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

Software Ergonomics? or Ergonomic Software? Anyone who hears these two terms for the first time will surely ask themselves at this point: What is meant by this? And above all, what constitutes software ergonomics?

In the midst of the age of Industry 4.0, the topic of human-machine communication requires a high degree of attention. In this context, however, it is not only important to align the workplace ergonomically, but also to design the framework conditions around the software appropriately. In short, people, tasks, technology and the organizational framework must all be optimally coordinated.

But let us start at this point simply with the word meaning "software ergonomics". According to the Gabler Business Dictionary, this term is basically defined as:
1. Term: the characteristic of a software product to be ergonomically (ergonomics) designed.
2. The goal of software ergonomics is to design software products according to the needs of the people working with them.
3. Contents: Dialog design issues, work content, preservation and design of decision latitude, robustness of communication, user interfaces, etc.

This definition sounds plausible, but in practice, especially in logistics, it is, in our view, too short a definition. Because contrary to what is assumed at first glance, a warehouse management system is not only a software that is used to administer and manage data. Among other things, it is also used to organize the employees in the warehouse and to support the physical process efficiently.

But even this description is not enough. This general definition is further substantiated by DIN EN ISO 9241, which specifies the following test criteria with regard to software ergonomics:
1. Task appropriateness
2. Self description ability
3. Expectation conformity
4. Learning conduciveness
5. Controllability
6. Error tolerance
7. Individualizability
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In addition to the supposedly obvious issues such as good readability and sensibly arranged information in the dialogs, ergonomics in the area of warehouse management software is also about ensuring that employees understand the interaction with the system as helpful support and do not perceive it as an additional burden. So far, so good - these are the theoretical specifications and ideas of software ergonomics.

True to our motto: "The highest level of quality for our customers," we implement the criteria relating to the structure and handling of our warehouse management system in the same way as common sense would. This sounds simple at first. In practice, however, it leads to a wide variety of options. There can then hardly be any question of a "standard picking dialog". This is where our experience is needed, but also user feedback, which is then incorporated into the further development of the software.

Our warehouse management software supports the user to perform his work task as efficiently and yet in the simplest way. The default values for the input fields are sensibly preassigned and the SuPCIS-L8 application is self-describing. Questions such as "Which dialog am I currently in?", "What actions can I perform here?" or "How do I get to another dialog from here?" are easy for the user to answer at any time thanks to the easy-to-understand dialogs. In other words, the user is always informed about the properties of the dialogs. This point already builds the bridge to the next ergonomic feature of SuPCIS-L8. Because what would a Warehouse Management Software be without an understandable controllability. According to the saying "less is more", too much information in the dialogs should be avoided. Does a person to be picked need an article description in the display in addition to the storage location and the quantity to be picked? Or what should be scanned for plausibility? The storage location, the loading equipment, the article, an EAN, a serial number or nothing at all? Configurability is required here. Does a key have to be pressed again after a scan or is the data taken over directly?

Further advantages for the user result from the adapted font size and a uniform use of function keys in all dialog boxes. In addition, there are important error and information messages that users can rely on at any time. To illustrate this with an example: We use signal colors to indicate different job states. Red indicates an error situation to the user. At the same time, by setting function keys or icons (which are operated by mouse or touch), only dialog steps that are currently allowed are available. To correct an error, the appropriate function does not have to be selected from a menu. It is simply selected directly on a dashboard icon displayed in the dialog or a function key. Important key values are passed from dialog to dialog and post-its next to the keyboard are a thing of the past. But here, too, several variants are required with a view to the different devices. For the warehouse management system, this means that the application must react flexibly to the properties of the end device used in each case, especially MDEs, wearables and tablet computers - similar to what we know from websites.

We promise one thing: We will continue to look closely over the shoulders of our users and learn from their operation. The positive feedback we receive again and again encourages us to do so. After all, can there be a better "unique selling point" for a software manufacturer than satisfied users who enjoy working with a system? Hardly.

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