User interface, ease of use critical to IT professionals

I recently spoke at a conference that was attended by many CIOs and IT professionals. Most of these people have already deployed at least BlackBerrys and many have deployed wireless corporate applications including sales force management and CRM. Some were using a number of location-based applications for dispatching, delivery and service fleets.

It is always an education to talk with these IT professionals and find out what their issues are with wireless. Interestingly enough, many concerns are expressed by those who have been implementing wireless services within their organizations for more than 10 years. Security, of course, usually heads the list. But another notable concern is that many of the applications they have looked at suffer from a lack of ease of use and poor user interfaces.

These professionals know the value of wireless devices and applications. They know that the return on investment is measured in months, not years. And they know that many of their field force take to the applications quickly because it makes their lives easier. However, they are still struggling with many applications they would like to deploy.

Too many of the applications, I am told, require those in the field to change the way they are accustomed to working. For example, they may have been using a paper form, and instead of converting it to a digital form that can be filled out and sent via a wireless link back to the company, many of the applications are written in such a way that those in the field have to learn new ways of reporting and processing the information.

One aside here is that there was one session that discussed how wireless applications were being welcomed by a workforce of varying ages. I expected to hear that the younger employees would be more open to these wireless applications while the older, and therefore, longer-term employees, would be the ones that have a problem changing from a world of paper forms to one of digitized images on a screen.

However, it turns out that many of the older employees welcome these applications because it gives them more free time in the evenings and on weekends since they no longer have to spend their time filling out work reports, call reports, or service reports. The younger employees are the hardest ones to please because many of them have grown up with wireless and game machines and expect really great graphics and applications that are easy to use and which, to them, make sense. The message here is that those who are not really familiar with what is available today are willing to work with applications that help them become more productive while those who have grown up with wireless, especially those who are familiar with the Internet and today's wireless devices, are underwhelmed with the user interface and/or functionality of the applications.

With more of the workforce carrying more powerful notebook computers and smartphones with much better screens than only a few years ago, it is important for those who build applications for this market to understand that they need to spend a lot of time on the user interface. Another thing I learned is that many of the companies that deploy pilot programs for wireless applications find out they need to have the applications modified, and that includes the user interface. Even applications designed to mimic desktop applications need to be revised in order to streamline their operation when used in the field.

Companies that are interested only in mass producing an application that might fit 75 percent of a potential customer's needs and are not willing to work with customers to modify the application, especially the user interface, may find themselves at a real disadvantage. Those who understand that many corporate applications can be designed to provide 90 percent of the functionality needed by a potential customer out of the box and are willing to make some changes to the application for wider acceptance from the workforce, will sell more copies of their application and will be recommended to others by a happy CIO.

One thing that was really driven home to me once again is that CIOs and IT professionals are not at all hesitant to talk about the applications they are using, what they like about them, and what they don't. As with any business, marketing can help gain awareness for a product, but word of mouth from those who have deployed it can make or break the applications moving forward. It is mostly about ease of use and a clean, easy to understand user interface. What is under the hood needs to work, but if a field force struggles to learn how to make it work, it won't matter in the long run.

Andrew Seybold is an authority on technology and trends shaping the world of wireless mobility. A respected analyst, consultant, commentator, author and active participant in industry trade organizations, his views have influenced strategies and shaped initiatives for telecom, mobile computing and wireless industry leaders worldwide.