52 Weeks of UX

Time 2020-12-30 09:03:08

Web Name: 52 Weeks of UX

WebSite: http://52weeksofux.com

ID:150734

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All designers say simplicity is important, but what does it really mean to make something simple? Most of the time we think it means less, that by removing stuff we achieve simplicity. We think by keeping content above the fold we re helping people focus, or by using bullets instead of paragraphs more people will read it, or by cutting text in half it becomes more clear. But simple doesn t mean less . A better definition would be just enough .Oops, I may have oversimplified there In some cases designs actually need more of something to become simple. So a better definition of simple is just enough for comprehension and the ability to pursue and complete our goals . Instead of hiding or cutting stuff away, here is how we can achieve more meaningful simplicity in our designs:Have a single core idea (not several ideas, or a partial idea)Improve clarity over time (don t overwhelm with inappropriate details)Use consistency(avoid using unnecessarily unique interfaces and messages)Have a Single Core IdeaAttention and interest are the first things you need to develop to get someone to take any kind of action. The best way to grab attention and build interest is to present a single core idea, fully fledged. This allows the user to make a binary decision about it: Am I interested or not? . Introducing a feature in a way that people can instantly map it to a desired outcome will help them prioritize and be confident about their next step. The need to present a single core idea is true from the big picture all the way down to each of the smallest features. Nothing says Send Message, like the words Send Message . - Des Traynor @destraynorThis is an example of a small feature being extremely clear to an outcome. The copy here could have been Go or Submit Now or just Send . None of these are as clear or binary as Send Message , which in two words allows people to confidently agree or disagree with it. As you move into more complex features being binary gets exponentially harder, but the goal should remain the same: lead people with a core idea that properly sets their expectations. If we fail to do this, the perception of complexity will grow.A single core idea is:Binary - simple enough that there are only two sides to it allowing people to assess their agreement or not.Stated in plain language - be as clear and obvious about the problem or opportunity as possible.Repeated constantly - every interface should reiterate the appropriate problem or opportunity where appropriate.Tied to an outcome - the end goal of each problem or opportunity should always be visible.Improve Clarity Over TimeAfter gaining people s interest, getting them to invest their time and mental energy is the next big step. Even when your audience finds your application interesting, there can still be lots of friction. If they re intimidated by it, the adoption rate will be slow. You have to show them that they can accomplish their goals without frustration. Web copy: Write too little and the meaning doesn t come through. Write too much and the block is skipped because it was too thick to scan. - Ryan Singer @rjsMuch like a conversation that is refined over time, the right details in the right moments will give momentum to the process and increase the chances of it reaching a positive end. Removing relevant, but inappropriate details, will keep people moving forward and reduce the chances of being distracted. Remember, every investment of time or mental effort without a meaningful result will add to the perception of complexity.Improve clarity over time with:Clear starting and ending points - make sure it s obvious how to do something valuable within an interface.Progressive disclosure - be appropriate: put focus only those details that help with comprehension of the current task.Obvious paths - always provide a clear transition to the next step or level of detail.Use ConsistencyA new user and a long-time user are very different animals. If you want to keep people around, you need to help them feel like they re mastering each part of the application and have no reason to worry about the next one. Each feature needs to be approachable enough to seem enjoyable and feel like it s going to be the best use of their time and energy. Whether it is flags waving in the wind, the difference between empty or crowded train platforms, or the footprints in the fields that suggest paths to follow, we search for significant signs in the world that offer guidance. - Don Norman @jnd1erShowing people a friendly face will give them confidence and put a smile on their face. Help people see things they ve seen before and draw conclusions based on things they already know. There s nothing wrong with a complex interface when you have a complex problem, but there s no excuse for dropping someone off in a foreign land without a guide or a map. That s just mean.Be consistent through:Consolidating routines - identify similar processes and use similar approaches.Building patterns - put similar things in similar places so people can act through intuition.Occasionally breaking the rules - know when an interface is genuinely unique it s probably not as often as you think.When More is LessPrevailing wisdom suggests that simplicity is about less removal and reductionism. But simplicity is really about comprehension and clarity of purpose can we design such that people instantly understand what s going on and make a confident decision about what to do next? To practically achieve simplicity we can stick to a single core idea, improve clarity over time, and use consistency to help users achieve efficiency. In this way more can be less by adding the appropriate details