Software ergonomics in logistics: the art of perfectly uniting employees and technology.

Software ergonomics or ergonomic software? Anyone who hears these two terms is bound to ask themselves at this point: What do they mean? And above all, what constitutes software ergonomics?

In the age of Industry 4.0, the topic of human-machine communication requires a high level of attention. It is important not only to design the workplace and working environment ergonomically or provide aids, but also to design the software environment ergonomically. People, tasks, technology and the organizational framework must be optimally coordinated.

Let's start with the definition of "software ergonomics". According to the Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon, it means:

1. Term: the property of a software product to be designed ergonomically (ergonomics).
2. The aim of software ergonomics is to design software products according to the needs of the people who work with them.
3. Contents: Questions of dialog design, work content, preservation and design of decision-making scope, robustness of communication, user interfaces, etc.

This definition sounds plausible, but in practice, especially in logistics, we believe it falls short. Contrary to what is assumed, a warehouse management system is not just software for data management. It also organizes the employees in the warehouse and efficiently supports the physical process.

But even this description is not enough. DIN EN ISO 9241 concretizes this definition with the following test criteria for software ergonomics:

1. Task appropriateness
2. Self-descriptiveness
3. Conformity to expectations
4. Conduciveness to learning
5. Controllability
6. Fault tolerance
7. Customizability

The ergonomics of warehouse management software involves more than just good legibility and sensibly organized information in the dialogs. Employees should perceive interaction with the system as a support and not as a burden. So far, so good - these are the theoretical requirements and ideas of software ergonomics.

Our motto is: "The highest level of quality for our customers." We implement the criteria for the structure and handling of our warehouse management system in the same way as common sense would dictate. This sounds simple, but in practice it leads to many variants. There is then hardly any talk of a "standard picking dialog". This is where our experience is needed, but also the feedback from users, which flows into the further development of the software.

Why make it complicated when you can make it simple?
Our warehouse management software helps users to complete their tasks efficiently and easily. The input fields are pre-assigned with useful default values and the SuPCIS-L8 application is self-describing. Questions such as "Which dialog am I in?", "What actions can I perform here?" or "How do I get to another dialog?" can be easily answered using the easy-to-understand dialogs. In other words, the user is always informed about the properties of the dialogs, always knows what to do and which steps follow.

This leads to the next ergonomic feature of SuPCIS-L8. Good warehouse management software must be easy to control. According to the credo: "less is more", too much information should be avoided in the dialogs. Does a picker need the item description in the display in addition to the storage location, the quantity to be picked and the item number? Or what should be scanned for plausibility checks? The storage bin, the loading equipment, the item, an EAN, a serial number or nothing? Configurability is required here. Does a button have to be pressed after a scan, or is the data transferred directly? The adapted font size and uniform function keys in all dialog fields offer the user further advantages.

Step by step through error management
The user can rely on important error and information messages at all times. One example: We use signal colors to indicate different order statuses. Red indicates an error situation. In this context, by setting the function keys or icons (which are operated by mouse or touch), only dialog steps that are currently permitted are available.

For troubleshooting, the user selects the appropriate function directly via a dashboard icon or a function button in the dialog. The time-consuming search via a menu is no longer necessary. Important key values are passed from dialog to dialog, making notes next to the keyboard or on the screen superfluous. However, different devices require several variants. The application in the warehouse management system must adapt flexibly to the characteristics of the end devices used, in particular MDEs, wearables and tablet computers - similar to websites.

We promise one thing: We will continue to look closely over our users' shoulders and learn from their use. We are encouraged by the positive feedback we regularly receive. After all, is there a better "unique selling point" for a software manufacturer than satisfied users who enjoy working with a system? Hardly.

Would you like to get to know us and our software? Please feel free to contact us.

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