Basware’s procure-to-pay functionality and its intuitive usability is one of the reasons why we believe we were named a Leader in the 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Procure-to-Pay Suites report. Read more.
When it comes to technology, one of the most appealing parts about it is how easily and seamlessly it can complete complex tasks. And we expect it to work that way, especially given how technologically involved we are every days of our lives. Think about it – when we login to a new app for the first time or visit a new website, we expect the user experience to be intuitive and seamless. Almost running invisibly in the background. But if it isn’t? More likely than not, we’re on to the next option to find something that is.
IBM was quoted as saying, “Ease of use may be invisible, but its absence sure isn’t.” In other words, when a solution is truly easy to use, the difference is easy to see. Users don’t even realise it until afterward—usually ending their task with a “Well, that was simple.” But, when a software lacks that usability, it’s apparent from the start—pushing users away and quickly frustrating their attempts. If a software is difficult to work with (and in some cases even if it just isn’t up to par aesthetically), chances are high that users will stop using it.
But the definition of “ease of use” ultimately comes down to an individual’s capabilities, tasks, time, and overall expectations. Product managers, UX designers, product owners, as well as well-rounded developers spend countless hours of conversation and labor determining the best way to develop a feature to ensure the experience results ultimately with an "easy to use" outcome.
One aspect of User Experience (or UX) is the User Interface (UI). Typically, when we think of UX and UI, we’re referencing the design and function which consider different browsers, hardware, screen resolutions, mobility, and of course, aesthetics. But those aren’t the only aspects that help users see the difference.
Procure-to-pay (P2P) solution users expect the same experience in the applications they use for work as they have for the ones that have at home. These enterprise applications come with their fair share of data, forms, and transactional complexity, and because of this, there needs to be a balance when it comes to UX.
Different users typically need different levels of information and access in a P2P solution software. This could be based on the user's role in the organisation, role in the application, or management level. An AP clerk will likely need different information and levels of access than the CFO. The challenge then lies in providing the right amount of information to the right user at the right time without limiting their ability to perform nonlinear, secondary tasks. There’s a great deal of emphasis put on designing a perfect user experience. Too often, though, this leads to user experiences failing when a user needs to perform an activity that is not considered typical for their role.
The best UX designers understand this and applications are now being developed that support these secondary tasks and help users see the difference an elite UX provides. They promote the most common and effective user journey to make the most of a user's time. This may come in the form of something like guided buying to ensure compliance, or simply large icons in place of text links to make an application more operable with touch screens.
In the best of cases, data drives the experience and allows business to see the difference technology can make in their processes. Artificial intelligence (AI) used intelligently within applications uses data to improve the overall user experience and effectiveness of tasks to optimise the outcome in the shortest amount of time. Robotic process automation (RPA) automates common tasks based on decision points. Machine learning (ML) uses large datasets to identify data trends that enable automation of linear steps that would typically be left up to the user, a supervisor, or the system administrator.
AI based on data combined with a proper UI design results in the optimal user experience. And that’s just how Basware helps customer see the difference and delivers an award-winning and industry-leading P2P experience. The Basware P2P solutions are powered by 100% of an organisation’s spend data to:
Alert users of cheaper alternatives when they are shopping for a product,
Use machine learning along with the user interface to notify users of the likelihood of a purchase request being approved or not, reducing uncertainty and speeding up the total process, thus improving experience,
Guide specific users based on profile intelligence to easily create a request for purchases without having to provide accounting information,
Utilise Chatbots to help users find and purchase items with a conversational guide
Enable machine learning to provide accounting codes for invoices based on knowledge of codes for similar invoices, thus reducing necessary human interaction for frequent invoices—what we call Smart Coding.
Ease of use is just one of the reasons we believe Basware was selected as a leader for the fourth time. To read more about Gartner’s findings and learn other contributing factors to our leadership, download the report now. See the difference - with Basware.
Questions about our UI, UX, or general P2P solutions? Contact us! We’re here to help.