On the web, in shrink-wrap products and in desktop applications of all kinds, designers and developers are under increasing pressure to produce more effective user interfaces. Total User Experience is the overall perception formed by a customer or employee based on experiences with a company's interactive software systems. Web sites and desktop applications immediately come to mind. For example, telephone keypads and voice response systems are widely deployed as user interfaces for call routing, customer inquiries and faxback applications. As well as the now-obligatory web sites and desktop applications, many companies also have interactive multimedia kiosks installed in a wide variety of locations.
User interfaces are everywhere.
More than ever, the profit margins of your company are dependent on the effectiveness of the user interfaces you provide. Good business is about building relationships - with employees as well as with customers. Every day, these relationships are influenced more and more by interactive software systems and the perceptions people form when they use them. Well-designed interfaces can strengthen an organization's competitive position through attracting and retaining customers, making staff more effective, reducing costs and increasing revenues. Interface problems erode customer loyalty and market share.