User Experience in Productivity Software

Do you think the UI of D365 F&O is chaotic? Guess what - an ERP is not designed to be user friendly, it's designed to be robust! The bigger the ERP, the more true you will find this to be. Why? Because: - UI improvements don't sell well unless the buyer is the end user (and it's not, it's the board, often on a purely economical basis). - Keep adding more and more features (and any application will reach that point given enough time) and you will find it impossible to have a slick UI. - Flexibility often comes at the cost of intuitive design. It's challenging to build for both great user experience AND maximum customisation in a complex business application like an ERP. Ah, but now I hear you say: “Ok, this doesn’t solve our problems though. Our users find the system chaotic and our productivity goes down.” Ok, let’s handle it then. This is how you can really improve your users' experience with D365 F&O: 1. Tailor security access: Streamline user interfaces by showing only what's necessary. Properly configured security roles can significantly declutter screens and simplify navigation. 2. Design smart customisations: Avoid designing overly convoluted features that add too many buttons and forms. Less is more, also in software design. 3. Train users: Teach users how to navigate D365 F&O and how to personalise forms to their needs. Use saved views to speed up filtering and display of relevant information. 4. Leverage PowerApps: Create user-friendly interfaces for specific tasks or roles (e.g. data input). PowerApps can provide a more intuitive front-end while still leveraging D365 F&O's robust back-end capabilities. 5. Leverage reporting: Build targeted workspaces dashboards that give users quick access to the information they need. This reduces the need for complex navigation within the system. Remember that improving user experience in D365 F&O isn't about making it look pretty. It's about making it work efficiently for your specific business needs. So empower your users to make the most of the standard D365 F&O capabilities - they’re often underestimated. Use the advice above to create a more intuitive, productive environment for your users without compromising on the system's robustness.

From the long list of "things UX can learn from game design" is a concept called Time To Hadouken, or TTH. If you believe that good UX is about giving your users superpowers, read on. For those unfamiliar - the Hadouken is an iconic ability from the Street Fighter games. Normal character attacks are things like punches and kicks but "⬇↘➡🤜" made your character yell "HADOUKEN!" and shoot a big blue energy blast. This was immediately appealing to players - it wasn't just awesome, but also accessible. You could jump into your first fight and be shooting Hadoukens left and right. These "combos" became the selling point of the game series, and many other game franchises copied them - but often got one key thing very wrong. It's the same thing that UX often gets wrong. A lot of productivity software makes the same pitch to customers: we will give you superpowers, you will be able to cool stuff that you can't do in any other app. And then they put barriers in the way of doing that thing. Their "time to Hadouken" - the time that it takes for the app to fulfill its core promise - gets padded out. Just like the games that copied Street Fighter made their combos increasingly esoteric to please hardcore fans or added unnecessary cinematics and intro stages that delayed the action, apps throw things like welcome tours in the way of the user, or present them with a blank canvas that they must populate before they can experience the app's most important features. Often this happens because there's no clear sense on the team of what their product's Hadouken actually is. It's easy to pull out a list of features, but not very helpful. Street Fighter also has a list of features - there are 121 characters, and each has many combos - but only one Hadouken. It's the most basic selling point that makes the user go "whoa, that was awesome!" in the shortest period of time. If you don't know what your Hadouken is, you desperately need to do the work to figure it out - and then build your onboarding in such a way that minimizes the time to Hadouken.

Recently, I conducted user testing for some exciting projects at Stanford, and decided to share some insights. This post feels especially personal because it’s not just about design—it’s about my journey as both a student and a designer. When I first came to Stanford as an international student, I struggled with navigating its complex academic systems. It was frustrating, and I remember wishing for tools that could make things simpler and more intuitive. Fast forward to today, and I have the incredible opportunity to work on improving those very systems—side by side with current students. Listening to their frustrations during user testing brings back so many of my own memories. It’s a full-circle moment, where my past experiences fuel my passion to make these tools better for everyone. Here are some interesting insights: • 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Users often approach academic tools with mental models shaped by other apps or systems they use. Identifying and aligning with these expectations can significantly reduce confusion and improve engagement. • 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: Academic tools are often used in high-pressure moments (e.g., enrollment deadlines). Testing revealed that reducing friction in the interface during these times significantly improves the overall experience. • 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Today’s students expect tools to adapt to their preferences, like saving search filters or suggesting classes based on their academic history. • 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Students value clear, visual representations of information, such as progress bars for degree completion or graphs showing their weekly workload distribution. • 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Designing for inclusivity means accounting for diverse backgrounds, from non-traditional students to those who are the first in their family to attend college. • 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱: Even after a design seems polished, user testing consistently uncovers areas for refinement, proving that the design process is never truly finished. User testing can be really challenging but truly rewarding in the end. I decided to share these moments to contribute to a community that’s all about learning and growing together. If you’ve got user testing stories or tips, I’d love to hear them—let’s inspire each other! #UXDesign #UIDesign #UserTesting #HumanCenteredDesign #DesignForEducation

