Enterprise UX design faces distinct challenges compared to consumer UX, including the disconnect between users and buyers, the complexity of information presentation, and consolidation of legacy systems. A well-crafted enterprise UX significantly boosts productivity and internal interactions, making it essential for efficient business operations.

Large companies often have applications that assist their internal operations. Such internal solutions are built with an aim to make the work of employees simpler and easier. But they seldom cut the mark. Instances of such solutions becoming problems is something that we mostly hear about. 

Why do such scenarios occur? 

Mostly because when it comes to enterprise UX design, organizations lag behind. The importance given to consumer solutions design doesn’t extend to enterprise solutions. There is a considerable shift in priority, goals, and quality between the two. The underlying question seems to be what does one gain from investing in the UX design for enterprise apps.

Surprisingly, a lot! Productive, sales, employee satisfaction- enterprise user experience design influences all these aspects. 

So, let us learn more about this important but underrated domain. What it is, how it is different, the challenges it poses, and things to consider while designing for enterprises – we will discuss all these topics in this article. 

What is Enterprise UX

Enterprise UX refers to the design of enterprise products, that is, the products for people at work. The users are employees of enterprises and not the general customers. Hence, these solutions are tailor-made for different business domains, job roles, or organizations. Examples include HR management systems, intranets, ERP systems, and CRM systems. 

Enterprise user experience is vital for businesses as it directly affects the business outcome. When employees are given tools that let them work more efficiently, it reflects in the productivity of organizations. Good enterprise UX lays the groundwork for good business

Corporate Workshop

Why is Enterprise UX Important

Often, enterprise software focuses on functionality more and the usability aspects are not given much thought. Quality enterprise UX design provides several advantages to organizations as they consider end-user behavior and design the solutions to be more usable.  Enterprise UX is important because it leads to: 

  • Increased productivity: Enterprise software is used by employees 8-10 hours a day. When such systems are redesigned to make them easy and swift to use, employees perform better. Moreover, optimized user journeys and intuitive navigation help them save time. Thus, it contributes to increased productivity.
  • Easier understanding: With data visualization and dashboards, enterprise UX design makes information rich interfaces easier to understand. Users can gather key insights quickly and make better informed decisions.
  • Improved internal interactions: Internal interaction is critical for efficient teamwork. In the present day hybrid work culture, it is unavoidable to build a cooperative team. Enterprise UX design can improve internal interactions with messaging features that are on par with customer-oriented software.

How is Enterprise UX Different from Consumer UX

Enterprise UX and consumer UX are two completely different branches, although they come under the same umbrella. Having worked on designing solutions for both branches, we can say that they differ in their idea, execution, and goals. Here we will discuss some of the key differences between the two.

Enterprise UX Consumer UX
Designed for a business domain Designed for a specific task
More complex and supports multiple users and job functions Simple and performs a single function
Customers and users are different people Buyers are users
Configured by administrators Configured by consumers themselves
Challenging design process compared to consumer apps Relatively simpler design
Users have no choice and must adhere to organizational rules Users have the freedom to choose and interact with various apps.
Efficiency is crucial as users work with the app all-day Efficiency is important but not as critical as in enterprise apps.
Deals with a larger scope, scale, and more data and transactions Deals with smaller scope, scale, data, and transactions.
More restrictions and stricter security requirements Fewer restrictions and less stringent security requirements.

These are some noteworthy differences between enterprise and consumer UX. However, the line between the two is blurring today. People are no longer ready to put up with bad UX. As a result, enterprises are focusing on bringing the simplicity of consumer apps to enterprise apps. Although it is much more complex in execution, designers are succeeding in finding a balance. 

What are the Challenges of Enterprise User Experience Design

Consumer-facing UX design receives more appreciation, attention, and investment when compared to enterprise design. While there are many factors that contribute to this, the challenges that designing for enterprises pose to UX designers must be addressed. In this section, we will focus on the unique challenges of enterprise design. 

Difficulty in conducting UX research:Since for enterprise solutions, the customers who purchase the solutions and users who use them are different, it creates a barrier for designers. Conducting UX research to better understand enterprise users is a hurdle as designers will be dealing with the executives (buyers) and not the actual users. And most times, the buyers aren’t very clear about the user needs, which leaves designers in a bind.

A shift in user context:The context in which enterprise solutions are used varies entirely from that of consumer solutions. Enterprise apps must be designed for better focus and more time commitment. Further, creating MVP is not beneficial for enterprise apps as achieving goals with half-implemented functionalities is not practical.

The right information density:Enterprise apps are rich in information. As a result, the screen designs may be packed and lead to cognitive load for users. But hiding information to simplify the user interface may create risks and confusion. It may lead to employees not being able to find important information quickly and cause disastrous results. So it’s very challenging for designers to find the optimum information density. 

