Usability is a widely misunderstood term. Wikipedia defines it as “Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object.” For software systems such as SAP, many people associate how the user interface looks, with the usability of the system. While there is a debate on an exact definition, usability is much more than simply the user interface.
The definition that Winshuttle uses to explain usability was developed by Usability consultant Jakob Nielsen and computer science professor Ben Shneiderman (separately) in the context of system acceptability, where usability is a part of “usefulness” and is composed of:
- Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
- Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
- Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they re-establish proficiency?
- Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
- Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?
As SAP is organized by modules and transactions, and logs are kept for each user and their interactions with the system, it is possible to build data driven metrics around most of these usability components. Not only does this enable a company to measure usability in general but an enterprise can start to benchmark their specific SAP systems usability when compared to others and see how they rank.
To help enterprises fully capitalize on the strategic financial potential of accelerating ERP Usability, Winshuttle provides a detailed methodology for the management of an ERP usability project. This methodology breaks down ERP usability into an iterative cycle of distinct phases and steps, identifying the resources, establishing the milestones, and capturing the metrics required to measure success.
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