Put a real user on the team

Many vendors like to tout their system's 'Ease of Use', but ease of use is much more than a cool interface and some neat Web 2.0 embeds.  Too much flash may actually detract from 'real' users ability to perform their jobs.

Most software evaluation projects I have seen have forgotten one critical factor: the inclusion of a 'real' user on the evaluation team.  The Director of HR or the Assistant Director of Recruiting are not usually 'real' users.  If you are reveiwing a core HRMS, get one of your HR services staff on the team.  If you are testing out a new Applicant Tracking system, get a front-line recruiter AND one of your important hiring managers involved early.

When I see some of the cool new systems and user interfaces I always remind myself that the easiest to use system for a real user that I ever have seen was old school Oracle R10.4. It was black and white, character based, and all commands were keystrokes, not mouse clicks. Once a power user got the hang of it, an employee record or a AP Invoice could be entered without the user ever looking at the screen.  Try doing that with any of today's modern use interfaces.

I am not saying that those old character based systems were better than what we have today, but I am cognizant that most every new feature and capability has the potential to make the system more difficult and complex to use, and the best way to understand that before it is too late is to include 'real' users on the evaluation team.