Usability Check for Logistics Software: When the Interface Becomes a Stumbling Block

Why Is Usability Important in Logistics Software?

Complex processes, excessive clicks, or cluttered screens consume time, increase error rates, and place a strain on employees during their daily work. In logistics particularly, a poorly designed GUI can quickly turn into a competitive disadvantage.

What Is the “Usability Check”?

The Usability Check is a structured, expert-based assessment of the user interface with a focus on software ergonomics, GUI design, and process perspective. It is suitable as a compact screening prior to or alongside comprehensive user studies, delivering concrete, directly actionable results within a workshop of just a few hours. Software ergonomics is examined from various perspectives, particularly from the viewpoints of process, IT functionality, usability, and user experience. Experts from Fraunhofer IML analyze the user interface based on applicable norms and standards as well as their project experience. The focus centers on process control, findability of IT functions, and cognitive support for users. The result is structured feedback featuring an analysis and evaluation of the current state, along with concrete recommendations for the further development of the logistics software.

Usability Check in Practice: Our Project with ita vero

One example is the collaboration with ita vero GmbH, which develops and distributes the warehouse management software WMS.O for small and medium-sized customers in the beverage industry, including mineral water producers, breweries, spirits manufacturers, and beverage wholesalers. The objective was to evaluate the software ergonomics and GUI design of selected modules within the web application and to identify optimization potentials.

In an online workshop, three experts from Fraunhofer IML, together with representatives from ita vero, analyzed core areas such as the login screen, goods receipt/entry, loading, SSCC (NVE) processing, and picking. The assessment was conducted based on the processes, the WMS functionalities, and established norms and standards of software ergonomics and GUI design, complemented by many years of project experience in the research priorities of logistics IT and cognitive ergonomics, as well as an extensive wealth of best-practice experience. The result was structured, documented feedback covering the process perspective, WMS functionalities, and cognitive ergonomics—each with an evaluation of the current state and concrete recommendations for the further development of the user interface and the interaction steps between human and technology. In addition, participants received an overview of relevant criteria for ergonomic information and interaction design, as well as key standards and regulatory frameworks governing software ergonomics.

Who Is the Usability Check for Logistics Software Suitable For?

For logistics software vendors who want to systematically advance their solution from the user and process perspective. It is particularly useful before or after releases, for new modules or GUI adjustments, as a baseline assessment of software ergonomics, or in cases of ambiguous user feedback. Thanks to its low overhead, it can easily be used either in conjunction with comprehensive user studies or as a stand-alone measure. In doing so, it considers not only the user interface itself, but also the process perspective and the logic of human-technology interaction, evaluated against central usability criteria.

Specifically Improving the Usability of Logistics Software

Do you develop logistics software and want to have the software ergonomics and GUI of your application evaluated? The Usability Check for logistics software developed at Fraunhofer IML supports you with compact, practical evaluations and highlights concrete potentials for improving user experience, efficiency, and process reliability. Software that is already in production or fully developed can also be systematically put to the test.

Contact: info@warehouse-logistics.com