Simplicity fronting Complexity

There’s nearly a 100 percent chance that if you are reading this, you own a smart phone or a tablet…unless you’re Robert Kraft or Jerry Jones. Like many people, you also most likely use numerous applications on these devices to perform tasks for your job.

E-mail and calendar apps are ubiquitous on all mobile devices and tablets. The same goes for some major apps, such as Skype (or Skype for Business) and the Microsoft Office Suite, which allow you to work anytime, anywhere. But take a moment to think about more complex apps you use or that your business requires you to use. Perhaps you depend on a project management application to coordinate work with co-workers, for example. Even though it has tons of fancy features, you might only use 10 percent of its feature set because of your job role. Wouldn’t it be more user-friendly if this app only showed the features you actually use, as opposed to all of the bells and whistles you don’t?

This leads me to a very critical piece of advice: If your business wants to compete in today’s market, you must extend your existing line-of-business (LOB) applications to mobile devices. However, to do this successfully, complex software must be translated into simplified user-interfaces for mobile apps so that people can use the apps when they need them, how they need them.

LOB apps are designed to serve numerous business functions performed by a diverse workforce. But not every user needs the full functionality set. Alternatively, people prefer simplified, personalized mobile experiences, even with the most intricate of software.

According to a recent Sapho study, employees and IT staff are "increasingly frustrated" with complex applications, "to the point of refusing to use applications that take too long to accomplish a goal." The study points out that complex software is failing because of its "complexity, poor mobile execution and clunky workflows." Instead, the study revealed that professionals want "consumer-grade simplicity, social media-level personalization and mobile-first experiences."

Software developers have to design mobile apps with the particular user and their role in mind, versus trying to jam the entire application into a mobile device. This will require thoughtfulness, creativity and perhaps even surveyed data from your customers to really get inside their heads.

Today’s troubling mentality in regards to software is getting "the biggest bang for the buck." Managers in the workplace are often asking the wrong questions, such as, "How much functionality can I get for the money I’m spending?" That’s a good thing if you are only looking at a balance sheet. But the balance sheet does not reflect the loss of productivity and the amount of training necessary to get users familiar with a complex application (of which they will only use 10 percent.)

Software designers, when converting the software to a mobile application, need to trim down features based on the users’ roles.

A great example we draw on is an iOS application ampiO Solutions developed a few years ago for a construction company that leveraged Project Server (a very complex application) but was only targeting the foremen in the field. We altered the application’s UI to only expose the six or so items the foremen needed to complete their tasks. The application increased productivity and improved operational costs in the long run. 

The users’ mindset has changed to craving simplified and personalized experiences on mobile apps, and thus, the buyers’ mindset will change and the technology must change along with it.