It's all about the users!

Looking back at my time in the Salesforce ecosystem, I've read quite a lot of resources destined to the developers or the admins (blog posts, tooling etc...) but never the users themselves. There may be some decent explanation behind this highly targeted environment, but still, I think we all need to reset, pause, and think of these poor little users... What can we do to make sure their journey with the systems or solutions we are implementing for them is as good as possible?

Having fun vs. solutioning

Posts about new features or complex implementations go into the details about how to do this or that but forget to mention possible use cases most of the time. Be worried about, what I would call, "empty posts" that show off good technical ability from the writer or nice features but with little interest for the end-user.

It's not about the writer, it's not about the implementer, it's all about the users...

I always look first at any post thinking "What would be the bottom line for the end-user?", "How could it improve their life". And I would love the post author to do this work for me, or at least propose potential use cases...

User experience

Our job is to deliver a business solution easily useable by the target users.

The user experience should be part of all deliveries as a principle. It positively impacts both the initial training (a good UX/UI shortens training: users "get it and remember it" faster) and the day to day use of the solution, including rarely-used features - again, a good UX being beneficial.

The technology that makes things happen is important but should not take precedence over the user interest. Another way to look at it is to consider the actual paying customer whose interests, you would think, is to defend the end-user - and their management.

Steve Jobs used to say "You need to start with the customer experience first and work backwards to the technology". This is certainly a great piece of advice to bear in mind for your future solution design.

In the Salesforce world, an interesting tool is Avonni which helps you "design prototypes that work and feel like a real Salesforce" before actually building a POC. Go and try it ASAP!

Salesforce themselves are considering UX as part of a delivery toolbox and provide one certification for professionals. Doing so is like admitting that it's not "just about the engine" anymore. You can also train your UX skills here on Trailhead.

User adoption

The user adoption, the project success gauge, participates in the calculation of the return on investment. So, there is also a financial impact to caring for the end-user...

When your solution is live some users will adopt it (the ones you have convinced it will make their life better) some will fight against the system and avoid using it (you haven't convinced them, hence they continue their professional commitment with their preferred tool).

Useful Resources

• The Nielsen Norman Group on the definition of UX
• Adobe on UX Design
• What is UX design?
• The ultimate guide to user experience
• The Interaction Design Foundation on UX design
• User experience basics
• Technology serves customers
• Salesforce adoption
• Salesforce Design on Twitter
• Empower Your Salesforce Users (Trailhead)

Summary

So, although the Salesforce blogosphere is rich in talents publishing interesting articles, as an implementer, always remember the bottom line when discovering online tech news. How would your users, or your customers, benefit from it? In fact, would they at all? Then, if relevant, by all means, improve your solution accordingly but don't forget to associate new features to their actual use-cases on your implementation plan. And always remember, "it's all about the users"!