Zoho CRM User Experience & Interaction Design Blog

Just a simple suggestion.

You have a fairly good product and your users are using it for sometime. Now, it appears to you that your product will be really-really good if you re-design the flow, UI and other stuffs. Pretty much like almost a fresh new product. Before redesingning, remember to consider your old users too. They must migrate easily to the new flow.

1. Maintain the workflow of your old product in your new product. Or let there be two work flows, the old one and the new one. Let the user to choose the “classical” way or “new” way when they run the product for the first time. Be sure to bundle tutorials and guides to help them migrate easily.

2. Always seperate the UI framework from the core/engine.

Remember, to maintain a loyal user base, always make your applications easier and friendlier to migrate.

Was browsing my old contents.. and found this image. It was one the samples I created for OpManager Web Client. List of different type of shades and tables.

Click on the image to view bigger..

Working in the CRM space is fun. And noticing / observing what users prefer in each UI is more interesting.

Some of the observations from some users are listed below. Well this is not a global rule or i am not concliding anything. But this is what observed within our short test-users base.

In the CRM world, “roles” / “designation” play an important function. If you are a sales guy, you have a different set of data to handle. If you are a support guy, you have a different set of data to handle. If you are a CEO, you have different set of reports to handle. If you are a CFO you have differnet type of data to handle.

Most of the user expectations start with the first screen they see. The first screen is expected to be some kind of collective dashboard. Within that first screen people like to see many type of data at once. Not necessary that there should be complete information about each data, but a bare minimum info is sufficient.

Pre-Sales people are concerned about Leads, Potentials etc. Sales manager is concerned about pending quotes, invoices etc. CFO is concerned about the graphs .. how much sales for today, how much sales for this week, Is there any lag in sales? etc. Generally I feel, as the designations go higher, they are concerned about the graphs.. comparing historical data. Well I may be right.. or wrong here.

And, usually in the first page.. ie the page shown after loggin in should be able to show statistics/graphs/information list etc. Thats what people love to see. Some people who work in day scheduling prefer the calendar modules (like events, meetings, calls) etc to be seen. Some people who work in sales prefer to see, sales figures, pending payments, collections graph.. even some wish to see the live currency exchange details.

These are some points I observed.

will update more later…

Recently I notice that china is embracing Skype like any other. When I switch to “Skype me” mode, i am sure I will get atleast one “hi” from a chinese girl.

When you reply back saying, “hi” she will ask your job. And if you say “i am computer guy” she will reply in dull words and soon become idle. This happend a few times, and during one such chat, I opened her profile details and found she is an online agent for some export manufacturers. God ! these girls actually chat for doing business, something that yahoo tried to control in their messenger world.

Also I met quite number of chinese contacts .. some of them are genuine, while some of them are arrogant towards indian guys (must have been faced some tough situations with indian guys online, i guess ) and some who are looking for business contacts.

Careful when you change to “Skype me” mode.

Wait in the Nandhanam signal, after green signal is on, take right and drive till the Aavin compound appears. You can find Khaana Ghaana opposite to aavin booth.

They have ample space to park only two cars in front, and, they have a valet parking available. So no parking problems. Walk up the few steps and you are in the waiting lobby. The entrance opens and you will be greeted by the waiters or captain.

Inside you will find large cushion sofa + tables seating to the right of entrance and default chair+tables seatings in the left. There is a bar in the diagonal corner which serves Mocktails and Redbulls. For those who want a tinge of beer (non-alcoholic ofcourse) they serve Beck’s Non Alcoholic Beer.

Interiors

Prominently painted in yellow to psycologically induce appetite for food. The hall is large with a total seating capacity of 70 members. Large full size glass partitions conceal the outside world. Equipped with five two-tonne AC, they cooling is little insufficient during the day time.

Tables

4 person tables are large enough to accomodate people and plates. No cramped real estate. The chairs have cushion for seating, but plain wood for the backrest.

Servers

One captain, some tamil servers and some nepalese servers. Hospitality is decent. Properly trained and they serve the food right.

Cusine

To make some good revenue, KG has chosen to offer multiple cusines under one roof. Indian, Tandoori, Chinese and selective continental cuisine. Vegetarian and non vegetarian menus are available. Grab their buffet offer during weekdays. Veg costs Rs.110 and Non-veg costs Rs.140. In weekends only a-la-carte is available.

