Vendor Selection & Technology

You shouldn't have to fight with a staffing system to get your daily work done. A good staffing management solution enhances your productivity, working with you to complete the task at hand. An enterprise solution that assists users in accomplishing their goals is said to have a high “ease of use” or “usability”. Good usability is more than just a slick interface; it comes from the qualities of a system that makes it easy to learn, easy to use, easy to remember and error tolerant. Let’s examine some of the issues around usability.

 

In order for a tool such as a piece of software to be effective, it must allow users to accomplish their intended tasks in the most efficient way possible. The science of usability is concerned with the relationship between a tool and its users within the context of performing a business function, relative to achieving specific goals.

 

Usability is an important consideration when assessing staffing management solutions, since it is important for acceptance and adoption by its users. Usability is distinct from the related concepts of utility and likeability, and from other characteristics such as reliability and cost. Usability is a measure of how easy it is to use a tool to perform a prescribed task. It is thus a measure of a software system’s potential to accomplish the goals of the user.

 

Usability depends on a number of factors including how well the functionality fits user needs, how well the flow through the application fits user tasks, and how well the response of the application fits user expectations. Factors that determine a software product’s usability include:

Usability is primarily a performance issue, not a subjective matter of preference. Usability testing is observation-based, focusing on questions such as:

Usability vs. Utility

Usability is separate from the question of whether the software can perform some function. That is to say, usability is distinct from utility. Utility refers to the ability of the software to perform a task or tasks. The more tasks the software is designed to perform, the more utility it has.

 

Although usability and utility are related, the terms are not interchangeable. Usability does not ask the question “Does the software achieve its task?” Instead it asks “How well, and in what way, does the software assist the user in achieving his or her task?” An application may have high utility, but low usability: though it provides users with the necessary functionality, they must expend a great deal of time and effort to learn and use the software.

 

Likeability is always a desirable trait in a product. If people like the product, they are more likely to use it and to recommend it to others. But as with utility, don’t confuse likeability with usability. People often like a product for reasons unrelated to utility and usability. They may be attracted to its styling and flash, but since appearance and style are not directly related to accomplishing a particular business goal, it is not a matter of usability. Of course, it is important to have a product that motivates people to use it. People tend to like highly usable products, but do not assume that means a well-liked product is usable.

 

From the user’s perspective, usability is important because it can make the difference between performing a task accurately and completely or not, and enjoying the process or being frustrated. From a management point of view, software with poor usability can reduce the productivity of the workforce to a level of performance worse than without the system. In all cases, lack of usability can cost time and effort, and can greatly determine the success or failure of a system. Given a choice, people will tend to buy systems that are more user-friendly.

 

As stated above, usability exists only within the context of performing a business function, and is strongly influenced by the nature of the task at hand. That makes it of paramount importance to conceptualize the business function in the right way. If the business function is thought of at a very low level, such as moving a candidate from one folder to another, then a drag-and-drop user interface is perhaps the most user-friendly. However, if the business function is conceived of in terms of moving a candidate through a scalable and consistent screening and assessing process, then you must look beyond a slick interface to features such as automated, dynamic workflow and conditional completion.

 

Usability concerns how easy it is to do the actual business function, properly conceived, not merely how easy it is to use the software. A staffing management solution with good usability will adapt and work with you to meet your goals.