Let’s face it, coding, installing or integrating applications is only half the battle when it comes to promoting the success of their adoption. User experience (UX) represents the final and most critical part of the effort.
This applies to internal as well as external users. Insurance companies need to focus not only on the UX of their customers logging into to their websites and mobile apps, but also the productive experiences of their claims reps, sales reps, agents, underwriters, adjusters, fraud investigators, administrative personnel and other decision makers who need to make decisions on the spot. The software they are using shouldn’t get in the way.
There are five key elements in any user experience, as explained by Klaus Enzenhofer, senior technology strategist in the Center of Excellence at Dynatrace. In a recent article and accompanying video, he describes what UX is all about (
User journey. End-users don’t simply log onto to and load a single page; they are going from site to site within a single domain and from outside. The UX needs to focus on the sum total of all areas visited on the site. Collecting the user journey “based on the user actions,” Enzenhofer said. “This allows us to figure out what the user did with our application, how long they worked with it, and which features they used.”
Performance. “A very important factor when it comes to the frustration of users,” Enzenhofer points out. “Specify the user action duration as the time from when the user triggered an action by tapping or clicking till the content appears on their display. Taking this as the new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) allows you to get a first important and measurable ingredient for the user experience.”
Errors. Errors can come from anywhere, “whether the app crashes, communication with the server side fails or a JavaScript error occurs,” Enzenhofer said. Capture and count the amount of errors encountered when people are using an application, he urges.
User behavior. This is the window to potential frustration levels, Enzenhofer explains. “A very simple and often seen user behavior pattern is people leaving if a single action fails to meet expectations.”
User environment. Every user’s environment may differ in terms of WiFi reception and bandwidth, therefore affecting the performance of the application. This can be monitored, and adjustments made, Enzenhofer says.
