ERP UX redesign: making enterprise software people actually use
ERP software feels hard because its screens mirror database tables instead of tasks. A UX redesign reorganises each screen around the decision a role makes — the four numbers a controller reports, the stock about to run out — and puts the action right where the problem appears.
Key takeaways
- Shadow the people who use the ERP eight hours a day before designing anything.
- Spreadsheets beside the ERP are a map of what the ERP fails to do.
- Redesign module by module, starting where the workarounds are thickest.
- Permissions, approvals and audit trails belong in the first design, not the last.
ERP projects are expensive, so companies live with bad screens for years. But the cost of poor ERP usability shows up every day — in errors, slow month-ends, training time and the spreadsheets kept on the side.
Task-first, not table-first
| Module | Table-first screen | Task-first screen |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | Every ledger column | Four reportable numbers + receivables to chase |
| Inventory | Units on hand | Days of cover + reorder in the row |
| HR | Leave requests list | Requests with coverage impact on the shift |
| Procurement | PO table | Approval inbox with budget impact |
How we run an ERP redesign
- 01Shadow and interview each role; collect the spreadsheets.
- 02Map tasks and the decisions inside them.
- 03Design one module end to end, including permissions and audit.
- 04Test with real users before development, then roll out module by module.
Our ERP & enterprise designs show finance, inventory, HR, procurement and plant-floor screens built this way. We design and build them under custom software development.
Sources
Kiara writes Advorize's guides on design, development and digital systems, turning the team's project work into practical, plain-language answers.