Raman Saxena : Principal Design & Innovation Strategist

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is aimed to replace all the separate departmental systems inside a corporation with one central software system. ERP was supposed to make it possible for a sales order to automatically generate the corresponding adjustments in production, inventory and accounting. It was integrated, it was end-to-end...and was insanely complex. Many companies could never get the software to work at all.

ERP software has often been a failure because it is too complicated to install and use. It is not true that the companies developing and implementing ERP software do not want to make their products simple and usable. Unfortunately, they are unable to do so as their focus is on technology & coding efforts and not on the end user. They want to build a product to showcase their technological skills without realizing the fact that the end user will never get to see these technologies, which are behind the products/systems. It does not bother them, which technologies have been used till the product/ system helps them doing their job effectively and efficiently. Usability becomes the success factor of a product and if one can not use it, no one will buy it. Whichever high end and latest technologies you use for developing the products, it will be useless if the end user cannot use it.

Most of the programmer/engineers think that the products/systems they are designing are simple and usable because they can use it. Unfortunately, they are not the end users of the product they have developed. They forget the fact that the end user is not necessarily an engineer or a programmer. Things, which are simple for them, might not be as simple for the end users.

This misunderstanding and over emphasis on technology results into products/solutions that are far away from the existing processes of the company and the way user do their jobs. The companies need to re-engineer their processes and re-train their employees to make use of these systems. This means more cost, reduced productivity, employees' resistance in adapting new process, etc.

Many years ago when the buildings were designed and constructed by the civil & structural engineers, no one must have thought about the profession of architects. Today, it is impossible to think of any building/construction activity without the involvement of a professional architect. The rise of an Architect's profession was due to the fact that the civil and structural engineer's focus was on the technological and engineering skills. They could not focus on the people and their needs. Thus, it is impossible to provide a comfortable and efficient environment to live and work in, without understanding the needs of the people.

Similarly, it is difficult to use the technological advancement in Information Technology to deliver products that will increase the efficiency and productivity of a company without understanding the end user's needs (Emotional, Psychological & Physiological) and capabilities (Visual, Motor, Intellectual and Memory). This does not mean that the Engineers and Programmers should change their focus from technology to the user...they cannot, as they are not trained to do it.

Human factor/usability professionals who are trained to understand the user's needs and capabilities can help the organizations to build products/solutions that map to the end user's expectations and their needs. The organizations where ERP implementation is on the way, can also consult the Human Factors professionals or consulting companies to ensure that the implemented ERP solutions and applications are Usable, Reliable and Efficient. This will ensure that the company gets the best return on their investments and achieve the objectives of ERP implementation i.e. streamlining the various departmental functions into one integrated system to make use of effective and efficient use of resources and higher profitability.