Simple, easy, and clear

I got home from work and was walking my dog around the neighborhood. It’s a great time to think and reflect on the work day.

I’m thinking through significant changes to the enrollment flow for the web application I work on and it’s not a straightforward process.

There are many different use cases in play that I have to account for and treated with care.

In thinking through the complexity, these three word come to mind: Simple, easy, and clear.

Though they seem similar, they are not at all the same.

To make it simple, I want to remove as many unnecessary steps as possible. All that gets in the way from start to finish.

But, removal of all that is unnecessary does not equate easy.

To make it easy, I will want to do as much as possible to avoid errors or second guessing on our would-be customer’s part. The saying, “Don’t make me think” is exactly what I’m going for.

Again, I could meet both of these things without being clear. I could make the most simple and easy flow, but unless I make it clear why they need to enroll I won’t see the success I’d like.

To make it clear, I may need to include some more context to add clarity. Why they should register. Why we need this information from them. Why we need it now. Etc.

These are all areas of concern and need thought and iteration. I’ve been putting pencil to paper and building prototypes.

Before we get too far we’ll run through some user testing to see if our hypothesis have any legs.

I’m learning, which is the first step to understanding how to make a more simple product. And, if it all goes as I hope, an easy and clear product as well.