I recommended an app to a friend last week. He had a very specific problem he was trying to solve. He downloaded it. And the first screen said: “Link your bank accounts.” Before he saw a dashboard. Before he saw a demo. Before he understood what the app was actually going to do for him. Just: give us your data. (And your bank accounts at that!) Some will argue it needed the data to work. Maybe. But it didn’t need the data to show value. It could have: • Walked him through a demo with dummy data • Shown a clear before-and-after • Given him a 60-second guided tour • Asked: “What problem are you trying to solve?” Imagine this instead: “What’s driving you crazy right now?” 🔲 I can’t track spending 🔲 I don’t know where my money goes 🔲 I want to save more 🔲 I’m trying to pay down debt He clicks one. Then the app says: “Great. Here’s exactly how we fix that.” And shows: • The screen he’ll use • The numbers that will populate • The outcome he’ll see • The result he can expect Then — and only then — asks him to connect his bank. This is not just a fintech problem. I see this constantly with AI productivity tools. What they say they are: • “AI-powered workflow automation” • “Agentic infrastructure” • “Reinventing knowledge work” • “Seamless optimization across teams” I have 100 problems at any given moment. I don’t even know what to prioritize half the time. So when a new AI productivity tool lands in my newsletter inbox, I’m open. But don’t make me reverse-engineer your value. What I need them to be: • Tell me right away if I fit your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) • Fix this one specific problem that is driving me crazy • Show me exactly how it works • Use simple language • Show screenshots • Walk me through the before and after Show me that you understand one specific pain point inside my chaos and how you fix it in the plainest English, please. I even see this in CPG. Beauty, specifically. So many products are out there, but they don’t tell me how to use them. In fact, I saw a clearly labeled “Leave-In Conditioner” the other day whose directions said to rinse it out. 🤔 Serum before moisturizer? Morning or night? Product A with Product B? 1x per week or 4x per day? You built the product. You’re the expert. Tell me exactly who it's for. Tell me exactly how to use it. Tell me exactly what it will fix. And NEVER assume I know anything. If I can see myself clearly in your use case, I’ll lean in. It’s like I always say: I’m an angel investor. Speak to me like I’m 5 years old. Value first. Access second.

A product can have all the right functionality—but if it's hard to use, it won't sell. Let me tell you a story. We partnered with a benefits enrollment platform that was struggling to close deals. The software had the right features—but the user experience told a different story. The platform looked outdated. But worse, it felt outdated: ▪️ Confusing navigation ▪️ Clunky workflows ▪️ Inconsistent design ▪️ Frustrating interactions Sales meetings weren’t the problem—they had plenty. But the moment HR teams saw the UI, interest evaporated. The reaction? “Yeah… we can’t roll this out to our employees.” We helped them reimagine the entire experience. We conducted user research, streamlined the workflows, and redesigned the interface to be simpler, more consistent, and intuitive. We didn’t just make it look better. We made it feel better. The result? ▪️ 400% increase in sales pipeline ▪️ $4M in new business—within 3 weeks of launch Improving the user experience doesn’t just make software more attractive. It makes it more valuable. More usable. More sellable. So if your product isn’t closing deals, don’t just ask: “Does it look good?” Ask: “Does it feel effortless?”

As product managers, we spend a lot of time trying to understand user friction and solve for it in the products we build. But we often only perceive and solve for the most obvious form of friction when we in fact should be spending more of our time addressing the higher level forms of friction that our users regular experience. Let's break down the three types of friction users experience in our products: 💻 Interaction Friction - Friction a user experiences when interacting with our product's interface. It covers all aspects of the UI that may be hindering our users from accomplish their goal. Most of the popular best practices revolve around solving this type of friction, including things like A/B testing, usability testing, consistent interfaces, etc. 🧠 Cognitive Friction - Cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in working memory. Cognitive friction is anything that increases cognitive load for the user. This is a far broader though often overlooked form of friction. Uber is a great example of an app that significantly reduced the cognitive friction compared to calling a taxi. Before you had to find the phone number for a local taxi company, call to schedule a ride, call back multiple times since no one picked up, get an untrustable estimate on when they will arrive, etc. Uber was able to remove nearly all of this cognitive friction from the ride hailing experience. 😩 Emotional Friction - Emotions a user feels that prevent them from accomplishing their goal. This is often the very hardest to perceive but by far the most impactful if you can resolve. Tinder offers the perfect example of emotional friction. The previous generation of dating experiences were incredibly intimidating since they required you to put in a ton of effort creating a profile, searching for potential matches, reaching out to people of interest, and ultimately experiencing a ton of rejection. Tinder's swipe right innovation quickly helped you determine mutual interest between both parties, removing much of the emotional friction of the previous generation of online dating experiences, resulting in online dating ultimately becoming mainstream. 👇 Read today's essay to learn more about each of these types of user friction and best practices for solving for them in your own product experience. https://lnkd.in/gHWW_WJ