The UX dilemma

Workday showcased to a few of us yesterday Release 21 and the repeated and striking theme was the drop-dead gorgeous UI design in the screenshots we saw from a web screen (as in home menu below with move away from the previous wheel metaphor), an iPhone, an iPad.

Craig Frederighi of Apple explains why iOS7 did away with skeuomorphic principles

“This is the first post-Retina (Display) UI (user interface), with amazing graphics processing thanks to tremendous GPU (graphics processing unit) power growth, so we had a different set of tools to bring to bear on the problem as compared to seven years ago (when the iPhone first launched). Before, the shadowing effect we used was a great way to distract from the limitations of the display. But with a display that’s this precise, there’s nowhere to hide. So we wanted a clear typography.”

Hyundai invited me to an event a few months ago where they showed how with eye tracking and gestural controls they hope to reduce the number of knobs and buttons in a car.

All this is nice to see and with Microsoft tiles, Samsung’s rumored move away from its TouchWiz just a small part of the tsunami of UX changes. 

But you have to stop and ask should HR and finance staff not be taken away from too much data entry? Should not time sheets and travel expenses be automated at source? Does prettier UX actually get us away from that goal?

The flatter iOS7 is leading at least some to complain about input speed and battery issues

Consumer Reports has been studying the impact of UX in cars and reports that 2/3rds of respondents 65 and older who owned a car with an installed infotainment system had lots of trouble operating it.

UX is a complex area and the good news is enterprise software designers are getting feedback like never before from consumers as we report experiences with our Ford myTouch, Siri, Fitbit, Nest thermostats and countless other devices.

There are unique demographic nuances, training implications, productivity impacts. In many ways, we are just starting a brand new journey. The good news is the views are very enjoyable. Ask to see a demo of Workday 21 and  see what I mean.