EMPATHIZE ･ DEFINE ･ IDEATE

SIMPLE ACCOUNTING: EXPERIENCE PRINCIPLES 19

ONE THING AT A TIME
FOCUS Addition by reduction: direct the user's attention on the immediate
task at hand and obfuscate or remove the unnecessary.

THE BIG(GER) PICTURE: EVERYWHERE

PERSPECTIVE Help users better understand their own workflows, how to unlock value
from their businesses, and set their own goals, beyond the Dashboard.

WHEN THE MEANING IS UNCLEAR, THERE IS NO MEANING

CLARITY Align to user mental models. Make cause-and-effect more easily
understood. Remove the burden of choice: less is more.

DO THE HEAVY LIFTING

SPEED Ask only for what is immediately needed, anticipate the rest. Prioritize
content, activities, and tasks by: recency, frequency and importance.

SHOW ONLY WHAT'S NEEDED, WHEN IT'S NEEDED

CONTEXT Not all information is relevant at all times (i.e. list views, legends). Make
key controls and content accessible when necessary.
EMPATHIZE ･ DEFINE ･ IDEATE

TACTICS: FOCUS 20
ONE THING AT A TIME
FOCUS Addition by reduction: direct the user's attention on the immediate
task at hand and obfuscate or remove the unnecessary.

TACTICS

Privilege content over navigation using a schema that gets out of the
PERSPECTIVE user's way (i.e. minimal height, visually distinction, persistent)

Highlight the current action using frameless overlays (i.e. spotlight!)

CLARITY Remove all unnecessary elements from the screen (save the pixels)

Hide buttons and actions until they are required (e.g. existing list-view
controls such as Send, Copy, etc.)
SPEED
Be critical with respect to the metadata in the various list-views that is
exposed vs. deliberately revealed on-click (e.g. description column)

CONTEXT Allow for user-defined goal setting, where applicable

LOOKING AHEAD

KNOWN UNKNOWNS 45
TASKS USER ADOPTION AND ROLL- TOP-10 CUSTOMER SERVICE CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING
PER CHANNEL OUT PLAN ISSUES OF 'CLOUD ACCOUNTING'

How does user behavior Given the feedback Can the most common How do customers
with FreshBooks differ received from previous customer service issues interpret the Cloud
across the various digital app updates, how can drive a deeper-level Accounting brand
channels? Can these we mitigate the impact understanding of how position? Does it align to
finding inform how some of rolling out a new app? users feel about their mental model of
functions are privileged Can the roll-out be FreshBooks? how FreshBooks fits into
over others? implemented in stages? their workflow?

PUSHING CODE EARLIER AND RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN VS. FURTHER SUPPORT FOR TAX CLOUD STORAGE FOR
MORE OFTEN NATIVE APPS? SEASON DOCUMENTS

What if code was To be or not to be? Is a How, if at all, are Does document storage
pushed earlier and more responsive web solution customers using have a place in the user's
often? Would allowing a viable product or FreshBooks to help with workflow? Would this
ourselves to 'fail faster' should effort be their tax filings? functionality have
actually help drive focussed on native greater utility if used w.
innovation and product applications, or both? existing cloud storage
improvement? apps like Dropbox?
LOOKING AHEAD

MAKING IT FLEXIBLE: A CASE FOR RESPONSIVE 46

We should embrace the fact that the web doesn’t have the same
constraints, and design for this flexibility. But first, we must
“accept the ebb and flow of things.”
Jon Allsop

1200 px SCREEN BY TYPE

768 px
48% 27% 21% 4%

430 px
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer
dictum auctor elementum. Praesent nisl ipsum, sodales consectetur
egestas eu, posuere interdum orci. Sed turpis ligula, mattis et
convallis ut, volutpat in felis. Vivamus ac velit ac lectus venenatis
molestie. Maecenas sed varius nunc. Fusce erat tellus, laoreet et
dictum sed, condimentum nec purus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
320 px 1024 px 1920 px
LOOKING AHEAD

IN CLOSING 47

The best way to

predict the future
is to create it.
Peter Drucker