design expert. But, like you, I interact with many user interfaces every day, both as a professional and a consumer. What makes consumer software like Airbnb, Venmo, and an iPhone so great? They are easy and delightful to use. Unfortunately, most enterprise software is not.
Thankfully, SAP Fieldglass VMS designers use best practices to make our solutions easier and more delightful with each release. This is no easy task considering the power and flexibility of SAP Fieldglass VMS – it does so much. Plus, it must serve the needs of new and occasional users as well as those who work within it every day, all day long.
Transformation Since 2018
Transforming the SAP Fieldglass user interface began in 2018 with the adoption of SAP Fiori, the design system for all SAP products. Beyond just changing colors and fonts, it’s a consumer-grade user experience that removes unnecessary complexity. It’s design principles include:
- Simplicity – Includes only what is necessary
- Role-based – Designed for you, your needs, and how you work
- Adaptive – Adapts to multiple use cases and devices
- Coherent – Provides a fluid, intuitive experience
- Delightful – Makes an emotional connection
In addition to transitioning to Fiori, the SAP Fieldglass design team collected extensive user feedback from both new and power users to fully understand what would make the experience better. The research led to the use of ‘progressive disclosure’, among other things.
What is progressive disclosure? It reduces the amount of data that’s presented on any given screen. Instead, information is displayed in sequential, bite-size pieces to prevent information overload for the user.
Additionally, the SAP Fieldglass VMS has a dynamic UI based on past activity. Research uncovered that past activity is a good predictor what users will want. For example, most users repeatedly work with the same handful of templates and suppliers over and over again. As a result, those templates are made readily available rather than making users dig for them.
Example: Creating a Statement of Work
Rather than flooding the user with information and options, the process is broken into two bite-size and intuitive displays that anyone can follow.
The design team has made great strides in the past few years. In fact, there is too much to include in just one post, so keep a lookout for more information on this topic.
To learn more about the SAP Fieldglass solutions, click here.
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