2 posts tagged “discovery”

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Development Discovery

Feb 26, 2009
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It isn't enough to pass by a statement without making it bold so I'll just state it as plain and straight as I can.

Software Development, better so product development, does not require a breath-first approach. Software is about building structure out of a unstructured idea. Design is about attempting to capture that for what it's worth to a humane understanding. Management is the process of ensuring that all this knowledge is kept synchronized and a flow is followed to the end-goal.

I feel like there's something missing in that model. I feel like the idea of software is being missed in its encapsulation of systems that aren't static, they aren't pieces of artwork, it's something that reacts, it lives and connects. In some ways it's human in the ability for the people behind the curtains to react to the audience.

It's a conversation between the people creating to the people using it. The conversation is led on both ends, a means of seeing how IT is used, and feeling out ways to make it more appropriate, quicker and more humane.

This kind of conversation is really about discovery. Fast prototyping, recursive design, exploration and the ability to create a value-gap. Where the value-gap is the primary goal, and everything from then on is about discovering what can increase that gap. A model wherein the target audience is more and more discovered, split-up and tailored for.

This kind of modality is one that is about growth, a pursuit of perfection not absolute. A thought process that puts value into people and the architecture by which makes that happen.

Enough with hide and go seek

Apr 19, 2008
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How many times have you suddenly "discovered" a feature about a certain software that could of possibly saved you hours of time had you known that feature before? It's all too typical to find hidden features in software these days. The problem isn't that designers intend to keep you from using such a feature, it's that the design limits them from "trying to put everything in front of the user". There's the first mistake - don't.

There are some products that will put everything in front of the user while other products will only put a few things while hiding the rest from perspective. Users will either find themselves searching and searching for something that they need to get to or slow down the confusion and filter through all the unnecessary, even still - distracting - garbage in front of them.

To avoid this scenario, designers can equip themselves with learning about what tasks are important to their users in addition to creating workflows. Most users can only get one thing done at a time. It's usually best to follow this idea of presenting things one at a time - wherever appropriate. For instance, instead of providing the textbox to post a new blog post, there is a Create button at the top of the page. I can see that when I need to accomplish that task, it's right there in front of me to get to it - without distractions.

As a user we can be prone to wanting everything in front of us at every possible moment, but what we tend to forget is that we don't always need to get everything - everywhere - done at the same time. So, in supplement we complete tasks according to the context or point of focus we are in. At the same time, with respect to the designer, we need to understand that users need to be able to get out of context quickly - without seeking it out, which can lead to frustration. Simple things like - "I'm done", "Save", "Ready", "Back", "Previous" help users understand that they can navigate to other points of focus not only fast but very simply.