at the appropriate time the entire process comes to seem simple to the people using it. Simplicity has tricked us into thinking its about less. But it s really about having just enough.December 22, 2011by 52weeksofux But what if the firm was driven, not by the goal of short-term profitability, but by the goal of continuous innovation in service of finding new ways of delighting customers? The new bottom line of this kind of organization becomes whether the customer is delighted. Conventional financial measures such as maximizing shareholder value are subordinated to the new bottom line. Profit is a result, not a goal. Writing for Forbes, Steve Denning elucidates the work ofClayton Christensen, whose bookThe Innovator s Dilemma (first chapter here) continues to redefine business success in the 21st century. After studying many industries over several decades, Christensen concludes that a relentless focus on the user experience, not profit, is what is driving today s best companies like Amazon, Apple, and Salesforce. Instead of squeezing every last drop out of the existing business (milking the cash cow), these companies are constantly searching for better ways to delight their customers, even if it cannibalizes their existing businesses. Consider that Apple s greatest competitor for the iPod was not a product from another company, but their own next product, the iPhone.The Innovator s Dilemma starts with a brilliant question: How can great firms fail? Instead of assuming that firms become incompetent, Christensen assumes they are acting rationally even as they get upended in the marketplace. Instead of asking How did they get so dumb so quickly? Christensen asks Why do leading companies with extremely smart leaders still get disrupted? . Most armchair analysis generally assumes that leaders become incompetent and of course incompetence can be used to explain anything.Christensen, a Harvard business professor, is not a designer and did not intend to get into the game of user experience nor did he focus much on design when investigating why leading companies tended to be disrupted by smaller companies with seemingly different goals. The importance of user experience wasn t Christensen s initial focus but it was the end result of listening to what the data had to say.And the data shows that user experience is a key differentiator.But why? Easy. Customer happiness is a leading indicator of the future health of any company. If you are making people happy, and continually invest and innovate to make people happy, then they will keep giving you their money for your product or service. It s such a simple equation that it goes without saying and because it goes without saying it is often forgotten. When you re looking at spreadsheets with dollar signs on themall dayit is very easy to lose sight of the happiness of your customers.In the same way that tweaking a design can lead one to get stuck in a local maximum for that screen, optimizing your existing business around the current product line can get your entire company stuck in a local maximum so that by the time you realize it s not working anymore it s already too late.So what are the changes this leads to? Here are several:Customer Happiness becomes the #1 Metric.To continually innovate and produce designs that make people happy, profit cannot be the #1 metric of a company. Instead, it s an indirect play for customer happiness. To solve for customer happiness, now and going forward, is to continually innovate and look for opportunities to delight.One way to measure customer happiness is with Net Promoter Score, or NPS. NPS is a customer loyalty survey given out to customers that asks a simple question How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague? . If people are likely to recommend you to a friend you can be confident that they re happy as a customer. Apple uses NPS to gather customer feedback it is said their managers call unhappy customers within 24 hours based on this approach.(see my notes in Metrics Driven Design for more) Design is never Done.You don t release and forget. You release and renew. If the goal is continuous innovation then product teams are responsible for the designs they release and continually improving those designs. Obviously after release a product won t be pushed on as hard, but its likely that it s not perfect. Look at Apple s iLife software very small improvements every year but enough to keep the software at or near the top and then a feature like Faces (one of my all-time favorite features of any software) keeps them there for several more years. If a product is successful then it moves the bar higher for everyone, including itself.Experimentation is the new Normal.In addition to continually improving what you have, experimenting with new stuff becomes critical. Experimentation in design is still relatively new for many people. But those companies who are known for experimenting Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter, are finding that it is a key to long-term profitability. It took Twitter years of experimentation to find the right advertising play, but now they have a model that really works for their customers.And those experiments should be simple, following Gall s Law. Continually create simple things and launch them to figure out where the next big breakthrough will happen. The end result of this experimentation is that you compete with yourself.It s so much better to be your own competitor than to have it be someone else.Most designers and product people have known for a long time that a great user experience is important for long term success. But when business people start talking design it s a good indicator that the playing field has changed.December 22, 2011by 52weeksofux

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