Food

Soups : We ordered for one veg and one non-veg and found the quality is perfect. Contrary to my belief, i found the Chicken Wonton soup to be really good and theres no smell of chicken in it. Thumbs up. The vegetarian Cream of Tomato soup too is found to be on par with decent quality.

Starters : We had Haryali Tandoori Murgh, Machi Amritswar for non veg. Good mint chatni and well prepared, mouth-watering Tandoori murgh is amazingly good. The Machi amritswar is a fish food with 5 large pieces of fish prepared in tandoori style. Though not tasted good as Haryali Tandoori, it does passed on a average score.

Main Course: We had a continental Chicken Strogonoff which is served with rice and chicken pieces along with gravy mix. The taste is ok and it too passed our score. The Mixed veg platter is unbeleiveably dominated by boiled potatoes. It had potatoes, cauli, and some vegetable mash kind of thing. Received a below average rating for that. The Veg pasta is more of decent preparation both in quality and quantity.

Mocktails: Dancing Cinderella - a strawberry mocktail which has nothing except stawberry pieces and some bland tasting juice mix. Stay away. Hawiian Smoothie - a orange juice blended with coconut milk and ice cubes.. is an all standard mocktail. Good. The American Beauty is more of a milk shake and some fruit/jelly slices and topped with a scoop of ice cream. Decent.

Conclusion

Khaana Ghaana is a high priced (most of the dishes are around Rs.120 and 160) restaurant. I guess those guys are good at Tandoori and Indian. Though their chinese dishes are good, they stand next to Tandoori. Enjoy.. good for visiting occasionally.

Rating : 3.9 / 5 stars.

Logitech & Nevenvision has developed biometric avatars which takes the webcam chatting to the next level. Instead of showing your real face.. use funny avatars ..

check the demo :

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/demo/US/EN,crid=2383,contentid=10339,sh=1

Velachery is exploding.. the real estate costs are 3x 4x than it was earlier. Ok.. not just velachery.. almost all south and west zones of chennai are expanding in a rapid rate.

Why? coz chennai is growing, .. new …new.. all new .. new companies…new people.. new cars.. And you can see the same old restaurants. None of them think about opening any new branches in the developing areas. One classic example is velachery. Still there is no sign of any good restaurants.

When population explodes at this rate, it is hard to get a seat in any restaurants in the weekends. Almost all restaurants get busy right from 7.45pm till 10.30pm. If you enter around 9pm, sorry, thats ur bad day. You may bump upon other people waiting at the gate to enter the restaurant. Or even if you enter a little earlier, say, around 8.30, then soon you will be annoyed noticing people standing next to your table, to occupy your seat. This actually happend to us in besant nagar ponnusamy. And, this happens in most of the crowded outlets i guess.

So here are some tips. This may work or may not work, even they may not sound good.. but they are worth considering.

1. In the weekends, shift your outside dinner time to 8pm instead of 9pm or 9.30 pm. This will help you to get seats and avoid irritating waiting. Applies to Lunch also. Either go around 12.30 or after 2.30pm.

2. If you are more than 4 in number, call the restaurant 3 hours prior to the dinner time and reserve the seats.

3. If it is summer, expect a lot of crowd in the weekends. Coz many families and kids from outside cities visit chennai during summer. So be prepared, most of the 8 seater or multi seater tables will be occupied.

4. When ordering food, place the order in a single round. Take a few more mins, but order in a single shot. Combine soups, starters and main courses into one round. This will help the servers to deliver in time. Deserts can be ordered when you are about to finish.

5. During lunch, i suggest you include one or two briyani’s in your menu (veg or non veg). Briyanis are always readily available. So when you are waiting for other food, briyanis will help you to beat the hunger initially.

6. When you are in a weekend dinner with your sweet heart, avoid trying an unknown dish, coz that could hamper the mood if the taste is not good.

7. In the rush time, avoid being lazy. Think of other people waiting to eat. So cut short those “appuram machi.. sollu..”, “yenga, nethu thanga vettaila naalavathu kelvi asattuthanama illa?..” pls, look at those poor people waiting out. Speed up your weekend dinner a little bit and let others eat.

8. When you visit a restaurant, and if you like it, note the phone number in your mobile. This will help you to reserve tables.

