Creating new software is fun and exciting. Creating software that users love is simply amazing.
Property management systems have traditionally been very robust systems. From the complex nature of the PMS systems comes complex user interactions. This makes the software more difficult to learn and use, requiring a substantial investment in systems training. With ATRIO we have built the application from the ground up with the user experience in mind. So what is user experience? In the simplest terms it is the overall experience that a person has when they use a product.
With ATRIO we know that user experience is imperative to software that can provide the complex functions needed in hospitality yet is simple to use. Our well designed software leads to reduced training, much happier users, and a great looking product.
Here are a few ways that we incorporate user experience into our software.
We keep our end users in mind. When designing a feature for ATRIO, before a single line of code is written, we take a great deal of time to learn and evaluate exactly how a feature will be used. At the same time, we create personas that paint a virtual portrait of various users and how they would expect the system to work. These efforts assist us in designing software that puts the user first.
We create user interfaces that are familiar to the end users. Any user that has used a website or mobile application should immediately feel comfortable with ATRIO. By creating user interface elements that are already familiar to the user, the user more quickly senses how to use ATRIO. When a user sees ATRIO for the first time they are able to quickly move around the application and easily can learn where to find information and how to complete the tasks they need to perform their role in the hotel.
ATRIO has an intuitive design. We take time to think through the end to end process that our user will go through to complete a task. We then try to streamline that process and reduce the number of clicks, and amount of time, it takes for a user to complete a task. Using design elements which are comfortable to the user we have created a design paradigm that people easily grasp and can quickly understand the flow of ATRIO. This method of design eliminates the need for hours of training and spending time thumbing through user manuals, which is particularly important in the high turnover hospitality industry.
ATRIO has flexibility designed in as well. We have designed in options which don't allow the user to diverge from the normal order of tasks to better serve guests. Our create reservation section is an excellent example of this. The user can quickly and easily jump between different areas of this section to get their job done quickly. This improves the users speed, provides for better guest service and makes ATRIO a very powerful and flexible tool.
We love to see and hear how our end users are interacting with ATRIO. We take design feedback from our customers very serious. We gather our customers feedback from a variety of channels such as support, installation teams, and customer interviews. We continually listen to this feedback so that we can quickly iterate on areas we find which may need improvement. With this information, we as user experience designers, are able to see and listen to how our customers are using ATRIO. Our iterative development cycles allow us to rapidly make those changes and re-release those updates back to our users.
ATRIO’s sleek modern user experience attracts users visually. However, more than the visual appeal of the PMS application, the satisfaction of ATRIO’s users and properties lies in simplicity and ease of use resulting from our focus on user experience design.