Tesler’s Law: Designing for inevitable complexity
Who should deal with complexity, users, or the design?
Introduction
Consider a moment when you’ve asked yourself, “Why can’t life be simpler?” Now, think about that question in the context of your smartphone. If you want to check the weather forecast, there’s a process. You unlock your phone, find the weather app amongst all the other colorful icons, tap on it, and only then do you get the information you need. You might wonder, “Couldn’t this be simpler?”.
The answer lies in what is known as necessary complexity, a principle captured by Tesler’s Law, also referred to as the Law of Conservation of Complexity.
This law underlines the fact that while some tasks may seem unnecessarily complex, this complexity is integral to the function of the system and can only be managed, not eliminated.
The challenge for designers, then, is deciding who shoulders this complexity: the system or the user?
We are looking at Day 16 of the series “30 Days of UX Laws and Principles”, If haven’t caught the Day 15 of the series, have a look at it before we proceed. Today in this article we will explore :
Breaking down Tesler’s Law
The law was put forth by Larry Tesler, a computer scientist who had significant contributions in the realm of human-computer interactions. His work and observations led him to formulate Tesler’s Law:
Which essentially states that for any system, there is a certain amount of complexity that cannot be reduced.
Tesler’s Law explains that, regardless of how much you try to simplify a system, the complexity has to go somewhere. It doesn’t simply disappear. Instead, it shifts between the system and the user.
In user experience (UX) design, this law guides designers to decide who should deal with this complexity: the system (the design itself) or the user.
Larry Tesler’s seminal contribution to UX design goes beyond his law. While at Xerox PARC in the 1970s, Tesler invented the “copy and paste” functionality. This feature, now integral to all software, embodies Tesler’s Law, as it moves the complexity of manually duplicating text from the user to the system. This fundamental shift in handling complexity is a testament to Tesler’s philosophy of creating intuitive and user-friendly interfaces.
Think about a manual transmission car. To drive it, you need to manage the gears yourself, depending on your speed and the terrain. Here, the complexity of managing the vehicle’s speed is on the user’s end. Contrast this with an automatic car, where the system handles gear changes based on speed and conditions. Here, the complexity is handled by the system (the car), providing a simplified user experience.
Tesler’s Law and User Experience (UX)
UX design’s primary aim is to create products that users find easy, efficient, and delightful to interact with. A common interpretation of this is to design systems that are as simple as possible, thus minimizing user effort and potential for error. However, it’s essential to remember Tesler’s Law, which posits that complexity in a system is conserved and only shifted around.
There is no point in making something simple for the user if it makes it complex for everyone else. — Larry Tesler.
A practical example of this law in action is the digital camera.
Imagine an entry-level user who’s just getting started with photography. For them, the world of aperture settings, shutter speeds, ISO levels, and focus adjustments can be daunting. A fully automatic mode on the camera, where the system handles all these intricate settings, reduces the complexity for the user. The user merely points and shoots, with the system doing the heavy lifting to deliver a good photograph. In this scenario, by designing the system to shoulder the complexity, we have simplified the user’s task and ensured they can effectively use the camera despite their limited expertise.
But what about a professional photographer, for whom photography is not just about capturing an image but an art form that allows them to express their creativity? For these users, the oversimplified, fully automatic mode becomes a barrier. They require control over the various settings to manipulate the image output as per their vision. If the system maintains full control, it restricts their ability to experiment and produce unique, high-quality images. It simplifies their interaction but at the expense of their creative control.
Complexity is not bad. It’s confusion that’s bad. Forget about simplicity; long live well-managed complexity. — Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things.
Herein lies the challenge and the crux of Tesler’s Law:
For a digital camera to cater to a wide spectrum of users, from beginners to professionals, the design must allow for a distribution of complexity. For beginner users, the system can take on the complexity, providing them with a simple point-and-shoot experience. However, for professional users, the system should allow them to take on some of the complexity, giving them the flexibility and control they need to execute their art.
This careful balance and distribution of complexity illustrate that a one-size-fits-all approach can often be counterproductive in UX design. Designers must consider the user’s skill level, knowledge, and objectives while distributing complexity between the user and the system.
An efficient, user-friendly system isn’t necessarily the one with the least complexity but rather the one that strikes the right balance, per the user’s needs and expectations.
Real-life Brand Examples
Let’s look at Apple. While Apple’s iOS is praised for its simplicity, the trade-off is a lack of customization compared to Android. This lack of complexity on the user’s end is often a critique of iOS, proving that not all users prefer the system to take on all the complexity.
In contrast, software like Adobe Photoshop is known for its complex interface, offering professionals a range of tools and capabilities. While intimidating for beginners, this complexity allows experienced users to create high-quality work, demonstrating how a balance of complexity can cater to diverse user bases.
Difficulties and Limitations
While Tesler’s Law provides invaluable insight, its application is not without challenges:
- It can be difficult to determine the right balance of complexity between the system and the user. What one user may find straightforward, another may find overwhelming.
- Designers may unconsciously project their own expertise onto users, overestimating their familiarity with the system, leading to unintended complexity for the user.
- Over-simplification can result in less robust products, limiting their usefulness and versatility.
- Under-simplification can make the product inaccessible to novice users, limiting its reach.
Conclusion
Designing a product, be it a digital camera or a mobile application, is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of the user. Tesler’s Law serves as a reminder that while the goal is to make a product user-friendly, it’s critical not to oversimplify at the cost of functionality. It isn’t about making things as simple as possible but achieving the right balance. This balance considers the capabilities and needs of the user, the purpose of the product, and the system’s inherent complexity.
Written by: Inchara, kubo media team.
Check out: 30 Days of UX Laws and Principles
Check out Day 15: Miller’s Law
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