User Centered Design

In a previous post, I said we need things to be simple. Let me elaborate.We need to get past the usual rhetoric. “Simplicity at any cost” is not the answer. Likewise, do not get carried away by just the headline “Simplicity is highly overrated” . It is important to separate the wheat from chaff. It is a fact that the majority of websites have bad design. It is true that many things out there are so poorly conceived, that not only are they useless, but they even lead to severe reactions. In a mad rush to beat the competition, anything ships, even with feature-bloat. To make things worse, human-stupidity adds another dimension to this discussion.

As technology progresses, we definitely get more done. The information sources proliferate, calling for better handling. This is where the design can be a boon or a bane. Let’s face it, our gadgets are going to have more and more features crammed into them. Doing more naturally increases the complexity that goes into a product. But does it have to be dumped on the end-user? Don Norman, the Guru of Workable Technology has put it aptly: “Beauty and brains, pleasure and usability — they should go hand in hand.”

As we move forward, it is imperative to learn from the mistakes of bad designs. Tom Kelley of IDEO has said, “Don’t let your cloud of features blur the simplest, common use of your product.” The ’simplest, common use of your product’ could vary by market segment. Learn to separate the real need from perceived need. That could mean that one size does not fit all. Adopt a User Centered Design. To come up with a successful product, you have to get the whole ecosystem right. When only 13% of Americans believe technology products in general are easy to use, it is a direct reflection of the failure to be simple.

Further Reading:

A dated but relevant article on Digital-Web
Business Innovation Insider
Another slightly old post on the same topic
An interesting site with lots of resources
A post on Innovation Blog