Second Year Exam Class of 2013 SYNOPSIS. How to design and redesign products that will communicate the company's feld if work to their target group?

Transcription

1 Second Year Exam Class of 2013 SYNOPSIS How to design and redesign products that will communicate the company's feld if work to their target group? By Diana Fudulache University College Nordjlland Design & Technology (Graphics) 4th Semester, 3MDDE Supervisor: Diana Holm Nielsen

2 Table of content Introduction... 3 Problem field... 3 Problem formulation... 4 Method... 4 Target group... 5 Research... 5 Scope... 6 Content for research researched applications... 6 Analysis B2C B2B Small and medium sized companies from Australia The benefits of CRM for small and medium sized companies ios versus Android users Conclusion...17 Attached data Wireframes Modules of the designed application

3 Introduction Work[etc] is a total small business management software solution from Australia founded in 209 by Daniel Barnett, that helps organize many of your daily activities such as tracking billable time, managing customer support, marketing and invoicing. WORK[etc] powers 1200 fast-growing businesses across 14 countries on its online business system. With integrated CRM, projects, billing,help desk, operations and management, WORK[etc] is the single cloud computing platform. One place to sell, deliver and support customers. With WORK[etc]'s always-on web and mobile apps, managing business is possible at work, at home or on the road. Growing businesses know that sales no longer lives in a vacuum. To grow a business, to turn a profit, everyone in a team must be a part of customer relationship management. That means the support team must continue communicating benefits, sales team must know the customer history and deployment must be up to date with all that has been offered. Why then do most software products focus on only one part of the equation? They do only sales or project management. WORK[etc] turns this concept on its head with its all in one business management platform. By combining CRM with sales management, projects, billing and more, Work[etc] enables the entire team to collaborate and continuously deliver best outcomes for customers. Problem Field In the beginning, the company was concerned with gaining more customers and keeping the current ones. Nonetheless, customers were rating them with good scores due to the complex features, but at some point, when using the application, the situation could 3

4 easily become overwhelming and frustrating because it wasn't intuitive and easy to follow. They needed to redesign the whole application and to come with a new concept regarding the user experience and customers to define their application as one that is intuitive and easily work with. The application should make things easier, give a sence of order to customers businesses. Although Work[etc] has great features, it is hard to get to their target group due to design choices regarding the user experience on different gadgets like mobile phones, tablets. Because Work[etc] is a very complex application it is hard to take into account all the variables when creating an application. In what concerns the previous application, there were bugs and mistakes regarding the user experience area. The application should be clear and simple, easy to understand, intuitive for the targeted group. Problem Formulation How to design and redesign products that will communicate the company's field if work to their target group? Method The company's CEO, Daniel Barnett was asked a set of questions in order to define the problem and to collect data needed to observe the company's situation. During the whole project the communication was very well defined, always kept in touch with Daniel, discussing ideas, receiving feedback. First, I've made the research based on 18 similar applications, then getting into details for 5 similar and more important applications. Next, it followed the wireframes, which were made in Adobe Illustrator. A plan was made with all the main sections which formed the application. 4

5 The key for a good application is to find a pattern which repeats itself in other modules. In this way it will become intuitive and will not confuse the user. After the wireframes were defined, I chose the main colors, important animations, new features and new concepts to improve the user experience based on the research I've made. Target Group From the discussions with the CEO and after the research it was conducted that the target group is formed by small and medium sized companies. Companies from United States of America, Europe, Australia, South East part of Asia, and South Africa. The mobile application is for the leaders of companies who want to get a glimpse of their businesses even on the road, keep in deep touch with their employees and manage things more easily even on the road. Research After discussions with the CEO and after searching similar applications on itunes.com, googleplay.com, a number of 18 applications were chosen to go into depth by analyzing their features, testing them on mobile phones (ios and Android) and tablets. 5

6 Scope > Survey of the best business apps > Survey of competitor CRM apps > Features, customer feedback, positive and negative highlights > Design and UX highlights Content for research > Description > Screenshots on iphone, ipad, Android > Positive and negative highlights > Design and UX highlights > Design and UX comparison on ios/android 18 Researched Apps (only 3 presented here) > Nutshell > Get Base > Xero > Batchbook 6

7 > Desk > Do > Insightly > Zendesk > Omni Plan > Mint > Yammer > Podio > Asana Sugarsync > Highrise > Solve 360 > Zoho > Glasscubes Nutshell Nutshell is a next-generation enterprise-grade CRM. With powerful reporting, a refined user experience, and Exchange / Google integration, Nutshell is poised to take the CRM industry by storm.