Tough testing conditions:Since enterprise solutions are often uniquely designed for specific organizations or domains, it is difficult to find dummy users to conduct testing. And when it comes to real users, they may be willing to perform usability tests and provide feedback, but reaching out to them and finding a free slot in their busy schedule is tough. And as mentioned before, most times, your customers won’t be the users, so it is a far-fetched possibility.

Conflict in opinion:Since stakeholders of different power levels are involved in creating an enterprise app, there are chances of conflicts in opinion. In such cases, the powerhouse stakeholders “win” even if their suggested features don’t suit the solution well. As a result, most users will have to deal with solutions that are irrelevant to them and do not meet their needs.

Consolidating legacy systems:Often, enterprise systems may be a merger of legacy systems. It isn’t easy to consolidate old systems into a new single system as the process is time consuming and complex. Starting fresh with a new system is impossible in concept as old systems cannot be completely ignored. Rather, they must be reconciled, mapped, and incorporated, which is a humongous task.

The Importance of Enterprise Design System

A design system is a library of components that can be used to make the designing process consistent and fast. It may include patterns, themes, icons, tables, objects etc., that designers use for a project. Having a design system means there is no longer a need to start from scratch as a pre-built library is in place. For enterprises, a design system is important because of the scale of design. 

An enterprise design system helps to achieve:

  • Faster results: When a design system is developed, the team doesn’t have to start from scratch. Moreover, they can save time where repetitive design occurs by reusing components from the design library. Thus, it takes reduced time to move from ideation to prototyping.
  • Consistent design: An inconsistent interface is not only annoying, it also brings down the credibility and trustworthiness of the design team. With a design system, consistency can be achieved easily as templates, patterns, and other components are predesigned.
  • Smoother handoff: The handoff process between designers and developers can be simplified with a design system. The collaboration between both sides also can be improved.
  • Easier iteration:Iterations can be done faster, which influences the testing and feedback processes, reducing the entire cycle time and improving the project development timeline.
  • Fast updation: In enterprise software, updating a single element can be time-consuming. Ensuring that the update is reflected throughout the design wherever that element occurs, takes time and effort. With a design system, updates can be done effortlessly as change must be made only in the design system and it be updated throughout.

Six Things to Take Care in Enterprise UX Design

Whitney Quesenbery’s 5Es to Understand Users applies well in the context of enterprise user experience design. It gives a comprehensive approach towards taking care of usability requirements. She explores five dimensions of usability, denoting them as 5Es, which are: 

  • Effective– how accurately tasks are completed
  • Efficient– how long is takes to complete tasks
  • Easy to learn– how low is the initial learning curve
  • Engaging– how satisfying is the app experience
  • Error tolerant– how well does it prevent errors and assist in error recovery

Taking care of these 5Es while creating enterprise solutions is a great way to ensure a quality output, in general. Additionally, we have some more things to share with you, which we have accumulated from our experience working on enterprise solutions. 

Create Extensive Documentation

Enterprise products are often used by a large team of people. To provide everyone with the same input and keep them all on the same page about the usage of the product, documentation is vital. Otherwise, you will be required to provide constant demos or attend meetings to keep people updated. 

The value of documentation increases with the complexity of the app. The more features it has and the more complex its flows, the more comprehensive the documentation should be. Moreover, documentation is a great way to keep the stakeholders updated about the progress during the design and development stage. It’s also helpful in giving a brief of the UX design services to them. 

Maintain Consistency

In large enterprises, there may be several teams dispersed across various regions or offices working on different projects. It may create some challenges, such as inconsistency in design and functionality, non-compliance with guidelines, or conflicting brand image. Adopting an enterprise-wide design system can help to address these challenges.

Adhere to Enterprise Processes

Enterprises are bound by a set of unique processes. They may be concerning legal requirements, privacy or security requirements, internalization requirements, and such. As a part of adhering to these processes, designers have to implement some best practices or stick within certain checklists.

For example, to implement certain functionality, there may be a third party solution available. But you may not be able to use it because of the process regulations of that enterprise. Hence, this is a key consideration to take care while designing for enterprises.

Ease of Understanding

Efficiency is a primary concern for enterprise solutions, as we already saw. But often, to achieve this, a tradeoff is done, which may adversely affect the ease of understanding. For example, abbreviating labels is a useful approach and is among the most used dashboard design principles. It will give more screen space, but it compromises learnability. So, while designing enterprise apps, it is ideal to find a balance between efficiency and learnability. 

One way to achieve this balance is hand-holding the user initially while using the solution. You can either provide a tour or give an overview of key information elements using arrows or some interactive approach. And, once the user is settled with the solution, they will not face any learnability issues during further uses. 

Limited Use of Creativity

While designing for enterprise solutions, designers have to be extra careful with creativity. Enterprise solutions often do not promote offbeat innovations or radical ideas. It is not the ideal place to implement the latest UI UX design trends. This leaves designers in a dilemma as they have limited scope for experimenting with the designs. 

