Usability : CRM - Accessibility of Related information
In a typical CRM system, accessing the related info of an entity should be quick and easy. For example, the related info for a Account could be , Contacts for the Account, Quotes/Documents/Invoices that are related to the Account, Products related to the Account etc. A good CRM should provide all such related info in a neat and quickly accessible approach.
Based on the user feedback and general studies, we found that CRM users prefer to see all the vital information on top of the page. The next-level-vital information like related information or other ‘accessory/tools’ stuff could be presented in the first page-scroll. If additional real estate is available, then the related information can be shown in the right side.
And in a Web Service scenario, determining the optimal layout is very difficult. Because users are different and their usage pattern is different. The best solution is : Provide a setup wherein the user can choose the layout he prefers - either placing the related info in the second scroll, or placing the related info on the right side.