Surface Ripples

Keep it Simple

Technology lets us do so much more in terms of accessing, using and providing information and services.  Unfortunately, this may well be its main disadvantage.

If it’s to be useful, technology has to be user-friendly to all users. There will, of course, be exceptions: specialist technology etc, but I have in mind the “standard” apps that one uses on a smart phone to access services. 

We’ve come a long, long way in a very short time in terms of what’s accessible on a mobile device.  We now have a generation of children (“Gen Alpha”) who simply don’t know what life without a smart device is like. 

Equally, we have a (dwindling) number of people who can best be described as “technophobes” (afraid of technology). These are most often found in the “Silent” (pre-boomer) and even the Baby Boomer generations.

As time goes on, apps are updated.  The latest update to the Apple Infrastructure is iOS 18 which has caused some distress to users as it has changed the “photos” app into something that appears at first sight much more cumbersome to use.

It occurred to me that one of the problems may be that many of these apps are designed by Millennial and Generation Z developers who are perhaps designing them for their own generation without thinking about those who have gone before.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Gen Alpha look on such apps in the not-too distant future and wonder how anything so anti-diluvian could ever have been allowed on the market. 

Be that as it may, the one thing many apps seem to have in common is that, as they are updated, they become more complex and the user interface becomes less user friendly.  I’ve frequently had to resort to Google to find solutions to simple problems once I’ve downloaded the updated version of an app which I used with no problems before.  Developers design apps without always appreciating how they’re used by current users (even though the update may actually provide an even better experience, it still frustrates users until they’ve understood how to work it).

My advice to anyone (not just developers) is keep it simple.  The simpler it is to use, the more users you’ll have.  If you’re lucky, it’ll also be simpler to diagnose and rectify any faults in the coding.

We seem to think that, if something’s complex or complicated, it must be good. That is rarely the case. As Einstein famously said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

Simple processes and procedures generally are easy to understand, apply and, if there’s a problem, it can be rectified fairly quickly.

What in our organisations could be simplified?

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website  provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  

Labels: Customer Care, Productivity, Selling, Strategy

posted by William Martin @ 09:46