An expanded version of Hardik Pandya’s 10 determining factors of simplicity referencing heuristics, principles, and examples which can help you determine if your product is simple
10 Steps to Design a Simpler Product
Simple is when it is fast
- Doherty’s law suggests that users should see a response from the system in less than 400 milliseconds
Simple is when there are no complicated choices to make
Simple is when it’s so intuitive that I can move forward with my brain pretty much on autopilot
Simple is when it fits into my existing behavior and builds on my existing understanding
- Again this points to conventionality and mental models or heuristics the user might be familiar with
Simple is when it’s clear when an action is expected from me
- The power of a good teaser or prompt above or preceding a button cannot be understated. Tell the user what you want them to do next.
Simple is when I can confidently predict what will happen next
- Giving the user a strong scent of information, show the number of items selected in a filter, the number of results for a keyword, creating an unconscious expectation, or even an explicit understanding of what is going to happen next… These are all powerful ways of helping people’s experience with technology feel more predictable and less jarring.
Simple is when it’s sequentially linear where I perform one thing at a time
- Focus is key here. Also important to not overwhelm the user with choices or give them something to do out of order that can be impacted by information they might provide later. Adding constraints can make an experience feel much simpler. See again Miller’s Law.
Simple is when my mistakes are tolerated with generous affordances to fix them