2/17/2015 WhyWeShouldDesignSomeThingstoBeDifficulttoUse|WIRED

ThefirstcarIeverdrovewasabashedLandRoverDefender.Iwasworkingatanoutdoor
pursuitscentreinNorthWales.ChanginggearwaslikeRussianrouletteyoustirredthestick
untilitjammedsomewhere,thenletouttheclutchandhopedyouhadntselectedreverse.
Therewasanarttoeverything:evenopeningthewindowsrequiredapatientchickachick
thunkofthelatch.

WhenyoucanwrangleanoldLandielikethat,youbecomepartofaselectgroup.Itsagroup
thatwilldwindlefromnowon,asLandRoverhasannouncedthatitisdiscontinuingitsiconic
Defenderrangeinfavorofmoreuserfriendlycars.I,forone,willbesadtoseeitgo.Weshould
bewaryofonlydesigningforeaseofuse.Theresalottobesaidfordesigningfordifficultyof
use.Idliketosayafewofthosethingshere.

BrianMillar
BrianMillarisHeadofStrategyat
1.ThePleasuresofMastery SenseWorldwide,aninnovation
consultancythatworkswithNike,
InDanPinksterrificbookDrive,heexploresthethingsthat
PepsiCo,BarclaysandSamsung
motivateus.Heconcludesthattherearethreeingredientstoa amongothers.Youcanfollowhim
happylife:autonomy,purposeandmastery.Whenyoudesign onTwitter@arthurascii.

thepossibilityofmasteryintoanobject,youredesigninga
happierlifeforyourusers.

Greatvideogamecreatorsaregeniusesathelpingusexperiencethatmastery.JenovaChen
headsupThatGamesCompany,creatorsofFlowerandJourney.Hesaysgamedesignisall
aboutflow.Flowhappens,heclaims,whenyou,balancetheinherentchallengeoftheactivity
andtheplayersabilitytoaddressandovercomeit.Inotherwords,whenweremastering
something,ourintelligenceandourintuitionareatfullstretcheverythingflows.

Whenyouthinkaboutit,artificialintelligenceingamesisactuallyartificialstupidity.The
computercontrolledPrincessPeachcouldthrashuseverytimeatSuperMarioKart,simplyby
completingperfectlaps.Butshedoesnt.Sheslowsdownjustenoughsowehavethechanceto
overtakeherifwereally,reallyconcentrate.

Masterydoesntjustapplytocomplexproducts.Aforkisaboutassimpleasitgets,butthe
Edwardianswrotewholebooksabouthowladiesandgentlemenshouldusethem.Ittakesa
lifetimetolearntouseasushiknife.

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2/17/2015 WhyWeShouldDesignSomeThingstoBeDifficulttoUse|WIRED

2.DifficultyMakesThingsExclusive
Beforethe2007crash,Iconsultedforacompanythatmadesoftwarethathelpedbanksanalyze
risk.Icanhearyourhollowlaughterrightnow.Bankrisksoftwareguy,youhadonejob.
Actually,thesoftwaredidworkreallywell.Theproblemwas,nobodyboughtit.Itseemedlikea
nobraineratthetime,headsofriskinbankssimplywaitedfortheircounterpartsaroundthe
worldtoemailthemaspreadsheet,thenstitchedthemtogether.Theprocesstookhours,and
theinformationwasadayormoreoutofdate.Ourproductoversaweverydealmadebyevery
traderandgavearealtimeassessmentofthedangersinvolved.

Inspiteofitsbrilliance,nobodywasinterested.Whenwetalkedtotheheadsofriskat
investmentbanks,wefoundoutwhy.Theydspentyearslearninghowtoglueallthedata
together,andhaddevelopedalotofsecretExcelwizardrytodoso.Theyweredammedifthey
weregoingtogiveitallupforadashboardthatanyfoolcouldread.

Ifonlywedfoundawaytomaketheinterfaceacceptablydifficulttouse,headsofriskwouldnt
havefeltthreatened.Bankswouldhaveunderstoodthescarymesstheywereinmorequickly,
andtheglobaleconomymighthavebeensaved.

Sorryworld,mybad.

