Month: June 2021
Diverse Testing for the Best User Experiences
Long before I began consulting, I was developing new applications for a Marketing company. Nearly everything was built from the ground up then, and there was very little reuse. That changed over time as I developed reusable functions and eventually created a “standard system” that significantly reduced development time due to reuse. Throughout this multi-year period, I had an unplanned but valuable assistant – “Wendy”
My user interfaces were generally well received for their layout, workflow, help screens, etc. But a new hire on the Customer Service team consistently ran into problems. I was young, and one of my first interactions with her probably went something like this: “Why would you do it that way? That doesn’t even make sense? Have you ever worked with computers before?”
She began crying. I felt like a jerk as my frustration began to wane. Days later, I realized Wendy was a gift and not a problem. She had an incredible knack for finding obscure flaws and breaking things. I embraced it, bought her lunch, and asked her to help improve my software. She was excited to help, and eventually we laughed about our initial encounters.
Wendy and I had become allies in a quest to create custom software that provided a better, problem-free user experience. Nothing was taken for granted. Everything became more robust. Surprisingly, everyone appreciated these changes, not just Wendy. She helped me become a better programmer and analyst, and I gave her an experience that helped her become one of the first Quality Assurance Analysts in the company. It was a win-win.
There is often a considerable difference in the expectations and ways that Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer users interface with applications. Creating a one-size-fits-all application is far more challenging today because of this simple fact. But it is essential to success.
People today tend to move on when their experiences fail to match their expectations. Investing in your system’s “Wendy-proofing” can become a competitive advantage. I have long believed that “People buy easy.”
If one person encounters a problem, others will likely follow unless you implement a remedy. It is more work, but the result can be increased satisfaction, usage, and loyalty. That seems like a good tradeoff to me.
What are your thoughts?
Spaces Learning — Composable Education in the Cloud
Great article.
This is an extremely powerful Teaching and Learning Experience Platform (LXP) that I have been using for close to a year now. It is amazing how a better approach to learning leads to better retention and understanding.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
Life is filled with unexpected events. In most cases, we make tiny adjustments and carry on. We trip. We stumble. We pick ourselves up and pay closer attention to where our feet are taking us.
Others force us to rethink what we previously took for granted. These are the big events that come out of the blue, grab us by the collar, and give us a good shaking. The death of a loved one. The sudden loss of a job.
And then there are the colossal events that not only change us individually, but the world we live in. In my lifetime, I’ve seen my fair share of these earth-shakers. The assassination of John F. Kennedy. The legalization of gay marriage. The fall of the Berlin Wall. The election of the first…
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Where Ideas, Experiences, and Lessons Learned Intersect 