TEN QUOTABLE MOMENTS: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES FOR UI DESIGNERS - PAGE 2

5. "That's not how eBay does it!"

The situation: A proposed design catches another team member by surprise, most likely because it is out of line with preconceptions.

Uncharitable interpretation: "You're not the only one who can cite third parties."

The real issue: "I don't see why what you're proposing has to be so different from what I've been thinking of all along."

The response: "There is no halfway reasonable solution to a user interface problem that can't be found somewhere. Yes, following the lead of successful and appropriate interfaces, especially if they are popular like eBay or Microsoft products, is a good idea."

Explain why eBay isn't doing exactly the same thing, or why their approach isn't the best. Sometimes it's possible to do better than Microsoft.

6. "I don't think it's confusing."

The situation: Version 1 of a product was successful and has customers and customer support staff who know how to use it. People in the company like it. However, your first impression as a designer, often the most valuable impression, leads to some suggestions for improvement.

Uncharitable interpretation: "We've had people using it this way for years! As the industry leader, our quirks are now the industry standard."

The real issue: "You're pointing out a problem we didn't even think was a problem."

The response: "As someone who has just worked with the product for the first time, I noticed some room for improvement. We could do usability testing to find the same things, but that takes time and money that is better used on more subtle problems. Hardly any interface is unlearnable, after all, and you can't rely on staff or existing customers to learn where new customers will be confused. Even considering their short-term pain, I think change is warranted."

Remind the team why you've been brought in for this next version. Even if usability isn't the main problem with previous versions, adding new features will affect current habits.

Unfortunately, first impressions come fairly early in the relationship with a software team. There isn't always a basis for trust at first, and a comprehensive criticism of what is probably a successful product—good enough to deserve being upgraded—is not a way to become popular. Take notes so you remember those first impressions, and prioritize the suggestions. Start with problems you can find other evidence for; those are likely to be the big UI problems anyway. Do this before you recommend killing off the quirky details that everybody else has grown to love.

7. "Dumb it down—these aren't very sophisticated people we're dealing with."

The situation: The actual users are separate from the people who decide to buy or develop the software. They may be in different worlds according to their work location, educational background, computer experience, or clout in the organization.

Uncharitable interpretation: "How can users understand something that's taken you so long to explain? Simple means very sparse screens, colorful icons, and big fonts, like children's software. Guide them through one step at a time."

The real issue: "I'm suspicious that these users will ever be able to figure out something that isn't instantly clear to me, especially something with a complex implementation."

The response: "No matter how little education or computer background customers have, they know their jobs. A particular multivariate schedule that makes little sense to us makes a lot of sense to our users, because they know what to look for and what they're trying to achieve. Very few step-by-step procedures turn out that way in the real world. Interfaces don't become simpler by hiding information and requiring more clicks; they become simpler when they provide the right information at the right time. Sometimes the logic to do this is complex."

Of course, when you're learning about the actual users, you want to make sure that you have visited the actual users in as realistic a setting as possible. It may not occur to others why a lofty software designer would want to hang out in a filthy warehouse for a day, but I've always found support for this kind of visit once I ask to do it.

8. "We have to force them to, in as friendly a way as possible."

The situation: Registration or security requires the user to answer questions or make up a user name or password.

Uncharitable interpretation: "If pesky people just behaved like machines and followed orders, it would be a lot easier to write software."

The real issue: Allowing things to happen in any order complicates the internal state of the system. This has to be justified.

The response: "Computers can't really force a person to do anything. When they try, they are annoying. If they get too annoying, people will find ways around them, which probably defeats your purpose. For example, forcing a person to change a password when the computer chooses, as opposed to when it makes sense for the user, is a good way to increase the chances it will be forgotten. Asking someone to register for a product they don't know they like yet is a good way to get them to lie."

The best solution is to make the step optional and the software able to continue with incomplete information. If the step is really easy and short, most people will do it. The trick is figuring out exactly what the step is required for and how to make it as painless as possible to complete. Is it really necessary for all users to go through it? Is there a more natural time to ask, when the user is more motivated to answer?

9. "You and that Nielsen guy don't think websites should be any fun!"

The situation: A proposed color scheme, interface widget, or BiCapitalized marketing term has an adverse influence on usability.

Uncharitable interpretation: "We're just trying to have a little fun and enhance our brand, and you're being arbitrary. I really don't want to go to my manager about this detail. Just say it's OK, please?"

The real issue: "I find it hard to believe you can quantify a usability effect without even trying our suggestion."

The response: "If the question is the usability of this design, I feel obliged to tell you that there is a tradeoff. A certain number of people will have a harder time because of this decision. Will more people be helped by it?"

Objective measures might help. For instance, it's easy to find numbers about percentages of colorblind users or minimum font size requirements for people over age 45. It's even possible to say how many users will ignore hyperlinks that don't include underlines. The forces of cool find this threatening. Sometimes all you can do is inform them, and wait for the fad to pass.

10. "Can't we make it red so it stands out more?"

The situation: A member of the team has just complained that some part of the interface is missing, when in fact it still exists but has been relocated in the interface.

Uncharitable interpretation: "Every time I get confused, that's a reason to change the design. I'm the CEO, after all. The basics are probably fine, so here's an easy superficial change."

The real issue: "This is an important part of the interface and I'm afraid people might miss it."

The response: "What you missed isn't supposed to stand out in normal use. Not everything in an interface is supposed to be obvious upon first impression, and the context of using a product for real is quite different than the context of reviewing a UI mockup. Some things are more important than others. If we gave everything equal visual importance, nothing would make sense. We can't change the design every time a member of the team gets confused.

"That said, sometimes things in the first draft of an interface don't stand out enough. In that case, the field of visual design offers many solutions that keep an entire interface from becoming one red, boldface mess, and there may even be ways of putting things in context better. The right solution may not be to make everything red; we may not even need to make a change at all."

Just the Top Ten

This list is by no means complete. Every project has its quotable moments, and I have not handled all of these in the past exactly as I now recommend. In fact, thinking about these moments again will help me next time they come up.

What are some of your quotable moments, and how would you handle them if you had another chance?

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Last updated by Brian Krause, brk@adducive.com, August 1, 2005
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