UX: the importance of multiexperience

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Multi-experience represents the biggest UX challenge since the birth of the smartphone. It is therefore important to reflect on the implications and opportunities of this paradigm shift.

UX and the paradigm shift
For decades, UX work has been limited to designing Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs ) that allow users to interact with the machine and perform their tasks. With the first GUIs in the 1980s, business application design was limited to slapping icons, menus, buttons, and checkboxes with more or less logic on the screen. Fortunately, those days are over.

Modern ERP software solutions are on par with the best consumer applications, such as social and e-commerce apps. In fact, today’s interface standards are the result of a long iterative process , from which new interaction patterns such as tapping, swiping and pinching have emerged. The simplicity of smartphones makes tasks such as typing, clicking and scrolling kazakhstan whatsapp number database frustrating. However, everything indicates that we are reaching the limits of graphical interface usability . This does not mean that they will cease to exist – far from it. They will still exist, but they will be simpler, more integrated, more interactive, more intelligent and, above all, more human.

We are facing a change of direction in the paradigm of interface development that is not a disruption, but rather an intersection point. The ideal would be to think not only about creating new technologies, but, mainly, about integrating them into continuous multidimensional experiences , through various devices and different contents and interactions.

The next step is to imagine the future and the "various paths" to get there , without ever forgetting thatThe most important thing is to define, first, the destination.

Multiexperience (MX)
The term “multiexperience” refers to an experience comprised of multiple modalities (e.g. touch, voice, and gesture), devices, and applications that users interact with through digital journeys with multiple touchpoints. Developing a multiexperience involves creating fit-for-purpose applications based on the specific touchpoint modalities, while ensuring a consistent user experience across multiple mobile, wearable, conversational, and immersive (AR/VR) devices. These devices currently support pressure, light, proximity, sound, tilt, motion, and orientation sensors that enable real-world data collection and integration and timely feedback .

Multiexperiences encompass a wide variety of technologies and different content formats that will require unique platforms capable of meeting all the necessary requirements. There are already several players exploring and producing Multiexperience Development Platforms (MXDP) at different stages of maturity. This is the case of Outsystems, Microsoft, SAP and Oracle, for example, each of which is in different quadrants of defining and executing their vision, according to Gartner .

When combined with Business Intelligence , the orchestrated composition of experiences will be able to transform specific software solutionson reliable platforms capable of accessing and processing corporate data intuitively, quickly and efficiently. This means that users will be able to perform their tasks uninterruptedly, such as obtaining company information according to their profile, sending messages, calling customers and scheduling meetings – all with just one action .

On the other hand, managers will be able to use the same technology to check workflow, inventory and financial data, and even perform complex business analyses. This will undoubtedly change the future of ERP forever.

UX: from Mobile-first to Voice-first
If the main challenge of ERP in the Digital Age was to move from an on-premise solution to a cloud and mobile-friendly solution , given the technology we currently have, the first challenge to explore in a "multiexperience ERP" would be the incorporation of voice into the interface , as well as the definition of contact points for continuous integration between the different applications. The use of voice has been increasing in recent years, appearing as a natural evolution from the " Mobile-First " paradigm to " Voice-First " in the development of interfaces.

If, a few years ago, the use of voice commands to interact with applications was not very common, nowadays, some companiesalready use interactive voice response systems to streamline operations and provide after-hours services. More recently, several applications have introduced voice recognition software successfully for writing emails or documents. However, when we look at their history, it is clear that Voice User Interfaces (VUI) have not yet had their breakthrough moment .

But this is changing! The benefits of VUIs over GUIs are clear:

They are faster - On average, a user can type 40 words per minute, but speak 150 words in the same time;
They are simpler - There is no need to directly operate a physical device (keyboard or mouse, for example), leaving your hands free for other tasks;
They are more human - Conversation is one of the most natural forms of interaction, awakening emotions in people which strengthens their connection to the brand and/or product;
And more interesting - At least for now, since voice interfaces are not yet ubiquitous.
Apple’s introduction of Siri in 2011 and Amazon’s Alexa in 2014 accelerated consumer adoption of voice . Machine learning has also improved speech recognition accuracy and reduced latency, the time it takes for a system to respond.