Testing & quantifying ERP usability

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system benefits the business, although the typically complex interface can challenge end users whose errors can undermine the benefits of real-time automation. Many prior studies of ERP users measured attitudes rather than use of the ERP. In contrast, this research involved testing users as they worked with PeopleSoft™ to complete an inventory procedure. An experiment measured success and time while users completed a task using the multi-screen default interface and a simplified single-screen version. Complexity of the interfaces was quantified with two models. GOMS-KLM described the interface in cognitive terms and a visual model described the design. The default complex screens required almost twice as many steps to navigate seven times the number of on-screen elements. Trends and participant comments validated the importance of interface usability, although complexity was a significant variable only for time spent working on the task, not success. Task success was dependent on each user scanning and verifying data before submitting it, an observed behavior. In this paper two studies are presented from a larger effort blending human factors and empirical methods to assess ERP usability and to demonstrate the importance of measuring usability and actual use, not just attitudes about an ERP.