simplicity principle
Purposeful Simplicity, Unthoughtful Complexity
Most people or organizations do not, by design, create a product or service with the goal of “making the most complex product that nobody can use”. In other words, rarely do we see purposeful complexity but instead we see much unthoughtful complexity.
i am going to create the most complex product or service and nobody will be able to use it! i’ll make sure that after my customers experience my product or service, that they feel deflated & completely unsuccessful.
Most people or organizations do not, by design, create a product or service with the goal of “making the most complex product that nobody can use”. In other words, rarely do we see purposeful complexity but instead we see much unthoughtful complexity.
i am going to create the most complex product or service and nobody will be able to use it! i’ll make sure that after my customers experience my product or service, that they feel deflated & completely unsuccessful.
Not Accountable, Not Responsible
Team size can make a big difference in the success of your service or product. What is counterintuitive for most people is that the larger the team size, the lower the likelihood of success for your service or product. Why? Entropy can set in and large teams are inherently bad vehicles for communication. More insipid, however, is that the larger the team, there is a higher likelihood of accountability and responsibility being diffused across the team.
Team size can make a big difference in the success of your service or product. What is counterintuitive for most people is that the larger the team size, the lower the likelihood of success for your service or product. Why? Entropy can set in and large teams are inherently bad vehicles for communication. More insipid, however, is that the larger the team, there is a higher likelihood of accountability and responsibility being diffused across the team.
Visual Mismanagement
A few months ago we adopted our baby girl, Mylie. During that hospital experience, I had an encounter with a faucet fraught with featuritis and one that wasn’t humane and, during that same time, I noticed a piece of visual management in the hospital room that wasn’t effective in its intention to provide or share information. This involved a sign in one of the cabinets, where the sign indicated in text the contents of the cabinet. Below is a picture of what I saw:
A few months ago we adopted our baby girl, Mylie. During that hospital experience, I had an encounter with a faucet fraught with featuritis and one that wasn’t humane and, during that same time, I noticed a piece of visual management in the hospital room that wasn’t effective in its intention to provide or share information. This involved a sign in one of the cabinets, where the sign indicated in text the contents of the cabinet. Below is a picture of what I saw:
Burden on People; Burden on Earth
On average, most business processes are inefficient and create an unhealthy amount of waste: once you learn to see the process waste all around — with Lean Thinking as your worldview — you will notice overprocessing, transportation, overproduction, waiting, inventory, motion, and defects. Aside from our processes producing waste, our processes also create burden on our people and also burden on the earth.
On average, most business processes are inefficient and create an unhealthy amount of waste: once you learn to see the process waste all around — with Lean Thinking as your worldview — you will notice overprocessing, transportation, overproduction, waiting, inventory, motion, and defects. Aside from our processes producing waste, our processes also create burden on our people and also burden on the earth.
Representing an Idea with Visual Identity
My daughter recently turned 10 years old. So, because her friends have email and communicate via email, I recently helped her obtain an account. In the process, we both learned something very important about abstract ideas and the icons we use to visually represent them.
My daughter recently turned 10 years old. So, because her friends have email and communicate via email, I recently helped her obtain an account. In the process, we both learned something very important about abstract ideas and the icons we use to visually represent them.
Featuritis and the Customer Experience
The more I learn and practice ethnography and design-thinking, the more I notice subtle but incredibly frustrating experiences. For example, I had a frustrating experience with a faucet that was in the hospital room where our adopted baby girl, Mylie, was born. This faucet is an automated one — with a sensor. So, whenever an object passes the sensor, the faucet would turn on even if the intention of the human was not to use the faucet.
The more I learn and practice ethnography and design-thinking, the more I notice subtle but incredibly frustrating experiences. For example, I had a frustrating experience with a faucet that was in the hospital room where our adopted baby girl, Mylie, was born. This faucet is an automated one — with a sensor. So, whenever an object passes the sensor, the faucet would turn on even if the intention of the human was not to use the faucet.
Aza Raskin on Google Search Results
In a previous post on Ethnography, I invited Aza Raskin, founder of Humanized and son of Jef Raskin, the inventor of the Macintosh and author of The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems
In a previous post on Ethnography, I invited Aza Raskin, founder of Humanized and son of Jef Raskin, the inventor of the Macintosh and author of The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems
Raising Dust, Vision, and Business Problems
In the Treatise on Principles Concerning Human Knowledge, published in 1685, George Berkeley said: We have first raised the dust, and then we complain that we cannot see. Berkeley was describing something entirely different, but his comment is, I believe, an accurate indictment of most, or all, business problems that we face.
Readers — thoughts? Agree or Disagree? What is your story?
In the Treatise on Principles Concerning Human Knowledge, published in 1685, George Berkeley said: We have first raised the dust, and then we complain that we cannot see. Berkeley was describing something entirely different, but his comment is, I believe, an accurate indictment of most, or all, business problems that we face.
Readers — thoughts? Agree or Disagree? What is your story?
Complexity: Different Ways, Same Output, or is It?
There are outputs and the processes that produce those outputs. In a business, if there are many processes that produce the same output — that can be a silent killer for a business.
There are outputs and the processes that produce those outputs. In a business, if there are many processes that produce the same output — that can be a silent killer for a business.
Simplify Your Product Design
My earlier post titled, Good Complexity, Bad Complexity, I discuss a few case studies where produce and process complexity can be good, and where it can be bad. One of the areas in which a balance needs to be had between a rich feature set and low maintentance and manfucting overhead is in how we design our products.
My earlier post titled, Good Complexity, Bad Complexity, I discuss a few case studies where produce and process complexity can be good, and where it can be bad. One of the areas in which a balance needs to be had between a rich feature set and low maintentance and manfucting overhead is in how we design our products.
