UX Design

The Nuances of Enterprise UX Design

An 11-part series exploring the various aspects and intricacies of UX design for enterprise software.

Naveed Ahmed
Bootcamp
Published in
6 min readOct 27, 2023

Image showing a bunch of enterprise buildings in a maze and several users trying to find their way around.
Created using DALL·E 3

Welcome to the introductory article of my series on designing UX for enterprise software products! You’re reading Part 1 of 11. For a complete overview of articles and their release dates, scroll towards the end.

As digital technology continues to grow exponentially, large enterprises are increasingly utilizing these modern methods to enhance innovation, optimize operations, and deliver their products and services globally. Internally, these large enterprises — from hospitals and schools to stock exchanges and governments — run on ‘enterprise software’ which silently powers their business processes everywhere.

Enterprise software refers to the category of software that are developed to meet organizational requirements such as business processes, supply chain, human resources, customer relationship, payroll management, etc., unlike consumer software that focuses on individual users. With a key focus on productivity, enterprise software have become an essential factor in driving business success.

Every organization today works with these specialised software to power all their business functions, and employees rely on them to efficiently perform tasks intrinsic to their roles. Yet, designing the optimal user experience for these platforms remains a nuanced challenge.

Logos of top enterprise software companies. Including logos of SAP, Salesforce, Workday, Dassault Systems, Microsoft, Siemens, Constellation Software, Intuit, Oracle, and Autodesk.
Top 10 enterprise applications’ leaders in 2022, revenue-wise. (Source: International Data Corporation)

I’ve long intended to write about this unique area of UX, with the origin of this article rooted in a talk I presented back in 2020. It’s taken me some months to bring this series to fruition. Drawing from over a decade of experience in designing UX for enterprise software myself, my aim is to pass on the insights I’ve garnered. I’ve benefitted from the wisdom of experts before me and peers I worked with, and hope to illuminate some of the subtleties of enterprise product design for newcomers in this area.

What makes enterprise software unique?

To many of you reading this, the mere mention of enterprise software evokes images of clunky, outdated, cumbersome interfaces, and maybe a 90s flashback. Historically, there’s truth to this stereotype. However, over the past decade, there’s been a positive shift. Companies have come to understand the criticality of good UX for enterprise users and are now endeavouring to integrate consumer ethos into platforms tailored for this oft-neglected audience.

Five screens of antiquated and clumsy-looking software.
The mention of enterprise software evokes images of clunky, outdated, and cumbersome interfaces. A quick internet search shows up images like those shown here.

Firstly, what sets enterprise software apart from their consumer counterparts is the sheer scale of its user base. These products can have millions of daily active users, generating billions of data points.

These platforms also stand out due to their intricate, interlinked workflows tailored to specific domains and jobs. Unlike the linear processes in consumer software, enterprise product workflows tend to be multifaceted, necessitating coordination among various departments and personnel. Take, for instance, the online purchase process in a consumer app, which is straightforward and swift. In contrast, procuring a product in an enterprise setup could involve multiple departmental approvals, spanning weeks or even months, and then there’s the need to comply with various regulations; enterprise software intends to cover all these bases.

In certain situations, users depend on enterprise software for mission-critical tasks. While the frequency of these tasks might not be high, every action can affect millions of users and potentially billions of dollars. The stakes, in such cases, are exceedingly high.

In his book “Designing for Emotion,” Aarron Walter draws a parallel between user needs and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He suggests that higher needs like pleasure and delight can only be reached after basic ones, like functionality and usability, are met.

When enterprise software is less than intuitive or overly convoluted, users, like in the case of any other software, can easily get frustrated. But here, such shortcomings mean they might need to devote extra hours at work or even restart a task that spanned days. This not only hampers their job satisfaction but also disrupts their work-life balance. Unfortunately, resolving these software issues can sometimes be a significant challenge for the developing company too, with solutions sometimes not arriving at all.

Aaron Walter’s Hierarchy of User Needs and how missing these fundamentals affect enterprise users.
Missing the fundamental user needs in a product may affect the quality of life of enterprise software users. (Pyramid by Nielsen Norman Group).

