Oracle offers four levels of involvement in the UX Customer Participation Program*.
The primary benefit of being a part of Oracle’s User Experience (UX) Customer Participation Program (CPP) is having the ability to contribute to and influence product direction and design for Oracle’s next-generation software applications. Other benefits are:
- Potential for participation early in the lifecycle of a product, rather than only after a product is released.
- Ability to offer feedback on wireframes and prototypes, giving customers direct, early insight into Oracle’s design process.
- The opportunity for end users to have their voices heard by the people who are actually designing their work-flows.
*Taking part in any of these programs does require a confidentiality agreement between Oracle and the participating company.
By receiving this quarterly newsletter, you will be among the first to hear about:
- Upcoming Applications User Experience customer events
- New user experience information about Oracle applications available on usableapps.oracle.com or the Oracle Technology Network
- Exciting new technologies on which the Applications UX team is working
- Key learning opportunities, such as webcasts, about Applications UX available to you as a customer
The CPP newsletter discusses the user experience enhancements of next-generation applications and gives you, our customer, ways to personally contribute and ensure that your opinion influences Oracle's product direction and design.
Oracle has state-of-the-art Usability Research and Testing facilities worldwide that Oracle customers are invited to tour. One-way observation mirrors, multi-camera digital recording, widescreen and multi-monitor displays, and eye-tracking systems allow usability engineers to analyze how users interact with existing software, new prototypes, and leading-edge technologies.
About 800 people participate in studies at the labs each year, and approximately 50 new products and upgrades are tested every year. This research informs the design of Oracle user interfaces, and will continue to do so well into the future.
A lab tour typically lasts one hour.
Oracle usability engineers and designers work directly with Oracle customers toward the shared goal of increasing the usability of our products. Customers are invited to participate in a variety of activities at various phases of the product lifecycle. Examples of these activities include:
- Structured interviews
- Web surveys
- Site visits and observations
- Focus groups and wants-and-needs analyses
- Early prototype reviews
- Usability tests
- Customer events at conferences
The typical duration of any of these activities is approximately two hours.
The Usability Advisory Board identifies and addresses enterprise software usability issues in current and future products. This group approaches usability topics on a macro level to determine and influence industry trends. They may review and provide feedback on future technologies and products, share best practices, and develop use cases, industry guidelines, standards, and requirements. The ultimate goal is to bring enterprise software usability to a whole new level through industry, government, and university collaboration.
The Usability Board consists of Oracle’s most involved customers, who work on joint usability projects in concert with Oracle’s User Experience groups. Members are typically C-level executives or senior managers with direct accountability within their organizations for user effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with enterprise software.
To ensure the success of this effort, we require participants to: sign a Customer Participation Confidentiality Agreement (CPCA); attend three working meetings per year; perform necessary pre- and post-meeting assignments; contribute actively during working meetings and online conferences; communicate with and support Oracle usability executives and senior staff members driving action items; and allow Oracle to have access to users in their organizations for usability studies, which will advance the goals of the group.
