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User Interfaces: Beauty is in the Eye of the End-User

Kamna Talwar
January 30, 2017

Your organization's IT team deploys a new business app that promises to "increase productivity, boost innovation, and enable digital transformation." The capabilities of this app far surpass the previous tool, and its mobility empowers users to get work done anytime, anywhere.

On paper, the app is exactly what the organization needed.

In reality? The app's user interface (UI) stinks.

It's ugly, difficult to navigate, and makes it nearly impossible to find the right information. Don't even mention the mobile version! Scrolling across a tablet to find a randomly placed form box (how did that get there?) and text that's awkwardly sized and spaced make the interaction frustrating at best.

The result is a powerful app with untapped potential. Why? It's used out of obligation and, in those cases, only to complete bare-minimum tasks. It reduces productivity, too, as users spend too much time looking for the right data. Plus, since users aren't interested in exploring the full capabilities of the app, the potential for innovation has died.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter how amazing the creators think the app is. With continually increasing demands for beautiful, modern interfaces, developers need to have the end-user in mind when creating apps.

Build the apps users want.

The Modern UI initiative behind the new Appian 17.1 build (now available) makes building in Appian even easier, and the apps deployed are more enjoyable for users. Major overhauls to the three Appian UIs Tempo, Sites, and Embedded ensure appealing and consistent user experiences across devices. Features include:

    • Greater visual richness and appeal

    • Additional product flexibility

    • Added accessibility

    • And much, much more

All SAIL interfaces continue to work as elegantly as before, allowing users to rapidly build and deploy enterprise-grade apps without granular custom UI development. New SAIL layouts in Appian 17.1 include billboard, side-by-side, 3-column, and full-page options. Rich-text components like more icons, text sizes, and text colors allow designers to easily create sophisticated, beautiful interfaces faster than ever.

This exciting UI initiative impacts all Appian customers automatically upon upgrading to 17.1.

Get the insight you need this April at Appian World in San Francisco by attending the "Building Modern UIs with Appian SAIL" session.

Meet ever-increasing UI demands.

During this content-rich 45-minute session, you'll hear from Appian Director of User Experience Charles Tsui and Senior Product Manager Alison Cowley about:

    • Updates and the latest scoop on Appian's Modern UI initiative

    • Valuable tips to maximize Appian SAIL

    • How to build engaging interfaces

The conference is filling fast, so register now.

Teams and departments are encouraged to register together to take advantage of our unlimited free conference passes promotion (must purchase five passes at the standard rate first).

Traveling from outside of the US? International registrations are free of charge. And don't forget, the registration fee is waived for all valid .mil and .gov emails.

See you there!

 

Kamna Talwar