Arkware

Arkware’s consultative services and team of certified Access developers are dedicated to aligning with business strategies while prioritizing the enhancement of the end-user experience.

Objective

Arkware, a leader in Microsoft Access database solutions, engaged us to enhance the user experience of their database management interface. The primary objective was to ensure that their diverse user base, ranging from novice to experienced Microsoft Access users, could navigate and utilize their services with ease. This initiative aimed to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and boost user satisfaction by addressing existing pain points and introducing meaningful enhancements. Additionally, the project sought to align the interface design with Arkware’s brand identity, creating a cohesive and professional user experience. Our goals included simplifying the user interface to make it more intuitive, reducing the number of steps required for key database operations to improve efficiency, and increasing overall satisfaction by resolving usability issues and incorporating value-added features.

Users:

  • Microsoft Access Users

Tools:

  • Figma

  • Google Workspace

  • Microsoft Teams

  • Photoshop

Process & Methodology:

  • Stakeholder Interview

  • Fly-on-Wall Observation

  • Usability Testing

  • Prototyping

Deliverables:

  • Redesigned Interface

  • Interactive Prototypes

  • Design Documentation

  • Recommendations Report

Process and Methodology

Our process and methodology involved a multi-phased approach to ensure a user-centered design for Arkware’s Microsoft Access interface. We began with stakeholder interviews, conducting in-depth discussions with key personnel to understand the business objectives, uncover user pain points, and identify essential functionalities required by Microsoft Access users. These interviews revealed that users often struggled with understanding advanced Access features, desired streamlined templates for database creation, and faced inconsistencies in branding across the interface.

Next, we conducted fly-on-wall observations to gain firsthand insights into how users interacted with Arkware’s existing implementation. This phase highlighted several usability challenges, including cluttered navigation that made it difficult to locate essential features, unclear error handling and messaging that frustrated users, and a lack of shortcuts and customizations that hindered experienced users.

To validate our findings and refine our approach, we conducted usability testing sessions with users spanning different skill levels. These sessions evaluated ease of use, task completion times, and overall satisfaction through scenarios such as creating a new database, running queries and generating reports, and importing/exporting data. The results indicated an average intuitiveness rating of 5.4/10 and highlighted specific pain points, including ambiguous icons and redundant workflows.

Finally, leveraging insights from our research, we developed high-fidelity prototypes in Figma. These prototypes incorporated key enhancements such as a revamped navigation system with clearly defined categories, streamlined workflows for common tasks, an integrated help center for troubleshooting, and customizable dashboards for power users. Prototypes were iteratively refined through additional usability testing to ensure they effectively addressed user needs and expectations.

In Conclusion

By applying user-centered design principles and involving real users throughout the process, we were able to address core usability challenges and deliver a solution aligned with both user needs and business goals. This project demonstrates the value of integrating UX into specialized software like Microsoft Access databases.