Embracing , dealing & designing for Complexity
If i were to ask a general question, ‘Are our lives simple?’’ Pat, the reply will come, ‘Nah, Quite Complex’. Yes, our lives are complex, because of multiple dimensions, multiple connections, interconnected situations and to top it all, there is uncertainty and constant change.
Generally complexity, doesn’t usher in feelings of comfort and positivity in most of us. But let’s give it some chance in this article. Let’s face it and learn some models to tame it.These models can help you professionally as well as personally.
HUMANS PREFER COMPLEX
Day in and day out we hear the words,“Simple tasks, simple flows , simple framework, simple architecture” etc. But do you think, when our stakeholders ask for simplicity do they really mean it ?
Its a proven fact that as humans we prefer complexity over simplicity.
Lets look at some Questions …
Today, who would buy a mobile phone whose just use is to call ?
How many of you have used complex Jargons to impress your customers/clients ?
Why do you think your stakeholders ask you to add so many functionalities and features even though some of them don’t make sense ?
Finally ,a very simple question..
Which sky do you prefer ‘simple plain blue sky’ or complex vibrant coloured sky ?
I know the answer for most :)… The right one.
This is because, psychological research says that humans inherently have something called COMPLEXITY BIAS.
COMPLEXITY BIAS
It means that “when faced with two competing hypotheses, we are likely to choose the most complex one”.
As a result, when we need to solve a problem, we may ignore simple solutions — thinking “that will never work” — and instead favour complex ones.
Marketers make frequent use of complexity bias for their benefit by incorporating confusing language or insignificant details into product packaging or sales copy making the info complex and product more trustworthy.
In late 1800s a very famous psychological research was conducted. People were given 3 nos. 2,4,6 and they were asked to find the logic and relationship of these 3 nos. and they were asked to come up with couple of sets of 3 nos. People came up with super complex logic options for the sequence series, however the relationship was they were simple ascending nos.So we just refuse to think simple
Again the question comes …
WHY DO WE PREFER COMPLEX
Because COMPLEXITY is something which EXISTS all around us …Simplicity is something which we need to search for or which we need to strive for.
We our selves are so complex.Our relationships are complex. Situations are complex
Things and phenomena around us are complex
The tools, technology and systems that we are using are complex .
We are so much used to complexity around and it’s so much inherent in us that we don’t doubt it at all , we live in it and we prefer it.
So , Now that we are comfortable with complexity lets see how we can tame this complexity
MODELS TO TAME COMPLEXITY
Model 1 : SHE model for Thoughtful reduction
When there are too many functionalities and features in an application, it’s not easy to reduce. The clients very rarely agree to remove anything from their legacy applications. Their usual preference is to let live what lives. So how do we reduce..using this SHE model.
S-SHRINK : It’s a proven research, the smaller the object, the more forgiving we can be when it misbehaves.and the lesser expectations we have. So while designing, when there are a lot of functionalities ,features, information and content . Shrink your view to Mobile. Think Mobile first.
H-Hide : Google is the classic example of hide. Its not just a search box If you count the number of links its 34 ..so many things are hidden. So while designing hide the complexity and try giving a perception of simplicity.
E- Embody : After you have shrunk and hidden things, you will have something new and unique at hand.So deciding the new identity and further focusing on that VALUE will let you achieve optimisation with reduction.
Model 2 : SLIP model for Organise
Recently i did a POC, a one liner brief was given. “Design a brand health dashboard for brand consultants in 2 days”. Hell broke loose when i googled to see that there were close to 200 Metrics. SLIP Model came handy :). i picked and sorted some 20 metrics. I labeled them into 5–6 categories. Then i combined/integrated the metrics for each category and prioritised those categories on the screen. Voila the dashboard was ready :).
So when you have content and a workspace do not forget this model.
Model 3 : EMO model for Feeling complexity and Happiness
This is a very fun model which has helped me a big deal in my personal life :) as well. Whenever you are receiving a piece of information just remove/ignore the words depicting emotions..identify them and delete them mentally. And after that when you read the information it would imply facts or simply nothing. Those emo words are used to make you feel in a certain way to make you react to provoke you.
Generally in heated discussion you will realise that after removing the emo words the sentences don’t mean anything and you can go like …”sorry what was that again” …You are able to break the thoughts of the the person in front . He mellows down and says something …again you can ask “sorry what was that again” and then the person is like leave it. So it just calms down the person in front. This technique is taught to the call centre employees as well.
Even while u consume social media just try to remove these EMO words and u will be amused to see the difference and the take away
For designers, This model can also help a great deal when you are doing user research . Generally users are passionate to talk about their stories, opinions and painpoints . So lot of emotions are used. Just understand the emotions but remove them when you want to derive the facts.
Model 4 : Save for Time Complexity
Don’t worry, nothing is getting loaded below just wanted to convey that when we are forced to wait life unnecessarily seems complex
When we see this loader image, before a page or component gets loaded , it gives a perception that the page/component is complex or data heavy.
As designer we need to handle time complexity very sensitively for customers engagement and return . A lot depends on the performance .No customer likes to keep seeing this loader and will never return if you make him wait.
So as designers we can should avoid performance issues by any ways and means . Use methods like Gradual load, on demand load.
For data heavy dashboards, deal with the data sources, view strategy and calculations smartly . Refer this nice blog by Nicholas Hara to make your dashboards more performant.
Searching is also a time consuming activity so you can give options like “recommended for you” , “similar products” , “people also read this” you are actually able to save user’s time
Model 5: Binary Model for information Complexity
Today we are constantly bombarded with loads and loads of information. How to identify where the value lies and how to amplify that value.This Binary algorithm does wonders
Starting from tomorrow whatever info you get , thats in your periphery label it as 1. or 0 .
0 is an info that you can’t alter the effect of or can’t do anything
1 is information that you can do something with
For Eg : “The COVID cases recovery rate has risen by 1% “ is an info that you cant do anything about.
OR “ If you are certain type of person then you should consume not more than 2 tbsp oil daily” is an info that may be is 1 for you.
Well its not abt what is 1 and 0 for you .What happens is you start to recognise the amount of info that comes in your periphery. You start to become aware! and Awareness is the first stage of prioritisation.
You instantly realise :” i don’t need to be dealing with this”.
I have started doing this and i see a big difference in my prioritisation abilities. Its claimed that within 2 weeks people have got 50–60% time back. They are starting to watch different type of content they are re-engaged meaningfully. They are not programmed by other people and media. They do not fall for recommended for you videos streams one after the other that social media throws.
Please please try out this model. It definitely helps professionally and personally and let me know your feedback.
FINALLY
Embrace complexity, empathise why your clients ask for more and more, tame the complexity using models and help your users achieve their goals delightfully.
If you just scrolled the article and don’t want to read it you can watch my video on the same topic :)
References
Don Norman Book : Living with complexity
