Plant Services - September 2007 - (Page 31) ASSET MANAGER Steering through the CMMS Navigation features can make the difference between efficient user-friendliness and a labor-burning anchor W hen you ask CMMS users what they want most, many express a need to find data through phrases such as “user-friendly” or “easy-to-use.” This isn’t surprising considering the number of keystrokes users make daily. Most of us have experienced the frustration of wading through screen after screen to find what we need buried somewhere in a given software package. Thus, helping users navigate through the maze of sophisticated software applications is a priority for modern CMMS vendors. You should be aware of various navigation aids and the principles behind them. need to know where a user wants to access a standard parts list or the asset’s maintenance history. You want to know how many parts are in stock and to order non-stock items, all within the work order screen. You want to determine who needs to approve an expenditure, at what dollar value and ensure they’re not on vacation when you need them. Finding this information must be intuitive. There’s a wide variation in how CMMS vendors provide this navigation framework for a maintenance process. Navigation principles Drill-down capability is a popular feature that supports efIt’s a matter of quality, not quantity. Some vendors boast ficient, effective and intuitive navigation. It allows users to of the many ways to extract data from their move from summary data to greater levels of CMMS. However, users often are confused detail. For example, if a summary level cost is Related to drill- significantly out of line or a budget variance when faced with too many alternative paths, down capability is high, some CMMS packages allow you to unless it’s intuitive as to which: • Is the fastest option is “drill-around” double-click on that field or row and “drill • Provides the right detail and format down” to greater levels of detail until you find capability. • Allows a search for related information the root cause. A CMMS package should al• Facilitates taking the appropriate action low drill-down on any field. based on the data. Similarly, several vendors offer drill-down on graphic Thus, the quality of alternative navigation paths counts screens using “hot spots” on a graphics parts book, graphics more than just quantity. on a dashboard, graphics used for monitoring asset condiUsers want to balance ease of navigation with clutter. tion and maps showing asset locations. When you doubleSome CMMS vendors try to pack as much on a screen as click a hot spot, a blow-up appears. In many cases, you can possible so users need not navigate through screens to find continue to double-click on hot spots for greater detail. The information. However, vendors must strike a balance bebetter CMMS packages allow user-definable hot spots. tween this cause and cluttering screens with excessive inforRelated to drill-down capability, “drill-around” allows mation. Several tools help vendors to achieve this balance: you to move horizontally to related data, as opposed to ver• A series of related tabs on a screen tically through levels of detail. For example, when you’re • Pull-down or pop-up windows with more information viewing a single equipment record and want to see the last • Expandable/collapsible hierarchies. time the equipment was purchased, comprehensive CMMS Users want consistency. A key advantage for vendors is packages allow you, with a single keystroke, to view all purthe global standard consistency in the user interface. For exchase orders for that piece of equipment. Another keystroke ample, a help screen appears when you hit “F1.” But some reveals PO details, followed by a single keystroke to provide CMMS vendors are inconsistent when they use a feature in a list of vendors that sell this equipment, and then one more one area but not in others. keystroke to show current pricing by vendor. These keyYou need a logical navigation framework. Vendors must strokes are made from within the original working screen. think like users when determining what tabs, links, tool bars User-definable launch points are navigation aids that help and navigation paths to establish. They need to know what you move from one area of the CMMS to another. User-defininformation should be available from which screens. They able hot keys, menus, tabs and tool bars are popular. One of the September 2007 www.PLANTSERVICES.com 31 Key navigation features http://www.plantservices.com/voices/asset_manager.html http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com
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