9. Not necessary to tip according to some standards like 5% of bill amount or 10% of bill amount. Not necessary. Tip generously only if you are fully satisfied with the service. All servers make a good collection on weekends. (doesnt apply to star hotel restaurants)

Thats for now.. post your tips too..

Mocha is the much hyped up open-air coffee outlet in chennai now. A month ago, I paid a visit to the KN road to try Mocha.. but after seeing the crowd, the skodas, the CRVs and the people standing in queue, I decided to return back.

This week I had a chance to visit that place and thankfully, we found 4 empty seats. Wow I am lucky !

So how does Mocha stands out of the regualr coffee outlets like CCD and Qwikys & Barrista? Simple :

1. The seatings

2. The environment

3. Overloaded Coffee Choices

4. The Brand Name

Mocha Hookah:

Looks like hookah has become a standard part of unofficial offering at all coffee outlets.. Besant Nagar Cafe Coffee Day offers hookah for Rs.100 and Mocha offers hookah starting from Rs.150. Depending on the flavors (strawberry, vanilla etc) it increases. Also Cedars offers at Rs.200 i guess.

Kill the Time:

You need atleast some 10 mins to glance through the menu which lists all coffees, de-caffined coffees, lattes and all continental shakes, pastries etc.

After that, you need another 20 mins to read each and every coffee variety and pick your choice. Once you finalise your choice, try calling the attenders for 5 or 10 mins and place your order.

Add hookah to the order coz it is the only thing that is served fast (it seems). Enjoy smoking hookah.. play with the smoke making.. rings, dragon fires, steam engines and all sorts of funny ideas. By the end of 20 mins, your hookah will be down and you would have fried a lots of nuts with your gf/bf.

By the time you finish the hookah, your coffee will be served. Most of the coffees are world flavors from many countries. Coloumbian, Jamaican, Italian, Malabar.. you name it you get it. Its such a long list that you cannot choose a single coffee in first few minutes.

Columbia! Columbia!

Cafe Coffee Day has a Columbian Juan Valdez which tastes slightly bitter at the first note.. and in the second note, it leaves a mild sweet taste on the taste buds. Mocha too has one Columbian bla bla blaaaaaa… (forgot the full name). This is the only familiar coffee I found in Mocha. So I ordered one. After 30 mins…It arrived in a big cup, hot and steamy. After looking at the size of the cup, i couldnt stop myself from saying “wow”. The cup was so huge.. and i bet, it definitely had 400 ml of coffee in it.

The Taste:

(Forenote: To treat ur tastebuds with the real taste of coffee, first you must always taste the black version without milk and without sugar. The experience starts from the lips, the first sip. It should be warm, and not hot or cold. Sip generously, so that the coffee lingers over your tongue and the taste buds, never swallow immediately. Let it linger your tongue for a few moments, and then swallow slowly. The second note starts with the results from the taste buds… A good coffee will always make you to go for the second sip without hesitation, where as, a bad coffee or bad flavor.. will create a delayed second sip. Once you like the taste, you can add milk , sugar and enjoy it fully. Regular intake of black coffee’s is not recommended. Always add milk or sugar. But make sure, they do not hide the real coffee taste. )

Mocha’s Columbian is similar to CCD’s columbian in taste. But the thickness is not as rich as CCD’s. The other two coffee’s i tasted are similar to our local Narasu’s coffee in a diluted blend. Nothing great.. except one has some chocolate flavor in it.

We had 3 hot coffee’s and one cold coffee. Except columbian and the cold coffee, the other two proved to be normal. Despite the high prices, it didnt justify the taste.

But, the environment is good.. you have “teekadai benchs”, “dhiwans”, “cycle-rickshaw seats” etc and rows of executive chairs with water current flowing on the table.. Arrangements are really cool. But what sucked is the hot coffee’s. May be there could be some nice coffee’s out there, but what we tasted today is not that good.

Conclusion:

Writing a conclusion is tough.. and is not good as of now. Coz i had tasted only 3 flavors of the coffees. And still a long list is pending!. But from what others say and what i saw there, i guess Mocha is a place where you can take your sweetheart for kadalai, or host weekend friends meet. Visit Mocha after 7pm. With good environment, lightings, and an “average to better” tasting coffees and pastries, mocha should be a good place for kadalai! & friends meets. Try it for a weekend.

PS : If you dont have a gf/bf.. better find someone and visit that place.