Focusing on Your Experience

Published by Michelle Haupt on May 6, 2021

The release of Edge Cloud 7 provides a foundation for many new changes within Edge Cloud.

One of the changes includes the work of Larry St. John, Ortho2’s UI/UX Designer. St. John has been in this role for just more than a year, and has already brought a wealth of knowledge to Edge Cloud. While UI/UX design is not new, Ortho2 is beginning to leverage it.

What is UI/UX?

UI/UX stands for user interface/user experience. In a nutshell, user experience is breaking down the barrier of communication between people and products. User interface is how users interact with software through buttons and text.

With more than a decade of user interface and research experience, coupled with a degree in publicLarry-1 relations, St. John is well equipped to using research methods to find the pain points in Edge Cloud, and work with the Ortho2 Product Development Team to incorporate solutions into the program.

How UI/UX Relates to Edge Cloud

The relationship Ortho2 has with our customers has been great for many years. Through UserVoice and various meetings, we have been able to develop new features based on customers’ wants and needs. As those needs have evolved, Ortho2 hired St. John, who is dedicated to actively engage and listen to our customers’ complaints and frustrations, and look at problems through the customer lens. As the ‘go-between’ with customers and developers, St. John digests the information from our customers and explains to our developers the root causes of issues, which lead to changes in Edge Cloud.

One of the goals St. John has is to find the ten most common tasks done within Edge Cloud and strategize ways to make those more efficient. He does this through focus groups where he meets with customers to talk about their day-to-day frustrations. “I want to become a customer advocate, and develop relationships with our customers,” said St. John. “The focus groups are comprised of users who want to participate to share how they see the product growing and maturing.” The focus groups discuss both the good and the bad in Edge Cloud, and give users the opportunity to influence changes within the program.

Benefits of UI/UX

When UI/UX works correctly, the end user experiences consistency throughout the program. “Over time, users should have consistent interactions with their software, and a consistent way of accomplishing their tasks,” said St. John. “Consistency shortens the learning curve for new products and gives confidence to users.”

As St. John’s time with Ortho2 continues, Edge Cloud will improve in many areas including: the most common workflows getting simpler, seeing more consistency across Edge Cloud, and a more polished esthetic with more modern visuals.

We are excited to deliver this next level of service to you. If you would like to be a part of a UI/UX focus group, and give input to challenges and solutions you see in Edge Cloud, contact Larry St. John at ux@ortho2.com.