Interface design crucial to boost software sale

03 Jan '08

2 min read

Enterprise software vendors should make user interface design a higher priority if they want customers to consider purchasing a replacement or upgrade to their enterprise software applications.

That is the conclusion of a recently-commissioned study on user interfaces conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Lawson Software.

Forrester surveyed 230 chief information officers, information technology directors and information technology managers to determine if an enterprise application's user interface affects their organization's software buying decisions and business productivity.

The study found 82 percent of respondents consider an enterprise software application's user interface a determining factor when deciding to replace their enterprise software applications.

In addition, 90 percent of respondents identify user interface as a priority when purchasing an addition to their existing enterprise application infrastructure.

According to the study, information technology executives see a high correlation between the quality of the user interface and business productivity.

In fact, 86 percent of respondents deem an application's user interface a primary reason for business productivity improvements.

84 percent of respondents state that a well-designed user interface decreases error rates, and 76 percent of those surveyed assert that a good user interface reduces user support requests.

"We've found that while a basic browser interface may be easy to deploy and simple for many casual users, it's not actually enough for employees who spend a lot of time interacting with enterprise applications," said Dean Hager, senior vice president of product management for Lawson.

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