Enterprise solutions are designed to assist employees in performing tasks, so creative approaches may turn out to be a distraction and not serve the real purpose. 

End-User Visibility

We covered in the previous sections how in enterprise solutions, customers and users are different people. As UX designers, you may be dealing with the customers and not end-users. For the design team, this can be quite challenging for understanding user requirements and gathering feedback. This communication gap may create usability issues. 

To take care of this, you can discuss with the customers to bring more clarity to the user’s needs. Factoring in the end-user opinions can benefit the customers equally well too. By convincing them of this, you may be able to achieve more end-user visibility.

Enterprises are now placing greater emphasis on elevating user experiences through the utilization of generative AI, prioritizing accessibility, harnessing the power of augmented reality, and leveraging data-driven personalization. Moreover, enterprise apps are now focusing on the modernization of UI utilizing elements like typography, themes, and animations. Here is a glance at the UX trends that will dominate enterprise applications in 2023 and beyond.

Leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

AR and VR are emerging trends in the digital product design and UX domain that will transform user interactions. They provide enterprise apps the means to deliver immersive experiences and uniquely engage users.

AR technology, in particular, is expected to gain wider adoption in apps, introducing advanced features and functionalities to enhance the user experience. For instance, IBM Immersive Data, which is an augmented reality visualization tool, enables data scientists and business executives to quickly assess big data and accomplish their tasks.

There is no doubt that 2023 holds tremendous promise for the continued growth and integration of AR and VR in UX designs, including enterprise UX.

Integrating AI technology

Integration of AI into UX design brings exciting possibilities for streamlining workflows, enhancing user insights, and creating more effective designs. AI capabilities can empower enterprise apps to automate and optimize various tasks and processes, reducing manual effort and increasing operational efficiency. For instance, AI can assist in automating repetitive or mundane tasks, freeing up employees' time to focus on more strategic and value-added activities

Using animated illustrations

As enterprises focus more and more on providing user experiences on par with consumer apps, they are bringing in elements that add human touch, like illustrations.

Illustrations improve storytelling, allowing brands to effectively convey their stories, services, and products to users. Moreover, when illustrations incorporate motion, they have the power to grab user attention and promote engagement. For instance, micro-interactions are a powerful tool in user experience design that enable users to understand when a specific task or action has been successfully completed, all without the need for any explicit text or instructions.

By integrating visually appealing and dynamic illustrations into the UX design, enterprises can create a more captivating user experience. These illustrations not only enhance the aesthetic appeal but also help communicate information and create a connection with users.

Enabling 3D graphics

In 2023, the use of 3D graphics will be a prominent trend in UI/UX designs. In enterprises, 3D elements will be incorporated into processes such as virtual tours, presentations, or simulations.

One of the benefits of 3D graphics in UX design is the ability to create 360-degree presentations, providing users with a comprehensive view and enhancing their understanding of the product. With the integration of 3D graphics, enterprises can create interactive experiences that enhance user understanding and simplify operations.

Passwordless logins

Passwords can often leave users feeling more confused than before. In a survey conducted in the US, 57% of participants admitted to forgetting their new passwords shortly after resetting them. Even more concerning, two-thirds of Americans said they would avoid accessing websites or accounts if they couldn't remember their passwords.

This highlights the real issue of password anxiety, which is a genuine concern when designing enterprise user interfaces (UI). To address this issue, an emerging trend in UX design is the implementation of "passwordless" logins. This involves alternative login methods such as using Google or social media accounts, biometric scans, phone unlock patterns, or PINs. Many big brands have already embraced this concept.

The idea of passwordless logins is set to be a significant UX trend in 2023 and is expected to eventually replace traditional passwords as the primary login method in the coming years.

Our Expertise in Enterprise UX Domain

Aufait UX provides professional enterprise app UX design services to help organizations improve their overall operations. With user centric designs, we help enterprises improve their employee productivity and reduce cost of operations. We have significant experience working on enterprise projects in different verticals such as healthcare, insurance, government and travel and with technologies like SAP and Sharepoint.

Our enterprise UX services include UX audit, legacy systems redesign, new enterprise software design and enterprise design systems services. With our experience working on different types of enterprise systems like CRM, CMS and ERP software, we have gained excellent expertise in designing for enterprises. If you are looking for an agency to work on your enterprise software, reach out to us right away!

Fazmeena

Fazmeena is a UX enthusiast who loves learning about user-centric designs. She channels her passion for UX into every piece she writes, offering readers valuable insights into the domain of UX design. Connect with Fazmeena via www.linkedin.com/in/fazmeena-faisal/

Table of Contents

Ready to drive employee productivity with your enterprise apps?

Hire us to improve productivity and deliver unbeatable ROI through user-centric workflows and enterprise UX/UI designs.

Contact us

Related blogs