3.DangerMayBeSafer
Lastmonth,oneofthesmartesteconomistsintheworldpassedaway.HisnamewasGordon
Tullock.Hespenthislifestudyinghowpeoplemadechoices,andthatledhimtorethink
everythingweknowaboutrisk.

Heshowedthatpeoplehaveafairlyconsistentattitudetodanger.Ifyoumakeanactivitysafer,
peoplepushthelimitsofthatactivitytobringtheriskbackuptoaleveltheyfindaccessible.
Takedriving.PutABSbrakesinacar,andpeoplejusttendtobrakelater,andless.Traction
controljustmakesuslesscarefulinslipperyconditions.Riskhomeostasis,asitsknown,has
beenobservedeverywherefromfootballhelmetstooilrigs.

SomesaythatTullockcameupwithafabulouspieceofdesignlogic:ifyouwanttoreduce
accidents,installasharpspikepointingoutwardsfromthesteeringwheelofeverycar,aimedat
thedriversheart.

Userfriendly?No.Butitwouldcertainlymakeeverybodydrivevery,verycarefully.

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4.ExpertModeandtheProAmPhenomenon
WhathaveLinux,GrameenBankandStJohnsAmbulanceshaveincommon?Theyreworld
classbrandsthatarecreatedandrunlargelybyamateurs.Thepeoplebehindthemoftenhave
thesameskillsasprofessionals,buttheworkjustisnttheirdayjob.Somebodywhoregularly
saveslives,orbuildsanoperatingsystemthatrunsonsupercomputersordoesmicroloansout
oftheirlivingroom,ismorethanahobbyist.Theyreaproam,andtheirnumbersaregrowing
accordingtoDemos,aUKthinktank.Theyvechartedtheriseofproamsineverythingfrom
sportstoastronomy.

ProAmsactivities,saystheirstudy,arenotadequatelycapturedbythetraditional
definitionsofworkandleisure,professionalandamateur,consumptionandproduction.

ProAmusersdontwantthingstobemadeeasy.Theywanttopushthemselvestoperformat
theirbest.Lookatcameradesign.Whilelowendcamerasarebeingwipedoutbysmartphones,
thegrowthisin$1500pluscamerasthatareinfinitelytweakable.Fujifilmisemergingasthe
newAppleofthisbreed,takingthecontrolsoutofdeepmenufunctionsandputtingthemback
onchromeknobsthatjustbegtobetwiddled.IboughtaFujifilmX100twoyearsago.Itwasthe
firstpieceoftechnologyIdboughtin15yearswhereIhadtoreadthemanual.Actually,Ive
readthemanualatleastfourtimes.NowImtakingthebestpicturesofmylife,andIloveit.By
beinghardtouse,myX100mademeabetterphotographer.

5.AreYouMakingItEasytoDoSomethingBadly?
DougEnglebartandBillEnglishdesignedthemousethatrevolutionizedthewaysweworkwith
computers.Thatsonlyhalfthestory,though.Theyfeltitwasawasteoftimeforausertomove
theirhandfromkeyboardtomouseandbackagain.Sotheydeviseda5buttonkeyboardwhere
youpressedbuttonssimultaneouslytowritewords,delete,copyandpaste.AsEnglebartsaid,
Youcanpointwitha[mouse]Iadmitbutoursystemhadanindefinitenumberofnounsand
verbsyoucouldemploy.Theresnowaythatclickingatmenuscancompetewiththat.
Intheend,themousetriumphed,ascomputermanufacturersbelievedthatonlyhardcore
programmershadthepatiencetolearntheNLSkeycombinations.Iftheydhadalittlemore
faith,maybetheydhavesaveduswritersatonoftimeandtendontwinges.

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RememberPalmpilots?TheywonoutoverApplesNewtonbecausetheyreadinputmuchmore
accurately.Theydidthatbymakingmillionsofuserslearnanewalphabet,onethatwaseasier
foramachinetoread.Ilearnedit.Oncemastered,itwasfareasiertousethanamoderniPhone
keyboard,withitsautocorrectionandfatthumberrors.ImissmyPalm5.

Dontgetmewrong.Imnotagainstmakingthingseasytouse.Easeofuseencourages
somebodytopickupyourproduct.Butthepromiseofmasteryensuresthattheywillnever
wanttoputitdown.

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