Blog

User Experience (UX) and Software Development

By bev 01 December 2020 4 min read
NEURAL NETWORK
User experience (UX) often seems like a term that lacks definition. Despite this, there's real value in understanding what UX is. And realising its potential impact your custom software's success. In this analysis, we'll walk you through key areas where intelligent UX design impacts your business's bottom line. We'll show why we place such importance on consistently high-quality UX across our software.

Efficiency

To start with, let's focus on the goal which most people approach us with – increased efficiency. Whether you intend to sell your bespoke software as a service or utilise it in-house, increasing efficiency and maximising process speed is the core of software development. Intelligent UX is key to achieving this goal. UX has a direct impact on how individuals use your bespoke software. Whether it’s navigation design, calls-to-action or UX copy, the layout, styling, shape and appearance of your software will impact how intuitive it is. And how easy it is to complete the tasks required. Ultimately, greater efficiency leaves more room for business growth both for SaaS businesses and organisations using their software internally.

Time management - for all parties

Efficiency iencompasses a variety of tangible optimisations and business improvements. One of these is time management.  This is an issue which many organisations and employees struggle with.  However, bespoke software easily solves the issue if it has been designed with UX in mind. Whatever the purpose of your software, time is always one of the primary KPIs for successful design and implementation. Not just time taken to complete tasks either. Time spent on training, support tickets, conversions and upsells. UX has a tangible impact on all these metrics. With intuitive design, users find it easier to learn and use the software, reducing the number of support requests and saving time for everyone involved. Whether you’re a service provider, a business frustrated with your software provider or an organisation using custom software alongside a dedicated support team. Whatever software issue you face, it can likely be assisted by intelligent user experience choices.

Easier training, adoption and roll-out

UX has a direct impact on the speed of education and adoption across an organisation. Intuitive, user-focused design philosophies enable businesses to work more efficiently once their bespoke software is implemented.  It will also help them transition to a new tool even more effectively. This can be a particularly challenging issue for larger businesses with a broad structure across multiple time zones and regions. Rolling out new software by department can be extremely challenging.  This is why an easy-to-learn layout is essential for trainers to teach the wider organisation.

Brand continuity

While not as impactful for businesses looking to develop bespoke software for internal use, SaaS organisations often find that UX is an incredibly useful branding tool which supports upsells and business growth. UX, layout, colour and design can all be effective methods of conveying a brands missions, values, USPs and value propositions within the very framework of the software. This enables the software to transition from a single-use system to a potential sales tool or business culture educator.  This gives users a continual exposure to the software’s other offerings and your business's mission and brand guidelines. Whilst subtle, these differences can create a tangible impact on everything.  From revenue generated for SaaS organisations to the working environment and employee satisfaction within other businesses.

User satisfaction

Whether it's time-saving techniques, branding consistency or general process efficiency, UX’s impact always leads to a happier user. Frustration with technology is common and leads organisations to investigate developing bespoke software in the first place. User experience is essential for ensuring that users see an improvement in the new software’s effectiveness at pain points compared to any previous tool used. This is fundamental for any software implementation success.  If the initial rollout is plagued with a poor user experience, it will take a significant amount of time to reverse negative feeling towards the software. In turn, users will be disengaged and frustrated at the new software you have invested in - the very opposite of your goal.

Saved money & made money

Every point on this list culminates in the same core point. Good user experience saves your business money and helps it make more money. UX has a direct correlation to staff efficiency, training time and satisfaction. It improves productivity, reducing time lost to technical issues, and boosts sales. Whatever your software project entails, always consider the importance of UX. Allow future users to experiment, poke holes and identify areas for improvement during development.

Our team of UX experts

We at BSPOKE Software tailor our UX decisions and software design recommendations to your needs and your business. We know there’s more to software development than just technology. That's why we provide unlimited consultations to get to know your business needs and goals. Get in touch with our software team today.
Back to Blog
More from the blog

Continue reading

NEURAL NETWORK
Blog

Microservices and Web Services - What are They?

Microservices and web services are terms that are used in regard to software products. They break down large software products into smaller segments that are more manageable and can still...

Read article
NEURAL NETWORK
Blog

Product Managers and Product Owners

Within companies and projects today, there are so many different job titles and roles, some of which have new titles that sometimes sound incredibly similar to each other. Product manager...

Read article
NEURAL NETWORK
Blog

Scrum- What you Need to Know

For Agile teams, Scrum is a way to help streamline their workflow and reduce risks. However, it’s not something that’s easy to use in every project or way of working. With companies today...

Read article

Need a practical view on what to build next?

Book a short call and we can help you turn ideas from the blog into a clear software roadmap.