A Change is Coming – Action User Interface

One of the main benefits of purchasing cloud software that is offered as Software as a Service (SaaS), is the product typically receives regular updates that do not need extensive IT department support to install onto employees computers.

The Veeva Vault suite of products sees 3 major updates every year. These changes range in nature, with some affecting end-users, some impacting the business admin’ users and some that just help the product work better.

Quite often the changes are targeted at a specific application such as PromoMats or Medcomms, but the Action User Interface change coming in release 21R2 will impact the whole suite of Vault products.

This is a wide-ranging User Interface (UI) change, and one that will have a significant, but positive impact for end-users.

So Why Change?

It’s the nature of any software development, to leverage new technology which is continually evolving. There needs to be a balance between implementing change that delivers real value versus change for change sake.

This Vault update is designed to provide a more intuitive UI, delivering increased productivity and useability. Users will be able to better perform frequently used actions in fewer clicks, resulting in increased productivity.

The revised UI is a much more modern design, providing users with an interface that is more aligned with software and app’s they may use in their personal lives.

What is Changing?

There are a number of different features that are changing across Vault. The main areas being impacted:

• The?Action Bar?will allow users to access their frequently used actions with less clicking and scrolling. Vault will learn how each user works and adapt to display their most-used actions at the top of the screen, where they will be easily accessible. This will be personalised for each user.
• The?Document Info page?will be updated to provide a cleaner and simpler user interface. Some visual enhancements include:
• A toolbar to quickly access common views, such as metadata, related documents, files and attachments, and sharing settings
• A collapsible and resizable Document Info fields panel
• A simpler and more intuitive annotation toolbar
• Notification Icon?will provide a familiar notification delivery and display experience to let users see incoming notifications immediately from anywhere in Vault. Users will be able to view messages in fewer clicks, without needing to navigate away from their current task. Notifications will no longer be available on the Home page
• An?update to the?Actions menu?will replace the?gear?icon with an ellipsis icon. The?ellipsis?icon has become a standard symbol for a menu of actions in modern web applications.
• An?updated UI style?will give Vault a more modern and clean visual appearance while maintaining a familiar Vault user experience.

In future articles we will be taking a deep dive into each of the areas above, detailing exactly what is changing and highlighting any impacts on users.

When is the Change Happening?

Action UI will be available in the release 21R2, which is due at the end of July / beginning of August.

At that point, there still remains the option of remaining with the current UI, although the default will be for it to be ‘on’.

However, in 21R3, which is planned for December 2021, the new Action UI will be permanent for all Vaults.

Other Considerations

Whilst the UI change will have some major improvements to the useability and productivity for Vault users, consideration needs to be given to how this change is implemented into the business.

At the very minimum, a?Change Plan?needs to be put in place to educate and inform users what is coming, why it is coming and when it is coming. Without this base level of managing the change, regardless of how good the UI changes are, it could cause confusion in your user base. You could also see a spike in calls to helpdesks, and frustrated users who have to figure out how they perform familiar daily tasks.

You may have training material, such as eLearning, User Guides and Quick Reference Guides, that will be impacted by the UI changes. Do these materials need to be updated?

If your material is still used, either by existing users or to onboard new employees, you need to review the material and decide what needs updating. By not updating the material what is the impact? Does it make it wrong or pose any compliance issues?

Change should be Embraced

Some of us like change more than others and find it easier to adapt to changes in our lives. With the new Action UI, taking some basic steps to communicate the changes will help your employees quickly adopt the new UI and reap the benefits.

The changes are happening in 2021, and they are a positive change that will improve the overall usability of Vault. There’s time now to ensure you educate users on the change and bring them with you so they and the business realise the maximum benefit from the updates.

Need Help?

We have significant experience training the Vault suite of products and are very familiar with the platform. We analyse each Vault release and assess the impact of any changes. Coupled with this we have expert Change Management Consultants, to help implement both large and small change initiatives, ensuring any change is successfully adopted in the organisation.

Get in touch?and let’s talk about how we can help you.