Delightful Progress: Kuali's Legacy of Community and Leadership
Dehlin: There are many but I can mention a few.
I think the number one thing is that for decades, software (in general) has, at best, improved things a little for people but has also made it more frustrating for them, because of a poor user experience, or sometimes because of difficult vendor relationships. And sometimes, it's the software itself that has made things worse for some institutions. So we're making sure we create software that's delightful to use.
Grush: I noticed that term, delightful, on your website, so I'm thinking this is something you're pursuing very purposefully. What's an example of a delightful user experience?
Dehlin: You're right; we use the term delightful intentionally. We want people to feel joy when they use our software. And we do have great feedback and user stories, many of which you can see on our website.
We use the term delightful intentionally. We want people to feel joy when they use our software.
For example, a woman in university administration at a huge institution told us she used to spend late nights struggling to keep up with her paper and PDF process for reimbursements in student clubs. But now, she is using our Kuali Build product, a no-code tool that allows someone to create any form or workflow they want. And she was actually crying when she told us about how she's not having any more of those frustrating late nights because the whole process is finally automated, engaged by Kuali Build. That kind of story is so satisfying to us, because we want to make people's work more productive and rewarding with software they enjoy.
We want to make people's work more productive and rewarding with software they enjoy.
So that's one really big thing, responding very intentionally to poor software with delightful-to-use software.
Grush: What's the second trend you're responding to?
Dehlin: A second trend that we're trying to respond to is that a lot of big administrative systems are aging, and there's pressure for people to replace their SIS or their financial system or HR system.
We're trying to make it so that people don't have to think so much about replacing their entire system, instead augmenting it with solutions that integrate well and are more modern.
We're trying to make it so that people don't have to think so much about replacing their entire system, instead augmenting it with solutions that integrate well and are more modern.
What we're telling people is, if your SIS or your HR system doesn't have the forms or workflows that you need, that's okay. You can add some forms or solutions or workflows with relevant Kuali tools.
Grush: I guess the message there must include something about interoperability.
Dehlin: Yes, and that's another way we're responding to current challenges — we're prepared for a rapidly changing marketplace by ensuring compatibility and interoperability. Our software solutions are expanding into quite a few different areas now. People are using our software in HR departments, finance departments, the registrar's office, the Provost's office, the research office, in clubs, in sports, in admissions — really all over the institution. We've focused on making sure that our software solutions work well together.
We're prepared for a rapidly changing marketplace by ensuring compatibility and interoperability.
So, if you're using our software solutions independently, that's fine: We integrate well with lots of different systems, and we make it easy to share data. But, if you're using multiple Kuali software solutions together, that integration is absolutely seamless.