The Art of Great Tech Solutions
When working in tech, a client will come to you with a problem, they may ask for a website, a new piece of hardware or app.
As a solution provider, you know you can deliver the clients request, but it is worth stopping and thinking. Is this solution right for the problem? Often the best solutions start much earlier in the process.
Maybe the problem is a lack of custom, is building a website the right way to increase sales? It is worth going back to the root issue, and addressing that.
There are four key pillars that can help guide you to a brilliant, delightful and powerful solution that will address the root problem your customer is facing.
Light
Approachable, Delightful and Clutter-free
“The Best Interface is no interface” — Golden Krishna
Solutions should be light, and the best solutions are invisible to the end user. Less is more, so keep things clean and light. Google are great examples of this, they keep their solutions minimal and strip interfaces back to the bare minimum needed.
Ethical
Considered, Careful and Kind
Ethics is the primary concern of consumers nowadays, a great tech solution should always strive to be ethical. This can be broken down into a few key areas: Privacy, Unbiased, Inclusive and Secure. Ethics should never be used as a differentiator though, it is a requirement for modern companies.
Privacy
Currently an issue facing tech companies galore. How can you gather the data you need(more on that later) but keep users identifiable information private, and keep users in the know — answer: be transparent. Let users know what data they are giving up and when.
Unbiased & Inclusive
Machine Learning is notorious for accidentally introducing bias into its model. But the whole industry is guilty of being exclusive of people, accidentally or on purpose based on their ethnicity, gender, orientation, income and more. Take a moment to think of all the people who may use your product, make sure your team is diverse, and make sure to test your projects with the general public.
Security
Security is super important in tech, and while the tech side of it is super complicated cryptography, the art is relatively simple.
- Keep your stack up to date.
- Only give people/services the access they need.
- Know your dependencies, only use ones you can trust.
Accessible
Easy, Understandable, Navigable
Designing accessibly starts from day one. It is not a retrofit for your project. If this pillar is considered at the beginning, there is no compromising the design to squeeze in accessible features.
Accessibility crosses over heavily with ethics. By not being accessible, you are denying a large audience from ever accessing your content. Accessibility comes in all shapes and sizes, and is facilitated by great design and best practices.
The king of accessible design is Apple, who always consider their users needs when building their OS. I would thoroughly recommend looking through the accessibility options for any Apple device you have to see what considerations they have made.
There are three key considerations to ensure you don’t alienate your audience
Sight
Sight impairment, blindness and colour blindness.
Is your solution accessible to those with sight issues? Is there a way you can make it more friendly to them? Can you engage with a different sense to communicate with them.
Sound
Deafness. Can your solution communicate its purpose without audio?
Motor
Motor function. Does your solution alienate users with dexterity issues? can anything be made more ergonomic?
Data-ful
Data data data
Dipping our toe into the science of good solutions, but walking very much along the path of art, we have data.
When considering you problem, think about the data you have, and how it can guide a solution. Can you gather data, insights, and are they actually useful?
Nowadays AI and ML are on the forefront of everyones mind, but to get to a great Machine Learning Model, you have to start with copious training data. If you can integrate ways to collect data into your solution, it can be smarter, wiser, and optimised as time goes on.
Conclusion
To create a successful solution, you need to take into account the four pillars of a good tech solution. Delight users with a light and friendly interface (or no interface if possible). Consider the ethics of your solution, make sure it is inclusive and accessible. All the while, gleaning insights and gathering data to hone and optimise your solution. Whether you are building an app, an aeroplane, or an enterprise grade solution, there is more to crafting a solution to a problem than creating a tech stack. Before you put pen to paper, know your user.
This article was born from the wonderful writing of John Maeda, who is a God amongst men when it comes to explaining the concepts and strategies that make great tech solutions.
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