The Perfect Application

Lots of applications exist to make your life a little easier by offering data or streamlining a process. Netflix lets you browse and watch movies from the comfort of your own living room instead of going to a movie rental store. Uber lets you order, and pay for, a taxi with one click. While intending to make our lives easier, applications have introduced an abundance of options that has made our lives harder; here’s how.

Lots Of Data

Whether you know it or not, almost everything you do on the internet involves a database. Someone has stored data in a database, and you use their website or application to retrieve it. Your social media friends and posts, movie reviews, online banking, email; it’s all data in a database. This use of databases, combined with intuitive user experiences, has opened up the amount of data you and I have access to. Having relevant data at our fingertips has changed the world.

We no longer spend hundreds of dollars on encyclopedia sets, we use Wikipedia. We read new updates in real time instead of waiting for the morning paper. Pictures are stored in a database on our computers instead of photo albums and boxes. We don’t need physical books, DVDs, or CDs because the content is all stored in a database somewhere, ready when we need it. Databases have made learning things, finding things, and consuming things easier than ever before. But lots of data has made simple tasks more difficult.

Too Many Choices

Data adds choice, and choice adds complexity. Each additional option takes time to research, and research takes time. Each additional option adds a decision, and decisions take time to make. More data equals more decisions and more time spent making those decisions. Think of how much longer it takes to pick a movie to watch when you don’t have to narrow your choices to what’s in stock at the DVD rental store.

A Common Example: Dinner With Friends

Data has made simple decisions, like what restaurant to go to, a lot more complex. If you wanted to go out for dinner 20 years ago, you’d pick the closest place, or try a new place someone from work told you was good. Now, with data, it’s not uncommon to spend hours picking a restaurant to go to. Easy access to lots of data has made simple decisions more complex and time-consuming. Let’s walk through the data and decisions involved in going out for dinner with friends.

Who To Eat With

First you have to figure out who you want to go out for dinner with. If you have someone in mind, great. If not, you have to find people who want to go out for dinner. You can post on your social networks, text some friends, and maybe send a few emails to find someone to eat with.

When To Eat

Now you have to figure out when to go out for dinner. When is everyone available? Is everyone free on Friday night? What time does everyone get off work? Does anyone have to run home to change or feed the cat? When do potential restaurants have reservations available?

Where To Eat

Now you need to find a restaurant. You might consider the types of food everyone likes. You might consider how much everyone is willing to spend, and whether any restaurants have specials or coupons. You might consider how close a restaurant is to you, and how far everyone is willing to travel. You might look up restaurant reviews, or consider restaurants recommended by friends. You might check out municipal health inspection reports to make sure a restaurant is clean. You might consider new restaurants that are similar to restaurants you like. You might look up restaurant menus to be sure you’ll like the food. Does the restaurant take reservations?

How To Get There And Back

How is everyone going to get to the restaurant? Is it close enough to walk? What’s the weather like? Should you drive? Is there parking? How much does parking cost? Should you just take a cab or a ride share? Which company offers the best rates and has cars available when you need one? Does it make sense to pick someone up on the way? Once you’re done dinner, how are you going to get home?

It’s complicated

When you look at it that way, it can get pretty complicated. There’s data to help you make those decisions, but analyzing it takes a significant amount of time. Just planning a dinner might result in hours spent messaging friends and checking calendars. You might check review sites, restaurant websites, deal sites, and your bank account balance. You might call to make a reservation, and calculate the cost of a cab versus a rideshare service versus driving yourself. It can be overwhelming and time-consuming.

Why Applications Don’t Make Decisions

You can spend hours making sure you’re making the absolute best decision, but is that the best use of your time? If databases know everything, can’t an application do the heavy lifting and find out when everyone is available. Can’t an application find the perfect restaurant with a coupon for free appetizers. Can’t an application find you the cheapest ride there and back? Why don’t applications already do this for us?

Fear Of Being Wrong

Applications are afraid of being wrong. We expect them to know everything, and to do everything right 100% of the time. We often stop using an application the first time it doesn’t work as expected. Think of how mad you were the last time Facebook was down for a few minutes, or Siri gave you the wrong answer.

