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The design challenge behind a modern enterprise app is also way steeper than on any consumer app. Enterprise apps like CRM, ERP, HR, etc. need to cover a myria
by pinaceae 12y ago
The design challenge behind a modern enterprise app is also way steeper than on any consumer app.
Enterprise apps like CRM, ERP, HR, etc. need to cover a myriad of use cases and local/regional/global intricacies. They achieve this through configuration and even customization options. Nobody, ever, uses enterprise apps out of the box.
So your iPad app now needs to readjust and reconfigure itself based on customer defined data models, page layouts, workflows, triggers. And by customer I mean some yokel at Accenture/CapGemini/etc who is at least three layers removed from the person who wrote the requirements, plus never had any real training on how to configure the app.
And as they can change even stuff like field labels, your beautiful and simple UI now needs to handle huge strings in random places, etc.
Source: Running a team that builds a very successful enterprise app in a specific vertical. And we're spending a huge amount of time on protecting the end users from all the tasteless forces between us and them.
Props to the Salesforce UX team, who are fighting the same fight. Go look at the Salesforce Wave analytics app - truly wonderful UI. Their way of drilling into a donut graph is simply awesome.
- smackfu 12y agoYou haven't seen real horror until you try to design a UI to enter accounting codes that works for more than one company.
- sogen 12y agoIt takes so much effort to design ANYTHING inside a BigCorp© Design by Comitee = Death
- dpweb 12y agoIt's not about making it "look good". Completely subjective. The app needs the capbility to switch out the CSS. For instance, we resell/implement a popular cloud app - just our company - we do dozens of large implementations. Out of box, this app has a super modern look! It is not the SAP etc.. of days gone by. Even with this, some love it, some hate it. Waste of time trying to guess what people think looks good. Put their logo on, probably 8 out of 10 ask for this. No brainer. Need custom CSS, 1 out of 20 ask for this. App should be able to. If they want to get crazy, the capability for complete custom pages. Maybe 1 out of 50 customers ask for this and after you quote them the price they'll not want it.
- superuser2 12y agoIsn't this an argument for developing bespoke applications using lighter/more rapid technology for each customer? At some point, a programing language is more convenient than your configuration system.