Ventiv Technology

a: RiskConsole UX is the biggest-ever update to our RMIS, and updating the user interface (UI) was a huge part of the project. In fact, I think UI considerations are integral to almost every aspect of a major software update like what we've done with RiskConsole UX. All along, we worked hard to adapt good UI principles to what our users want and need. At the highest level, good UI improves workflow by making it easier and faster for users to complete the tasks they perform in the system. Throughout the new UI, we've dramatically reduced the number of clicks users need to make to get routine tasks done. For greater access, we've designed the new UI to be compatible with a wide range of browsers: Internet Explorer 10 and 11; Google Chrome (for Mac and PC); and Safari for Mac. We also added many smaller improvements that will make life easier for our users, like the new, easy to navigate multi- column menus. And within those menus, users can hover over a record and see the details of that record without changing tabs. Or, when entering their password, users can see what they've typed in by clicking on an eye icon. a: It really hit home for me that what really matters in a good user interface is workflow and how easily and quickly users can get things done. The best user interfaces help you do things better and faster. Now, we wanted to create a beautiful, appeal- ing interface with colors, fonts and page layouts that make it a pleasure to work in RiskConsole; however, I firmly believe (and I think RiskConsole UX reflects this belief) that beauty has to be combined with utility. Sometimes it's hard to separate beauty from utility—they just come together for a really great effect. For example, we wanted to make it easy for users to quickly see more or less of a page, which speaks to workflow. Therefore, the way users can now maximize or minimize a list within a tile on a page is quite streamlined and elegant. That speaks to beauty. a: Yes. In UI of any kind, you have to be cognizant of how your architecture and design choices impact user behavior. For us working on the new RiskConsole, that meant reducing the number of clicks users need to make and in general making the system easier and faster to use. There are two examples of how we've done this that share a lot in common with just about any good UI. First, virtually everything that users need to access is accessible from the front page and can be completed in one, two or three clicks. Second, we've made it easier to modify the tab views users see; specifically, they can add or remove tiles very quickly. a: At the core, an application like RiskConsole is a database, a repository of great volumes of information. However, the information a database stores is only useful when it can be presented in a way that consumers of that information can understand and use to make better business decisions. The latest thinking in UI holds that you have to put infor- mation into visual outputs like maps, line graphs, pie charts, and bar graphs—and you have to make it easy for users to see those visuals alongside more traditional lists and tables. We've done that by thoroughly integrating our business intel- ligence tool into RiskConsole UX. Users can quickly bring up all of their visual reports on the front page. a: Yes, we did. We worked with a user-interface consultant, and we evaluated and incorporated a huge volume of input from our clients—things they like about RiskConsole and things they don't. Basically, we carefully reviewed all the feedback we've gotten about RiskConsole over the last few years and figured out how to incorporate it into the new UI. Here's an example of how that worked. We wanted to improve the process for creating or modifying tabs. Our team decided to add a button to the front page that would do that. Adding a button was a pretty easy decision, but our consultant took it a step further by suggesting that users get a preview of the screen as it will look before the change is made. So we added that. And we learned from risk man- agers that they often want to focus on a single record without leaving the list, so we made it easy to do that. Risk managers also told us they wanted to be able to maximize and minimize the tiles within a tab, so we did that, too. a: Yes, it does. RiskConsole UX is compatible with mobile devices like the iPad. There is a mobile switch on the front page for when users want to use a tablet device. Being fully mobile capable is an extension of the work we did to expand the range of browsers in which RiskConsole UX can work; Google Chrome, Safari, and the later versions of Internet Explorer are what are called standards-based browsers. RiskConsole UX is designed to take advantage of these new standards, and that makes mobile deployment a good option. riskconsole GO WITH THE WORKFLOW THE TERM USER INTERFACE CAN BE HARD TO DEFINE. WHAT DID USER INTERFACE MEAN FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM WHEN YOU WERE WORKING ON RISKCONSOLE UX? ? WHAT'S THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU'VE LEARNED FROM WORKING ON THE NEW RISKCONSOLE USER INTERFACE? ? IS THERE AN OVERLAP BETWEEN GOOD UI IN THE APPLICATIONS WE USE IN OUR PERSONAL LIVES AND ENTERPRISE-LEVEL SOFTWARE LIKE RISKCONSOLE UX? ? DID YOU GO OUTSIDE YOUR OWN TEAM WHEN DESIGNING THE NEW UI? ? DATA VISUALIZATION IS A BIG FOCUS THESE DAYS. HOW DOES GOOD UI HELP RISKCONSOLE USERS PRESENT THE INFORMATION THEY HAVE IN MORE USEFUL WAYS? ? WHAT ABOUT MOBILE CAPABILITIES? DOES UI FIGURE INTO THAT QUESTION AT ALL? ? 28 | 3SIXTY º ////////////////////////////////// VENTIV TECHNOLOGY

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