When designers map out their career paths, enterprise software often doesn’t make the cut. This reluctance might arise from the stereotype associated with them or it might be due to a simple lack of exposure to this area. This topic hasn’t made its way into design school curricula either. But, when you consider the sheer number of enterprise software users worldwide, it is surprising that their unique needs and challenges often go unspoken or undocumented.

Thankfully, there is a silver-lining.

Organizations are now recognizing the vast potential in enhancing the user experience for this significant user base. As designers, we stand at the cusp of a new era; we have the privilege and responsibility to steer the direction of the next generation of enterprise software, potentially reshaping efficiency on a grand scale.

A bit dramatic, but:

Well that’s where we are. You say we’re on the brink of destruction and you’re right. But it’s only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve. This is our moment. Don’t take it from us, we are close to an answer. — Professor Barnhardt to Klaatu, The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

The Ten Insights

Reflecting on my own journey in design so far, I’ve distilled my experience of working on enterprise UX into ten insights. While this isn’t an exhaustive compilation, I’m confident that sharing these can simplify and illuminate the path towards more delightful enterprise products.

While writing this article, I realized that it had grown quite extensive. To make it easily digestible, I’ve divided it into concise quick reads for a better reading experience. I am revising each piece so that they can stand alone, and I will be releasing them in the coming weeks. (The publication dates are mentioned below.)

Here you go:

  1. Dichotomy of end-users and customers
  2. Opportunities and challenges of scale
  3. The role of domain knowledge
  4. Understanding user behaviour and adoption
  5. Enterprise users are human too
  6. Less is more; not necessarily in Enterprise UX.
  7. Dogfooding for better UX and product quality
  8. Enterprise UX and the value of integration
  9. Designing Enterprise UX for All
  10. DesignOps, the future of design operations (⏳ Releasing By Fall 2024)

Please subscribe or follow on Linkedin to receive updates when the articles go live.

Closing note

Enterprise software is a vast expanse; through my experience and insights I am trying to scratch the surface to highlight some of the intricacies of building software that help employees be better at their jobs. However, the true challenge lies in crafting an experience that effortlessly resonates with the users’ nuanced needs, organizational goals, and the principles of exceptional interaction design.

In writing this series, my intent is to pass along the knowledge I’ve garnered over the years. For those new to this space, I hope these articles serve as a foundation, ensuring you don’t start from a blank slate. My learning curve has been steep, and it’s my wish that by sharing, yours might be a bit gentler.

It’s essential to realize that there’s no silver bullet for the complexities inherent in building complex digital products. The key to navigating these challenges is fostering a vibrant culture of user empathy within an organization — a culture that not only promotes good user-centric design but also equips product-makers to tackle problems head-on.

Designers have a pivotal role in the boundless future of enterprise software — a space where every workflow is an opportunity, every design decision a powerful statement, and every user journey a chance to build exceptional user delight.

May the Force of Good Design be with you.

Bootcamp
Bootcamp

Published in Bootcamp

From idea to product, one lesson at a time. Bootcamp is a collection of resources and opinion pieces about UX, UI, and Product. To submit your story: https://tinyurl.com/bootspub1

Naveed Ahmed
Naveed Ahmed

Written by Naveed Ahmed

Product Design & stuff at Microsoft

Responses (4)

What are your thoughts?

Enterprise UX design focuses on usability, efficiency, and seamless workflows for business applications. Similarly, CapCut Mod APK (latest version) enhances video editing with an intuitive interface, no watermark, and advanced tools. Just as great…

The nuances of enterprise UX design mirror Lightroom’s precision in photo editing—both require balance, efficiency, and user-centric adjustments. Just as Lightroom fine-tunes colors and clarity for seamless visuals, enterprise UX focuses on…

the true challenge lies in crafting an experience that effortlessly resonates with the users’ nuanced needs, organizational goals, and the principles of exceptional interaction design.

Also, unlike consumer software, enterprise softwares lack the go-to UI resonances designers can incorporate into their works.... 🥲