8 Positive highlights The dashboard is relatively customizable and includes actual and projected sales project and delivers a clear snapshot of the state of sales The lead/sales management - organizes relationships into leads, accounts and contacts. There plus is that it lends itself to repetitious sales-heavy workflows, providing a functional snapshot of where each lead stands in the sales process, and an easy means of moving them down the pipe. Reports are a strong point here. Well defined sales milestones means you can report on them easily. There s a good custom repot tool which makes it easy to build custom datasets, a welcome feature. Strong integration between Nutshell and Google Apps, including a Gmail gadget that lets users add and update Nutshell contacts from inside Gmail. Mailchimp, Wufoo, Twitter, MS exchange Record a audio note / video clip viewable through iphone or browser Negative highlights Dashboard - the upcoming activities list gets very long and can t be filtered by date, activity type, etc. UX is a bit underwhelming. It s pretty unclear what the obvious steps in a workflow are. No security information on its public website, which is concerning. Nutshell doesn t integrate with any accounting or project management solutions. They re targeting SMB, yet there s no easy means for SMBs to use this product and invoice customers, or manage deals once they ve won them. UX highlights Global search Global menu Visual indicator in lists Charting KPI Android is similar to ios, but adapted to style No tablet app 8

9 Get Base By streamlining your contacts and sales into a simple, mobile workflow. Manage your contacts, track sales, log calls or create tasks all from your Android phone or tablet. Then watch as all of your changes are instantly synced with the Base web app at getbase.com. The simple CRM allows you to easily capture information during or after meetings and carry your sales data with you everywhere you go.

10 Positive highlights integration Helpful pre-made reports Straightforward permissions system There s also a unique, new feature, client spaces feature which lets you share deal information with clients. Navigation is generally intuitive and easily understood Base hasn t suffered any security breaches Google integration Negative highlights Lack of calendaring - activities are limited to tasks, there s no quick way to block time out on your calendar for things like... meetings. If you use Gcal, you can add the task, then click through and modify it in Google, which works as a workaround Lack of helpful integrations. Without integrations, small business CRM, invoicing, accounting, marketing, and help-desk tools become data silos. In our view, centralizing everything around the client the person who makes you money is one of the main functions of CRM. Search functions aren t great Don t use Base if you have a huge, complex contact database 10

11 UX highlights Deal summary Innovative UI elements (like change deal status button) Deal history changes timeline Xero Manage your business on the go straight from your iphone or Android device. Login with a 4-digit passcode then view your accounts, create and send invoices, chase up outstanding invoices, snap a picture of receipts, submit expense claims and more.

12 Negative highlights Doesn t offer templates in any form, nor does it offer reminder s in any form. XOCashflow - If you accidentally Exempt someone, you can t correct your mistake until the following day. (there s no free trial of XOCashflow. You ll have to pay to see if it works for you) notifications can only be sent at fixed, hard-coded intervals; 7, 14, 30 and 45 days overdue, then every 14 days after that. It s not possible to send a reminder before an invoice goes overdue. Limited input functionality. Using the app on the road a lot, you enter expenses. Spend money and transfer money buttons on the accounts is a must have. No local back-up option; workaround by exporting to Excel Lack of stock and payroll facilities, but can link to third party systems. Positive highlights The interface is clean and intuitive Simple accounting Completing a task does not take more than three clicks i.e., you do not have to plod through multiple screens to get work done Dashboard gives a snapshot of bank balances and movements, debtors and creditors, and expenses 12

13 Online data feeds drive bank reconciliation Mature VAT facilities, including Flat Rate Scheme Includes audit exempt small companies accounts format - no need for accounts production UX highlights Android is adapted from ios style Does not have a tablet app Analysis B2C: Age 30+, male and female B2B: Small and medium sized companies, especially from Australia The founders are spread across all age groups, and while their average age is high in international comparisons, it is lower than for the average Australian citizen. Immigrants are neither over- nor under- represented. Australian business founders also seem comparatively well equipped with human capital many are university-educated, with different types of experience that may benefit the start-up. The data shows that a firm with increased education- based human capital is more likely to create employment for others, and obtain higher levels of profit once established as a young firm. Yet, education does not increase the likelihood of a nascent firm becoming operational, nor increase the likelihood of firm survival. Almost exactly half of Australian business founders work in teams, albeit only a minority of these are professional teams assembled primarily for business purposes. Team-based start-ups have more human capital at their disposal, but this is not a clear cut 13

