Core Users and Occasional Users

One way you could do this is to group your users as Core Users and Occasional Users.

Core Users have one or more of these characteristics: 

• Require access to the greatest range of functions that the application provides and use many of them most of the time.

• Use the application as a key component of their jobs (often all day, every day).

• Are experts at using the application and require interfaces designed for experts. 

• Are heavily affected in productivity and morale terms by response times. 

• Require a high degree of integration with other applications on their desktops.

• Usually have high-speed TCP/IP connection to the server system typically from inside the corporate firewall. 

• Usually work from a fixed location or use same workstation – which may be fixed, mobile, remotely accessed or in the cloud.

• Are often directly employed or sub-contracted to your organization.

Occasional Users have one or more of these characteristics:

• Require access to a limited range of the functions that the overall application provides.

• Are novices at using the application and require interfaces designed for novices. 

• Are not deeply impacted in productivity and morale terms by response times. 

• Often only have Internet HTTP connection to the server from outside of the firewall. 

• Are often mobile, accessing the application from changing locations and from different workstations and devices. 

• May have business relationships with your organization, but are not employed by it. 

In user interface terms what this means is:

• Some core users may justify the higher cost of creating and maintaining Windows desktop interfaces (e.g. MS-Excel or MS-Word level interfaces). These interfaces are installed on their workstations and/or are accessible from high-speed servers via high speed networks. These type of VLF applications are designed for maximum user functionality, performance and productivity. The higher cost of deploying and maintaining them needs to be counter-balanced by the productivity and performance benefits gained.

• Core and Occasional users can usually both use a Web browser interface. The interfaces are deployed dynamically and cheaply but may be limited by the interface functionality provided by, and desktop integration limitations imposed by, HTML5. Any loss of the productivity and performance benefits that Windows desktop interface would deliver is usually far more than counter-balanced by the lower cost of deploying and maintaining the application.