Documentation has a job. Policies. Training. Audit trails. All useful.
Speed is a different job.
Most teams still rely on PDFs, playbooks, and knowledge base articles to drive day-to-day execution. People search. Read. Flip back to the app. Try a step. Flip back again. That back-and-forth costs time and focus. Multiply by hundreds of users and thousands of tasks. You feel the drag.
A digital adoption platform changes the experience. It brings the help into the work. In-app guides show the next step right where the user is. No guessing. No tab hopping. Just steady progress.
Let’s look at what the data says, then break down why it works.
What the numbers show
In our recent usability study, we tested two real processes that many enterprise teams run every week.
- SAP Fiori — Claim Creation Process. Users saved 6:32 per task, a 51% improvement over process documentation.
- SharePoint — Sales Contract Update Process. Users saved 1:19 per task, a 69% improvement over process documentation.
Same people. Same workflows. One group followed a document. The other group used in-app guides inside a digital adoption solution. The in-app approach helped people finish faster with fewer stops and starts.
Where documentation slows people down
You know these moments:
- Search time. Find the right PDF. Hope it’s the latest. Scroll to the right section.
- Translate time. Read a step, then map it to what you see on screen. Is it the same label? Same field name?
- Sequencing slips. Miss a required field. Jump ahead. Go back.
- Re-reading tax. Lose your place. Start again.
- Staleness. A field changed last week. The doc did not.
None of this is because people lack skill. It’s because help lives outside the workflow.
What changes with in-app guides
A digital adoption platform like OnScreen Guidance keeps users in motion inside the app. Think of it as a lane assist for your enterprise software.
- Right place, right time. Guidance appears exactly where the action happens. Next to the field. On the button.
- Clear sequencing. Users follow the right steps in the right order. No detours.
- Fewer do-overs. Conditional steps and field validation reduce mistakes.
- Always current. Update a guide once. Publish instantly. Everyone sees the change.
- Consistency at scale. New hire or power user. Everyone follows the same optimized path.
That’s how you cut minutes from routine tasks. Small wins that add up fast.
Why this delivers speed (and sanity)
Here are the core mechanisms behind the results you just saw:
- Stay in the flow. In-app guides remove the “toggle tax.” No switching between a SharePoint page and your SAP Fiori screen. Focus stays put.
- Make intent obvious. Context and microcopy remove guesswork. Users stop asking “what does this field even want.”
- Prevent errors early. Required fields, checks, and “if X then show Y” logic guide correct entry the first time.
- Optimize once, help everyone. A subject matter expert bakes the best path into the guide. The whole team benefits next run.
The result is more throughput with the systems you already own. A digital adoption solution improves how people use software, not just how they learn it.
Where process documentation still shines
You still need documentation, there’s no doubt about that.
- Training prep. Overviews, concepts, screenshots. Great before someone ever touches the system.
- Policy and audit. Durable records live where auditors expect.
- Offline reference. Long-form explanations. Exceptions. Edge cases.
Good news. OnScreen Guidance can export guides to PDF or Word. Your static library stays in sync with what people see in the live workflow. One source. Two formats. No scramble to rebuild docs after a process change.
Proof in common tools: SAP Fiori and SharePoint
We intentionally tested in popular environments.
- In SAP Fiori, users move through forms and tiles quickly when each step is cued inline. Field-level tips help with naming quirks and required data. That’s where we saw the 6:32 time savings.
- In a SharePoint workflow like a Sales Contract Update Process hand-off, guidance reduces the back-and-forth across lists, files, and metadata. That’s where we saw the 1:19 savings.
Your stack may also include Oracle, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, and custom apps. The pattern holds. When help lives in the app, people finish faster.
Beyond speed: The ripple effects
Cutting task time is only the start. Teams see benefits across support, data quality, and change management.
- Fewer “how do I?” tickets. Answers show up at the exact moment of need. IT and SMEs get fewer repeat questions.
- Cleaner data. Validation nudges prevent missing fields and wrong formats. Better inputs, better reporting.
- Faster updates. A process changes. You edit the guide. Everyone gets the new path in minutes. No reformatting. No publishing lag.
All of this makes your current platforms more valuable. A digital adoption solution amplifies what you already bought.
How to apply this to your team
Pick one recurring process. Something that happens every day. A SAP Fiori transaction. A SharePoint workflow that creates busywork and rework. Time it with documentation. Then build a short in-app guide that covers the same steps.
Run both with a few users who know the job. Compare time, mistakes, and questions. You will see where the gains come from. You will also spot places to trim clicks and reduce confusion.
Keep it small. One process at a time. Wins build momentum.
Ready to see how it could improve your process?
If you want a walkthrough, we can show you the difference live. OnScreen Guidance is a digital adoption platform that brings in-app guides to the systems your people use most. Faster tasks. Fewer errors. Happier teams.
See it in action.
