What makes CMMS software easy to use?

One of the most significant predictors of successful CMMS adoption is an application that is easy to use. As a matter of fact, this applies to all software applications especially in the business to business space where "ease of use" correlates to operational efficiency. This makes perfect sense. The more time you spend trying to work with complicated software the less productive you will be. So we know ease of use is important but how can we tell if CMMS software is actually easy? Here we are providing a short list of signs to be aware of that support the claim of being "easy to use."

Filling out forms is the most frequently performed action in CMMS software. You, your team, and your facility occupants will use forms to communicate issues via work requests and you will use them to store important information such as asset data. Because this is such a common task, you will want to make sure you are able to evaluate this process when demoing with CMMS software vendors. Some telling signs that forms are "easy to use" include:

• Forms are short - The shorter the forms are, the faster and easier they are to complete. Enough said here.
• Forms are clean - Dirty forms will have a ton of fields on the screen, many you will never use. Ideally, forms should be customizable so you are in control of the layout and how much information is being asked for.
• Forms are easy to follow - Is it easy to follow what information you are supposed be entering and when? CMMS forms should guide users so they don't have to think about what to do next.
• Forms make use of keyboard functions - Certain keyboard functions like tabbing to move from field to field or using the enter key to move between form steps will make data entry faster and easier.
• Forms are easy to fill out on mobile devices - You will want to make sure forms are just as easy to use on mobile devices as they are on desktops or laptops. They should also take advantage of mobile specific touch functions that could help with completing forms.

CMMS applications are typically broken up into different features, each with a specific purpose. A main menu should be provided to make navigating to features easy and to get you where you want to be, preferably within two actions. You will know the navigation isn't right if you find yourself getting lost often. Here are a few signs that a CMMS is easy to navigate:

• Common functions are available from the main menu - The main menu should include links to features that you plan on using often.
• Navigation elements are clear - Navigation elements should be clear about where they link to or what you can accomplish by clicking them. Nothing is more frustrating than clicking a link that takes you somewhere you didn't want to go. â€‹
• Navigation menus are mobile friendly - Providing easy navigation on small screens can be tricky but it's absolutely necessary. Well designed CMMS applications will consider the same "minimal action" philosophy regarding mobile navigation.

It's fairly common that as applications become more capable, they also become more cluttered and harder to use. Cluttered interfaces make it difficult for users to focus on what they need to do and can increase the time it takes to get comfortable with a new CMMS. Some signs that the user interface is clean include:

• Appropriate use of icons - Icons tend to be overused in applications today and they can be particularly frustrating to new users when they don't provide context as to what they do. Ideally, uncommon icons should be paired with text to make their purpose clear and easy to understand.

• Interfaces are focused on a few features - Each interface should be designed to focus on a small set of features. It can be quite obvious when a CMMS application is trying to provide too much when there are buttons, inputs, and other elements present that you rarely use. These "rarely used" features should be broken out into different interfaces or hidden until needed.
• It is visually consistent and easy on the eyes - There are many design aspects of applications that determine how visually appealing they are and these aspects make up the first impressions of an application. If things look out of place or there is a lack of size, color, and layout consistency, it can be distracting from a usability standpoint. Consistency in layouts and button functions makes it easier to learn a new CMMS.

User error is common. Software developers know this all too well and will typically consider likely user error cases during development. The ability to carry out day-to-day tasks without fear of messing up data is a huge plus and can take away some of the anxiety that comes with implementing a new CMMS. Some signs that a CMMS manages user mistakes well include: 

• Mistakes are easy to undo - If a mistake was made such as deleting a record by mistake, there should be an easy way to undo that mistake either by users or support representatives.
• There are barriers to human error - Barriers to human error should be built into the software. For instance, email fields should be smart enough to recognize when a value is not a valid email and notify the user. Users should also be notified if they are about to make changes that cannot be undone. These notifications typically take the form of verification popups or some other form of action verification. These built in catches help prevent unintentional errors.
• Record updates are logged - When changes are made to records in a CMMS, there should be a log of each change made to the record, when it happened, and who made the change. This helps identify when mistakes were made and who made them if they weren't discovered right away.
• Records can be edited en masse - If there are mistakes that span several records or if processes change that require records to be updated, there should be an easy way to update many records at the same time to set things right.