They Assume You Like Choice

Applications assume that you and I like choice. They assume we like searching through data and comparing it. They assume we like planning and scheduling. This is true for some people in certain situations. Some people love researching new bands, most people just want to hear new music they’ll enjoy.

They Don’t Know You

Applications don’t know us. The more you know someone, the easier it is to make decisions for them. I know exactly what to get my best friend for her birthday. I have no idea what to get a new co-worker for secret Santa, so I have to either buy something most people will like, or learn a bit more about them. When applications have to make decisions for strangers, they do whatever might satisfy most people. There’s never one option that will be perfect for everyone, so the fear of being wrong leads to the presentation of too many choices.

As applications get to know more about you, they will get better at making decisions for you. Understanding who you are and what you like removes an applications fear of being wrong. An application that makes decisions for you should also know how much choice you prefer. Do you want it to make a reservation at the restaurant it has decided is best, or do you want to pick from it’s top three choices?

The Perfect Application

The perfect application will know as much as possible about you and the options available to you. The perfect application will make decisions for you based on your level of comfort. The perfect application knows you like a friend, and helps you like an assistant.

It Knows You Like A Friend

Think of all of the applications — websites, social networks, etc. — you’ve ever used. Think of how much personal information you’ve shared when setting up user profiles. Think of how much more information you share indirectly when posting on social networks. You might tweet about a movie you love, or write a Facebook post about an awesome new restaurant you discovered. You might complain about the weather or public transit. Fitbit knows you walk a lot in the summer, and less in the winter. It knows you go for a 10 km jog every Monday and Thursday evening. Waze probably knows the route you usually take to work and where your cottage is. Pocket knows what topics you read a lot about, and Spotify knows all of your favourite music.

These networks and applications know everything about your friends too. Spotify knows what new album all of your friends just started listening to. Fitbit knows when your friends go jogging.

There’s information about you and your friends spread across multiple networks. A lot of data in a lot of databases. The perfect application aggregates all of your data to form a complete picture of you. The perfect application knows you like your best friend.

It Knows What Options Are Available To You

Think of all of the websites and applications you might use when doing some research. If you want to watch a movie you can read reviews, watch movie trailers, look up showtimes, compare theatres, or search through different services (Netflix, iTunes, Hulu, etc.) for the perfect movie. Similar information is available for almost anything: restaurants, playgrounds, travel, doctors, taxis, etc. There are also different variables to consider like cost and speed. How much do the available options cost and how long do they take? Are there any coupons? Can I pay more to make things happen faster?

The perfect application understands all of the available options and their variables. It knows what theatres have movies playing at a time that works for you. It knows if it’s cheap night, or if there’s a Groupon available. It knows the best method of transportation. It knows how much it will cost to get you there faster. The perfect application knows every option available to you.

It Decides What’s Best For You

Think of the last time your best friend took you out for dinner for your birthday. It was probably pretty great. They researched the available options, and contrasted them with what they know about you, to pick the perfect place, time, and price. The perfect application knows you like your best friend knows you. The perfect application knows all of the options available to you. The perfect application uses that information to decide what option is perfect for you.

It Makes Things Happen

Think of the last time your friend bought an extra concert ticket because they know you’d want to come. Think of the last time you walked into the coffee shop and they started making your usual drink before you had the chance to order. It’s great when someone who knows you makes a decision that makes your life better. The perfect application will make things happen. When it knows the perfect movie based on everyones schedule, location, and budget it will buy the tickets and order a taxi. When it knows the perfect travel destination at the best price, it will book your vacation. When it knows you might be hungry it will ask if you need some food.

It Feels Natural

Think of the last time an application felt natural. Think of the last time an application felt like your best friend. The perfect application doesn’t ask you to fill out forms, toggle switches on and off, or click buttons. It feels natural. It feels like talking to a friend. It has a sense of humour and goes out of it’s way to make you feel good. Because it knows you, it knows how and when you prefer to communicate. It knows when it can help, and it knows when to leave you alone.

It Makes You Happy

The perfect application makes you happy. It makes your life easier by making decisions and making things happen. The perfect application knows you like your best friend, and helps you get things done.