A UX primer for Creators
“Don’t make me think!”- pretty much all Users ever, and Steve Krug.
This quote is the title of a bestselling book by Mr. Krug, one of the most highly respected usability consultants in the world of design and usability. And suffice it say that to me, this book is akin to the First Commandment — of design of course.
The experience that a User has with every part and aspect of a product or service is by far the determining factor as to whether the User would continue to be involved with that product. Most developers and designers forget these absolutely core principles of each design process and leave their users either dissatisfied, or frustrated, or worse — wondering why the app exists at all.
Where the problem lies
The most common mistakes that the developers make in terms of usability are:
- Disconnecting with the User
- Designing for the Developer, and not the User
- Overwhelming (or, underwhelming) the User
- Confusing the User with Complexity
Creating an easy and pleasant experience is one of the primary goals that every designer has in mind. Helping users to achieve their solutions is, more often than not, the main motive of every developer. But for every single person involved in the process of app-development, it is necessary that their thought process works in a way that satiates the Users on both fronts. The experience and usability part of it, and the visual appeal are almost equally responsible for the success of an app. And it all boils down to not making the users think too much — “Don’t make Users think”.
Let’s do a lightning analysis of the phrase, “Don’t make Users think”, before we dive into the specifics. The keywords are of course, “Users” and “Don’t think”. They definitely look quite good and meaningful sitting next to each other, don’t they?
Well, NO, as it turns out users do think in a way that continues to baffle every designer to some extent. More on that for later.
“Users” “Don’t think” ?!
The first term — “Users”. Now how would you define a User? “An average person” right?
I am pretty sure that most of you have thought of users this way. Let this be a myth buster moment for you right here, there is no “average user”. This is crucial. All users are unique and all usage is essentially idiosyncratic. So the next time when you try to map your users based on one-dimensional mappings of their likes and dislikes, know that you are being counter-productive.
Coming to the second key-term — “Don’t think.”
I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job. So he will find an easy way to do it.
The above quote is by Bill Gates. This sentiment expressed in this sentence perfectly embodies the thought-process of almost all Users. Users want easy ways out — they will get extremely frustrated with bad design. Fast.
How DO users think?
Pause.
Breathe.
What do you think the answer is?
It’s not much complicated. (Well it IS, if user research has not been prioritised.)
Users basically demand, they seldom want.
What this means can be derived from the basics of Economics. A “want” is something that a person wishes she had. A “demand” on the other hand, is a want that is backed by financial prowess. So essentially if you can succeed in satisfying the User’s want, you get a grade B. If you succeed in meeting the user’s demand, you get a grade B+. And last but not the least, if you not only satisfy the “demand” but also provide for her ”want”, you become an A-player.
But then, “Why be a King, when you can be a god?” O Rap God.
Why stay an A player, when you can hustle to become an A+ player?
Leave no questions dangling
The main thing to keep in mind when designing for Users is that there should be no question marks in their mind when they see your design. You are familiar with this concept — from your school days. Teachers telling students to write such answers that leave no questions in the minds of the teachers. The same concept works for experiences that you design for your Users. However, there is one important thing to keep in mind. Your teachers did know the answers of the questions you were meant to solve. Your users don’t know the solutions that you are trying to provide them. The ultimate goal is to make sure that the users know the solutions right away.
The experiences that you design should not contain any noise.
No question marks, no mental chatter, no errors.
How Users really use the experiences you craft, might turn out to be significantly different from the way you intended them to. If that does happen, embrace and involve the new domain of Users too. If you planned to make a self-evident experience for one group of people, and it turned out to be more beneficial for another group of people, then that is a boon as well as a bane. A discredit, for obvious reasons. And a credit for the reason that you are not forcing your Users to think.
Be the “North Star”
The design that you craft should essentially be a “Guide for the perplexed”. It is necessary that you make usability happen where you are. Basically that means that you should try to craft experiences are personal enough that Users would be able to connect with the experience at first glance. In parallel, the design should be self-evident enough that, the first time the User looks at it, she goes: “Oh, so that’s what this is!” Do not fall for the trap of thinking that the app you design will work great just because it looks great.
Most definitely, “Pretty” is better than “Ugly”, and “Useful” is better than “Pointless”.
But in the end, “Ugly but Useful” outweighs “Pretty but pointless”.
Most of the times.
More the effort from Users, greater their pain
“Lower the number of clicks, better the user-experience” right?
Well, partly.
It is important to note that as long as the taps are “painless”, and the users continue to have the confidence that they’re on the right track, the number of taps are by far insignificant. The taps just should not be “Hard Taps”. So what is a hard tap? A tap, or a click for that matter, that requires significant amount of thought, coupled with an uncertainty regarding whether the decision to tap is right or wrong. A good rule of thumb in this respect is “Three mindless, unambiguous clicks equals one click that requires thought.”
If your Users were moths, design the flame
Let the scent of information be strong enough in every experience you design.
The main principle behind this work-process comes from a single question once you attain success through this workflow: “Why didn’t we do this sooner?” That principle is Sincerity. And that’s the hard part.
If you can fake that, the rest is easy.
As you may have noticed, everything that you read till now isn’t probably anything that you do not already know, but then all you need is some clarification and a gentle nudge in the right direction.
“It’s not Rocket Surgery” — Steve Krug.
Simply put, your user should be able to “get it” without thinking about it.
Don’t make your Users think — that’s your user-experience-design mantra.
So now you are familiar with the basics of UX, and you are raring to jump into the field and conquer the domain! But there’s never a better time to brush up on the basics of UI and UX design and acquaint yourself with common design jargon like usability and desirability. Check them out here —
Cheers!