14 relationship. The presence of very different types of teams means that a simple categorisation into team-based compared with solo ventures is not likely to explain much in terms of characteristics, progress and success of ventures. Founders appear most likely to claim introducing novelty in terms of the product/ service offered (a) and in market selection (d). More than 70 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, claim some level of novelty on these dimensions, while 30 per cent reported they introduced a high degree of novelty in their product or service. The level of innovation is lesser for the other dimensions (b and c), with about 70 per cent admitting pure imitation. Social media are primarily internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information. They utilise highly accessible and scalable communication techniques and have the ability to turn communication into interactive dialogue54. Sensis (2012) reported that 26 per cent of small businesses (compared with 41 per cent of medium businesses55) have a social media presence. Overall, 49 per cent of SMEs that used social media reported that its impact on their business was positive. MYOB July 2012 Business Monitor report found social media usage remained relatively steady among small and medium businesses. Only 16 per cent of businesses surveyed reported that they used social media in some way for business compared with 21 per cent in March The most popular social media activities for business were as follows: 15% connect with customers and fans via a business page on Facebook, YouTube or Google+ 9% share news and updates via a company blog 5% communicate via micro-blogging sites such as Twitter. The benefits of CRM for small and medium sized companies Customer relationship management (CRM) is the term that is given for certain processes that are used in any business to enhance both customer contacts and the customer experience. When a business uses businesses management software correctly it can accurately track and organize all current customers and every potential customer that they are in contact 14

15 with. CRM is more than just a way of storing customer contact details and ordering information, it is a way of restructuring the internal workings of a business to increase productivity and lower costs at the same time. Here are some of the benefits of using a dedicated CRM solution: Inefficient to work practices are eliminated. Many businesses find it valuable time is lost each day by using several different software packages, many of which are not compatible with each other. By using one CRM software package to complete all daily tasks a business will save thousands of hours each year, hours which can be spent in other areas of the business. Customer details are stored in an easy to access place. No more searching for customer information on various databases. Customer relationship software enables all customer details to be stored in the same place which can then be accessed by anyone within the business who has the correct permissions. Invoicing and quoting is more streamlined. Being able to create quotes and invoices for a customer within minutes means that no more quotes will be overlooked and no more invoices will be left unsent. Many businesses lose a great deal of revenue by failing to send out quotes on time and leaving invoices languishing in filing cabinets. When CRM is used this is a thing of the past as all paperwork will be completed and sent to customers at the appropriate time, without any delay. Business owners can keep track of their staff. Being aware of which staff are on holiday or are sick at any one time can enable the business owner to divert help from other departments when it is needed. There is nothing worse than being short staffed and having an effective means of seeing where all your employees are at one time prevents this. Customers will be more likely to become repeat customers. Everyone likes to think that any business they deal with values their custom. Using a CRM shows your customers that you really do value them, and it will show each and every time they contact you or you contact them. CRM gives a professional image to your business. All businesses want their customers to regard them as professional and it can be the little things such as knowing what your customers usually buy that will help to project this image. Marketing can also be assisted by CRM as it can help to create more successful targeted marketing campaigns by looking back on customer purchasing trends. CRM has many other benefits and any business that regularly deals with customers through sales will appreciate these benefits tenfold. 15

16 ios versus Android users The main target group can be divided into 2 segments: ios users and Android users. Based on the characteristics of each one the application was designed. Android Users: 10% more likely to be men 17% more likely to live in the suburbs 86% more likely to live in the country 80% more likely to have a diploma 20% more likely to be conservative 24% have an annual household income between $100k and $200k 29% prefer to saving money 18% have equal strong mathematical and verbal aptitude 12% more likely to have pets ios Users: 18% more likely to be women 27 more likely to live in a city 16

17 29% more likely to be % have a graduate degree 17% more likely to be politically liberal 67% likely to have an annual household income of $200k or more 26% likely to prefer spending their money 39% say they're high-maintenance 11% have a stronger verbal aptitude 50% play a musical instrument Conclusion From the analysis above it is possible to conclude that a certain attention is needed when designing for different platforms like ios and Android. It is vitally important to know that these users are different kind of types, they prefer different things and are used with different scenarios while using a gadget. In case a single scenario is taken into account, then confusion and a bad user experience will take place. The research is the main core of the project, making to realize the differences between the two platforms; i.e. different gestures. A redesign is needed because due to the advanced technology, the consumer is used with certain gestures when using an application on a phone/tablet. The Work[etc] application was thought for different devices. Certain gestures, scenarios were used on iphone and others on Android phones. 17