Infosys TechCompass

User Experience Technologies

Trend 6: Micro applications and island architectures uplift UX

Web frontend development has evolved in a cyclic quest for a balance between rich UX and performance. Initially, web pages were server-rendered, but the introduction of JavaScript improved interactivity. However, as complexity grew, performance suffered due to lengthy code downloads. A combination of microfrontends and module federation partly addressed this issue.

The latest trend, island architectures, introduces functional islands to enhance web performance by delivering only the necessary code for specific business functionality. This strikes a balance between web performance by limiting the amount of code needed to only those specific functional islands that may be necessary within each page.

Infosys follows a microfrontend approach across multiple platforms to enhance parallel functional development and simplify complexity.

Infosys helped a French container transportation and shipping company develop an advanced quotation application with a micro UI to handle price management and quotations, including spot and long-term contracts.

User Experience Technologies

Trend 7: WebContainer APIs empower the creation of feature-rich web applications

Recent advancements like WebAssembly, WebContainer API, and File System Access API empower developers to create highly functional web experiences.

WebContainers enable hosting complex functionalities such as database-in-a-browser, while File System Access API facilitates complex business applications running intricate logic in the browser, securely storing and accessing data on the user's device.

Although WebContainers and File System Access APIs are still in early development stages and await wider adoption, significant progress on this route indicates limitless possibilities.

Infosys is implementing a progressive web application for a leading US-based CPG company. The application uses database in a browser concept, which enables on-field sales teams to work seamlessly even during mobile device sync issues. It locally saves data and syncs when connectivity is restored.

User Experience Technologies

Trend 8: Reactive and resumable web applications enhance responsiveness

The complexity of modern web applications poses a challenge in efficient change detection. Updating the Browser DOM to reflect data model changes requires substantial compute processing, which can hinder application performance.

Innovations in web frameworks such as SolidJS introduce Signals, a new concept. Signals prompt immediate Reactions, invocating subscriber code, but only if at least one subscriber exists. This internal tracking of subscribers by Signals eliminates unnecessary code execution and optimizes the end-to-end process.

Another trending concept is resumability. Instead of running JavaScript to create the client-side application state, frameworks like Qwik transfer the state directly from the server to the client. This enables the application to seamlessly resume where it left off on the server.

User Experience Technologies

Trend 9: Conversational technologies enable natural and interactive UX

UI technologies evolve with the integration of front-end systems using conversational technologies to enhance natural and interactive UX. GenAI simplifies chatbot development, while gesture-based interfaces recognize expressions and hand movements for enhanced user interactions. Microsoft's Power Virtual Agents enhance chatbot conversations and streamline AI chatbot development. GenAI simplifies development by abstracting NLP, while technologies like Microsoft's Emotion API enable custom gesture-based interactions for app designers and developers.

Infosys helped a large technology company deploy a chatbot for its in-store products (laptops/desktops). The bot offers product recommendations, instant answers, and supports 13+ languages, enhancing customer experience. This increased customers' purchase readiness by 1.3 points, earning a 7.7 out of 10 customer satisfaction rating for an enhanced buying experience.