This is a continuation of the previous post on CMS Usability. In the previous post we had touched upon usability issues revolving around CMS Dashboard, Search, and Content Authoring Forms among others.

6)    CMS Login: Single Sign on or the ability to login to CMS using your desktop credentials is a must-have requirement for content authors.    Even though it is a simple feature, it has a great importance in ensuring a satisfactory user experience.

Most of the content authors do not use CMS solutions on a regular basis. They may need it once a month or sometimes even less than that. It is very likely that they will forget their CMS user id/passwords. The inability to use the CMS solution will cause more barriers in terms of the acceptance of the CMS solution. (more…)

Content Management System (CMS) roll outs frequently present many challenges, one of the biggest being usability. Some of the commonly heard customer feedback and queries include:

• “My business users are not able to understand this new technical tool. What they need is a very simple way to add/edit some text, add images, videos, submit for approvals and publish new stories. We do not need all the technical bells and whistles!”
• “What is the use of this button on this screen? I do not need this. Please remove it!”
• “Why do I need to perform extra 3 clicks to do this task? Why can it not it happen in a single click?”
• “Have you configured this right? I would like to validate it with a product vendor or some external CMS experts to ensure it is correctly configured.”

CMS Usability: 10 Tips to Consider

CMS usability is one of the primary concerns among business users. While rolling out a new CMS platform, it is important to consider CMS usability from the project initiation phase. It should be well integrated into the CMS design process. Below are a few tips and techniques from a CMS usability standpoint to consider while planning and preparing for a CMS rollout (more…)

It’s rare for any major application or website to go live without going through performance testing. It’s an extremely important activity that requires effective planning and execution.  Based on our experience in implementing web applications including websites for global clients, we believe a well-planned approach to testing new web applications goes a long way in ensuring enhanced user experience. Below are 10 tips for planning and preparing for performance testing of a new website or a web application. (more…)

In my earlier post, I outlined the key reasons behind many organizations’ poor quality of product line content. The reasons, varying from unstructured content to proliferation of different media channels to operational issues, are resulting in marketing message dilution and inconsistencies.  It is important for organizations to get their content act together and come up with a uniform approach to product line content management.

Let’s see how companies can improve the quality of their product line content for enhanced marketing effectiveness and results. Listed below are a few steps, to be implemented in the order listed, that can play a key role in ensuring higher content quality (more…)

The advent of new age media, coupled with the presence of traditional channels, has resulted in enterprises depending on multi-channel marketing initiatives for reaching out to their customers across different demographic segments. Today, a wide range of physical products (i.e. automobile, clothing, electronic goods) and service-based products (i.e. telecom and internet services) are being advertised in media both new and old – in print and on the web, on mobile and through social networking – all to get most out of their advertising dollar. Amidst this rush to quickly reach out to customers, enterprises sometimes struggle in conveying a consistent product message across channels, thereby confusing consumers, damaging their brand and eventually losing market share. In this post we will be discussing the key reasons behind an enterprise’s failure to ensure product content quality. (more…)

Depending on who you read, we are in the fourth or fifth wave of computer technology development.  In 2005, Om Malik and Michael Copeland published The Fifth Wave in Business 2.0 Magazine.  They defined their waves as the eras of mainframe, mid-range, PC, Internet and networked computing. Written six years ago, their premonition preceded smartphones by many years.

In 2009, Forrester Research VP Andrew Bartels cited US Department of Commerce data showing that we are in the fourth wave of technology investment.  Specifically, the four waves are:

• 1951 – 1976: Mainframe computing
• 1976 – 1992: PC computing
• 1992 – 2008: Network computing
• 2008 – 2016: Accelerated innovation

Each of the waves experiences two phases – innovation and growth followed by refinement and digestion.  The current phase of accelerated innovation is in the innovation and growth phase, coinciding with the global economic recovery cycle.  Bartels substantiates his position by analyzing the US IT investment to GDP ratio CAGR for each phase.  The average ratio for the growth eras is 4% while the average for the refinement eras is -1.13%. (more…)

Over the past year, few technology developments have challenged IT staffs more than the mobility wave.  Two years ago it was the social phenomenon.  Now it’s mobile computing.  Virtusa’s BFS business unit has seen a surge in the number of inquiries regarding mobile.  And now, the questions are not about “if”, they are about “how”.  Here is a familiar scenario.

You’re a product manager in a major financial or commercial company and you have just gotten the assignment of launching a mobile version of your product. You’re thrilled but you’re terrified. Your mind is racing. Where do you start? Pour yourself an herb tea or some other relaxing drink, realize that it will not be easy, and start planning. Even the organizations that appear as though they are miles ahead of you have probably only “mobilized” a small subset of their potential offerings. A major bank, for example, may be offering some exciting consumer goodies but, if you knew the mobile product team, they would tell you they have barely scratched the surface. The same bank’s B2B offerings are probably still on the drawing board at best. (more…)